Kellogg Company Named One Of The 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies® By The Ethisphere Institute For The 10th Time

BATTLE CREEK, Mich., Feb. 14, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Kellogg Company has been recognized as one of the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. 

This marks the 10th year Kellogg has been recognized in the Food, Beverage and Agriculture category, and the Company is one of only six honorees in the category this year – underscoring Kellogg's commitment to leading with integrity and prioritizing ethical business practices. 

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. 

"At Kellogg, we are honored to receive this award in recognition of our ongoing commitment to being an ethical business," said Steve Cahillane, CEO, Kellogg Company. "We have always focused on doing business the right way, using our K Values and our Global Code of Ethics to guide us with integrity and leadership on our path to success." 

"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's CEO, Timothy Erblich. "I congratulate everyone at Kellogg for being recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies." 

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. 

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. 

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 Kellogg Company 

At Kellogg Company (NYSE: K), we are driven to enrich and delight the world through foods and brands that matter. With 2016 sales of more than $13 billion, Kellogg is the world's leading cereal company; second largest producer of cookies and crackers; a leading producer of savory snacks; and a leading North American frozen foods company.  Every day, our well-loved brands nourish families so they can flourish and thrive. These brands include Kellogg's®, Keebler®, Special K®, Pringles®, Kellogg's Frosted Flakes®, Pop-Tarts®, Kellogg's Corn Flakes®, Rice Krispies®, Kashi®, Cheez-It®, Eggo®, Coco Pops®, Mini-Wheats®, and many more. To learn more about our responsible business leadership, foods that delight and how we strive to make a difference in our communities around the world, visit www.kelloggcompany.com. 

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.