US management consulting firm Ethisphere just published the ninth edition of their “World’s Most Ethical Companies” ranking of companies that, according to Ethisphere, “exceed legal compliance minimums and shape future industry standards by introducing best practices today“. The ranking is methodologically nearly unchanged. Please see our Rated Ranking of the 2013 edition for a profound assessment of the ranking’s methodology.

This year fewer companies make it to the ranking than in 2014. While in 2014 the list consisted of 145 corporations, their number has decreased to 132 in 2015. Actually, “World’s Most Ethical Companies” is not a ranking in the proper sense as it does not rank the corporations but only lists the so-called “honorees” alphabetically or by industry. This makes it difficult to compare the companies among each other.

When it comes to the honorees themselves, there are not many new companies entering the ranking compared to last year’s edition. The high proportion of US companies in the ranking has even increased from 71 % in 2014 to 75 % this year. Consequently, the ranking is losing more and more of its international importance.

Click here to see the full list and complimentary information by Ethisphere.