A Final Word

The early months of 2025 have tested the resolve and agility of even the most experienced ethics and compliance leaders. Against a backdrop of uncertainty, evolving risks, and heightened stakeholder scrutiny, one truth continues to emerge: no organization should have to navigate this landscape alone.

That’s why community matters. Within the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), leaders are not only finding support—they're gaining access to collective intelligence, real-time benchmarking, and a trusted network of peers facing many of the same challenges. This shared space for learning and collaboration accelerates impact, shortens the path from question to action, and helps teams align more effectively around integrity as a business imperative.

By combining the power of data with the perspective of community, organizations can make more confident decisions and ensure their programs stay resilient, relevant, and ready for what’s next.

They say your network is your net worth, and to showcase the power and community that BELA embodies, we invite you to listen in on some of our favorite sessions from the 2025 Global Ethics Summit.

About Ethisphere and the Data

ETHISPHERE

Ethisphere is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that strengthen corporate brands, build trust in the marketplace, and deliver business success. Companies turn ethics, compliance, and culture into a business advantage by leveraging Ethisphere’s data-driven program and culture assessments featuring the latest guidance and the practices of hundreds of global organizations across the 8 pillars of an ethical culture, and 240+ ethics, compliance, social, and governance data points delivered through a proprietary software platform. Ethisphere also honors superior integrity programs through World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition, brings together a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), and advances ethical business practices through the Global Ethics Summit, Ethisphere Magazine and the Ethicast podcast.

For more information, visit https://ethisphere.com.

This report draws on two core data sources from Ethisphere’s global research and benchmarking efforts:

2025 World’s Most Ethical Companies^®

Insights from honorees recognized for their commitment to integrity, ethics, and strong governance. This data reflects leading practices across industries and regions, gathered through Ethisphere’s Ethics Quotient® framework, which evaluates companies on areas including culture, compliance, governance, and leadership. The data in this report consists of 136 organizations’ responses to 240+ questions. Learn about The World’s Most Ethical Companies here.

Findings from Ethisphere’s Ethical Culture Assessment, a proprietary software that captures employee perceptions on key dimensions of ethical culture. This reflects employees' perspectives and provides a rich view into speak-up culture, trust, perceptions of fairness, and leadership credibility. The data in this report consists of 1.2 Million+ employees, 41.5M data points, across 58 countries, and 98 organizations. Learn about Ethisphere's Culture services here.

Ethical Culture Data

Measure Your Culture

Learn if you have a speak-up culture of compliance and where you can make improvements.

START HERE:

Learn about the 8 Pillars of an Ethical Culture

Check out this guide to understand elements of a robust culture.

BELA MEMBERS:

Talk with your Engagement Director about your Ethical Culture Accelerator Assessment benefit.

Engage Leadership

Share the benefits of an ethical culture and provide ways to drive positive change.

START HERE:

Ethicast: How Do I Drive Tone at the Top in Today's Business Environment?

Hear how to get leaders involved in fostering a values-based culture. Watch now.

BELA MEMBERS:

Check out the Ethical Leadership Masterclass featuring Penn State's Dr. Linda K. Treviño, in the BELA Member Hub.

Leverage Data

Learn if you have a speak-up culture of compliance.

START HERE:

Ethicast: How to Supercharge Your Culture With Assessment Data

Check out this Ethicast to learn how to leverage survey and other data.

BELA MEMBERS:

In this Masterclass series, learn how to leverage cross-organization data to analyze your ethical culture .

Focus on Managers

Address expectations, including monitoring and reporting.

START HERE:

Supporting Managers as Models

Learn how Best Buy supports managers as models of behavior. Read now.

BELA MEMBERS:

Check out the Ethical Leadership Guide for Managers contributed by BELA Member FedEx.

Tell Stories

Fast track your program with peer learnings.

START HERE:

Ethicast: Storytelling is Your Ethics Superpower

Learn how Eaton leverages storytelling to engage leadership and employees with authenticity here.

BELA MEMBERS:

Visit the BELA Member Hub and access 300+ program examples contributed by peer companies.