Whirlpool Corporation Named One Of The 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies® By The Ethisphere Institute

Recognizing companies that operate with purpose and incorporate integrity into their ecosystems.

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Feb 20, 2018, 11:28 ET

BENTON HARBOR, Mich., Feb. 20, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Whirlpool Corporation, the world's leading major home appliance company, is recognized by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies.

Whirlpool Corporation has been recognized twice and is the only honoree in the appliances industry, underscoring its commitment to leading with integrity and prioritizing ethical business practices.

"We are proud of this recognition," said Marc Bitzer, Whirlpool Corporation CEO. "For over a century, Whirlpool Corporation has lived its values, honoring our mission to earn trust with all stakeholders. This acknowledgment of integrity reflects our commitment to doing business the right way, and we will continue that practice for decades to come."

In 2018, 135 honorees were recognized, spanning 24 countries and 57 industries. The twelfth class of honorees had record levels of involvement with their stakeholders and their communities around the world. Measuring and improving culture, leading authentically and committing to transparency, diversity and inclusion were all priorities for honorees.

"While the discourse around the world changed profoundly in 2017, a stronger voice emerged. Global corporations operating with a common rule of law are now society's strongest force to improve the human condition. This year we saw companies increasingly finding their voice. The World's Most Ethical Companies in particular continued to show exemplary leadership," explained Ethisphere CEO, Timothy Erblich. "I congratulate everyone at Whirlpool Corporation for being recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies."

Methodology & Scoring
The World's Most Ethical Companies assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute's Ethics Quotient^® (EQ) framework, which offers a quantitative way to assess a company's performance in an objective, consistent and standardized manner. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics.

Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35 percent), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20 percent), culture of ethics (20 percent), governance (15 percent) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10 percent). All companies that participate in the assessment process receive their scores, providing them with valuable insights into how they stack up against leading organizations.

Ethics & Performance
Once again, the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies have proven that operating with integrity leads to greater financial performance. Research has found that, when indexed, listed World's Most Ethical Companies outperformed the U.S. Large Cap Index over five years by 10.72 percent and over three years by 4.88 percent. Ethisphere refers to this as the Ethics Premium.

Honorees
The full list of the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees

Best practices and insights from the 2018 honorees will be released in a report and webcast in March and April of this year. Sign up to receive the report.

About Whirlpool Corporation
Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is the number one major appliance manufacturer in the world, with approximately $21 billion in annual sales, 92,000 employees and 70 manufacturing and technology research centers in 2017. The company markets Whirlpool, KitchenAid, Maytag, Consul, Brastemp, Amana, Bauknecht, Jenn-Air, Indesit and other major brand names in nearly every country throughout the world. Additional information about the company can be found at WhirlpoolCorp.com, or find us on Twitter at @WhirlpoolCorp.

About the Ethisphere Institute
The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and measure and improve culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at: https://ethisphere.com.

SOURCE Whirlpool Corporation