2008 World´s Most Ethical Companies to Be Announced in June

The Ethisphere Institute, a think-tank dedicated to the research
and promotion of profitable best practices in governance, business
ethics, compliance and corporate responsibility, is now accepting
applications for the 2008 World´s Most Ethical Companies Ranking. The
rankings will be revealed at the Forbes and Ethisphere
joint-conference, "Driving Profit Through Ethical Leadership" on
Tuesday, June 3rd at the Rainbow Room in New York City, and will also
appear in the institute´s quarterly publication, Ethisphere Magazine.

"We are pleased to once again be able to highlight companies that
have strong institutional leadership and cultures committed to ethical
business," said Alex Brigham, executive director of the Ethisphere
Institute. "We are finding that these companies are continually
outperforming their competitors, showing that ethical practices
positively affect profit in our society."

Ethisphere researchers and analysts take into account over 80
individual variables in seven broad categories that make up a
company´s Ethics Quotient(TM) (EQ). Ethisphere analysis is based both
on the information provided by companies through the EQ survey, and
through Ethisphere´s rigorous research and verification methods.

The 2008 World´s Most Ethical Companies methodology committee is
comprised of leading attorneys and government officials, professors
and leaders who care about ethical and honest business practices.

Last year´s roster of World´s Most Ethical Companies included
Starbucks, Avaya, Kellogg´s, Nike, Sun Microsystems, IKEA, PepsiCo and
Novartis, among others.

"It´s notoriously difficult to evaluate ethics at the corporate
level; Ethisphere has identified the most important criteria for doing
so," said Prof. Thomas Donaldson, The Wharton School, University of
Pennsylvania.

For more information about the World´s Most Ethical Companies
Ranking or to nominate your company, visit
http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical-companies-rankings/. For
more information or to register for the Driving Profit Through Ethical
Leadership conference, visit
http://forbesconferences.com/?page=event&eventID=124.

About Ethisphere Institute

The research-based Ethisphere Institute and associated membership
group, the Ethisphere Council, are supported by more than 100
institutions and corporations, including Thomson West, the Practising
Law Institute, the National Association of Corporate Directors, the
Global Reporting Initiative, Corpedia, Deutsche Telekom, Time Warner,
Avaya and Kraft. Ethisphere Magazine is the quarterly publication of
the Institute.

The Ethisphere Institute publishes the globally-recognized annual
World Most Ethical Companies Ranking(TM) as well as the Government
Contractor Ethics Program Ranking(TM) and the upcoming Global
Anti-Corruption Quotient.