Ford Motor Company was recently named one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute – a leading business ethics think tank. The recognition is awarded to those companies that have leading ethics and compliance programs, particularly as compared to their industry peers.

David Leitch, Ford group vice president, Office of The General Counsel, fifth from the right, joined representatives from Ethisphere and other select companies named to the exclusive list this morning to ring the Opening Bell for the New York Stock Exchange. The bell-ringing ceremony was designed to recognize the connection between ethical business practice and increased business performance.

Ford Named to Ethisphere's 2011 "World's Most Ethical Companies" for Second Consecutive Year

DEARBORN - Ford Motor Company has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as one of the 2011 World’s Most Ethical Companies. Out of a record number of nominations for the award, Ford secured a hard-earned spot on the list by going the extra mile and implementing upright business practices and initiatives that are instrumental to the company’s success, benefit the community, and raise the bar for ethical standards within the industry.

"Ford is honored to be named to Ethisphere’s 2011 World’s Most Ethical Companies list . This is a testament to the men and women across the organization who come to work everyday providing excellence in everything they do. At Ford, our values guide and dictate our behavior and we recognize our commitment to corporate social responsibility and all of our stakeholders." said David Leitch, Group V.P. and General Counsel. We are pleased to be named again as one of World's Most Ethical Companies."

This is the fifth year Ethisphere, a think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability, has published the WME rankings, which appear in Ethisphere Magazine’s Q1 issue and the second year in a row Ford has made the list.

Ethisphere reviewed thousands of companies and evaluated a record number of applications utilizing its propriety methodology through in-depth research and multi-step analysis, naming 110 companies that surpassed their industry peers to this year's World's Most Ethical Companies list. The 2011 list features companies in 38 industries including 43 companies headquartered outside the United States.

“As companies strive to maintain a competitive advantage, good ethics translate into better business, and better business means better bottom lines. Ford recognizes the important role that principled practices play in brand reputation, which ultimately is the most valuable asset for a corporation,” said Alex Brigham, Executive Director of the Ethisphere Institute. “Each year, the competition gets more intense for the World’s Most Ethical Companies and this year was no exception with a record number of organizations vying for this distinguished honor. Ethisphere congratulates Ford on being one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for 2011.”

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 2011 World’s Most Ethical Companies at http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical-companies-rankings/.