The honour comes at a time in which the way a company conducts its business is viewed as every bit as important as the products and services it provides, new research shows.
"This award celebrates doing business the right way, and making the right choices every day," said Ford Motor Company executive chairman, Bill Ford. "Ethics and corporate citizenship are important factors that affect a company's reputation and success, and we are proud Ford is the only automaker to have received this honour for six consecutive years."
The World's Most Ethical Company assessment is based on a framework developed by the Ethisphere Institute to assess an organisation's performance in an objective, consistent and standardised manner. The honour is given based on top ratings in five categories - ethics and compliance; corporate citizenship and responsibility; culture of ethics, governance and leadership; innovation; and reputation.
"The World's Most Ethical Companies embrace the correlation between ethical business practice and improved company performance," said Timothy Erblich, Ethisphere chief executive officer. "Earning this recognition involves the collective action of a global work force from the top down. We congratulate everyone at Ford for this extraordinary achievement."
The honour correlates with research showing a reputation for ethics and trust plays a role in consumers' purchase decisions. Last year, according to the 2015 Harris Poll Reputation Quotient, 53% of the US public learned more about a company before doing business with the organisation. More than one third of the respondents decided not to do business with a company based on the perception of a negative reputation.
Ford sees this trend shaping consumers of all ages - especially younger customers. Generation Z members born after 1993 are 54% more likely than their millennial counterparts to say they want to have an impact on the world, and these consumers do business with companies that share their values, according to a study from research firm Sparks & Honey.
