Zurich, Switzerland, Mar. 9, 2015 - ABB, the power and automation technology group, has been named by the Ethisphere Institute, an independent research center promoting best practices in corporate ethics and governance, to its 2015 list of the world's most ethical companies. This is the third consecutive year that ABB has been recognized by the Institute. The World's Most Ethical Companies designation recognizes those organizations that have had a material impact on the way business is conducted by fostering a culture of ethics and transparency at every level of the company. "We have made tremendous progress in integrity and the award shows our commitment to a robust and engaging integrity program, but being awarded the honor for the third year in a row is not a given, nor can we take it for granted," said Chief Executive Officer, Ulrich Spiesshofer. "It is the result of a relentless dedication to integrity by all employees around the world. This is the achievement of our employees, and it shows that we are taking our company and integrity to the next level." "I'd like to thank all employees for their commitment to integrity, because they are the ones who have made it possible to receive the distinction this year, and any years previously," said Diane de Saint Victor, ABB General Counsel and member of the Executive Committee. "It feels good to be a part of this year's list of honorees, and it feels good to be part of a company that is known in the marketplace as an ethical one." The World's Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute's Ethics Quotient™ (EQ) framework developed over years of research to provide a means to assess an organization's performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. 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. The EQ framework and methodology is determined, vetted and refined by the expert advice and insights gleaned from Ethisphere's network of thought leaders and from the World's Most EthicalCompany Methodology Advisory Panel. "The World's Most Ethical Companies embrace the correlation between ethical business practice and improved company performance. These companies use ethics as a means to further define their industry leadership and understand that creating an ethical culture and earning the World's Most Ethical Companies recognition involves more than just an outward facing message or a handful of senior executives saying the right thing," said Ethisphere's Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Erblich. "Earning this recognition involves the collective action of a global workforce from the top down. We congratulate everyone at ABB for this extraordinary achievement."
Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20%), culture of ethics (20%), governance (15%) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10%). The full list of the 2015 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/wme-honorees/. ABB (www.abb.com) is a leader in power and automation technologies that enable utility, industry, and transport and infrastructure customers to improve their performance while lowering environmental impact. The ABB Group of companies operates in roughly 100 countries and employs about 140,000 people worldwide.

The research-based Ethisphere Institute is a leading international think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability. Ethisphere Magazine, which publishes the globally recognized World's Most Ethical Companies Ranking, is the quarterly publication of the Institute. Ethisphere provides the only third-party verifications of compliance programs and ethical cultures that include: Ethics Inside® Certification, Compliance Leader Verification™ and Anti-Corruption Program Verification. More information on the Ethisphere Institute, including ranking projects and membership, can be found at http://www.ethisphere.com.

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