Novation Named to Ethisphere's 2012 World's Most Ethical Companies List

IRVING, Texas, March 19, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Novation, the nation's leading health care supply contracting company, announced today that it has been recognized as one of the 2012 World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute, the leading business ethics think-tank.

Out of a record number of nominations for the award, Novation secured a hard-earned spot on the list by implementing and maintaining ethical business practices and initiatives that are instrumental to the company's success, benefit the hospital members they serve and raise the bar for ethical standards within the industry. 

Additionally, in November 2011, Novation earned the coveted Ethics Inside® Certification from the Ethisphere Institute.  Novation is one of only twelve companies that have earned both honors.  Ethisphere, the provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs, awards Ethics Inside® Certification exclusively to companies that not only have implemented adequate standards, systems and programs to reasonably prevent compliance failures and ethical breakdowns, but that can also demonstrate the existence of a superior employee and leadership culture that promotes ethical business practices. 

"Only twelve companies have earned both the Ethics Inside Certification and the World's Most Ethical Companies award at the same time.  And Novation is the only company to have both recognitions in the category of healthcare services," said Alex Brigham, executive director of the Ethisphere Institute. "Novation recognizes the important role corporate responsibility and a strong ethical foundation play in improving the bottom line of its customers.  As more and more organizations strive for this honor each year, Novation's inclusion as a World's Most Ethical Company for 2012 and its Ethics Inside Certification designation demonstrate its industry-leading commitment to ethics and dedication to integrity." 

"Everyone at Novation is extremely pleased to receive this prestigious honor," said Jody Hatcher, President and CEO of Novation. "Being named as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies goes to the very heart of our mission and values.  The customers we serve are America's academic medical centers and not-for-profit community hospitals – the ones who produce the next generations of physicians and provide care for the most vulnerable in our society.  It is our responsibility to apply the highest standards of integrity to every aspect of our business."

This is the sixth year Ethisphere has published the WME rankings. Ethisphere reviewed hundreds of companies and evaluated a record number of applications utilizing its propriety methodology through in-depth research and multi-step analysis, naming the companies that surpassed their industry peers to this year's World's Most Ethical Companies list. The 2012 list features companies in more than three dozen industries, including 40 companies headquartered outside the United States. 

The methodology for the WME ranking includes reviewing codes of ethics, litigation and regulatory infraction histories; evaluating the investment in innovation and sustainable business practices; looking at activities designed to improve corporate citizenship; and studying nominations from senior executives, industry peers, suppliers and customers. 

Read about the methodology and view the complete list of the 2012 World's Most Ethical Companies at http://www.ethisphere.com/wme. 

About Novation, Winner of the Ethics Inside® Certification
Founded in 1998, Novation is the leading health care supply contracting company for the more than 65,000 members of VHA Inc. and UHC, two national health care alliances, and Provista, LLC. Novation provides alliance members with sourcing services, as well as information and data services. Based in Irving, Tex, Novation develops and manages competitive contracts with more than 600 suppliers. VHA, UHC, and Provista members used Novation contracts to purchase more than $40 billion in products and services in 2011. Novation recently earned the coveted Ethics Inside® Certification from Ethisphere Institute, a leading international think tank dedicated to the research and promotion of best practices in corporate ethics and compliance, and is the only health care group purchasing organization to earn this distinction.

About Ethisphere Institute:
The research-based Ethisphere® Institute is a leading international think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability. Ethisphere Magazine, which publishes the globally recognized World's Most Ethical Companies Ranking™, is the quarterly publication of the Institute. Ethisphere provides the only third-party verifications of compliance programs and ethical cultures that include: Ethics Inside® Certification, Compliance Leader Verification™ and Anti-Corruption Program Verification™. The Institute's premier membership group, the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance™, is a business ethics forum that includes more than 100 leading corporations, universities and institutions that collectively leverage their experience, expertise and innovative ways to address emerging compliance challenges. More information on the Ethisphere Institute, including ranking projects and membership, can be found at http://www.ethisphere.com.

SOURCE Novation