Schnitzer among World’s Most Ethical Companies

Schnitzer Steel Industries Inc., headquartered in Portland, Oregon, has been recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as a 2017 World’s Most Ethical Company.

Recognition honors those companies that lead with integrity and align principle with action, says Ethisphere Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. 

This is the third consecutive year Schnitzer has been recognized for this honor. Schnitzer remains the only U.S. metals recycling company to be among the honorees.

For 2017, the 124 honorees span five continents, 19 countries and 52 industry sectors. Among the 2017 list are 13 11-time honorees and eight first-time honorees. The full list can be accessed here. 

“We are honored to once again be selected by Ethisphere as a World’s Most Ethical Company,” says Tamara Lundgren, president and CEO of Schnitzer. “This award recognizes our commitment to act with integrity and respect, enabling us to do business around the world, serving the interests of our customers, suppliers, partners, employees and shareholders.”

Callie Pappas, vice president and chief compliance officer for Schnitzer, adds, “We are proud to be included among an elite group of companies who serve as leaders in ethics and corporate citizenship and responsibility. We are committed to maintaining a best-in-class ethics and compliance program based on doing the right thing every time. We are proud to have been named a World’s Most Ethical Company for the third consecutive year.”

Since 2007, Ethisphere has honored those companies that recognize their role in society to influence and drive positive change, consider the impact of their actions on their employees, investors, customers and other key stakeholders and use their values and culture as an underpinning to the decisions they make every day.

“Over the last 11 years we have seen the shift in societal expectations, constant redefinition of laws and regulations and the geopolitical climate,” says Ethisphere CEO Timothy Erblich. “We have also seen how companies honored as the World’s Most Ethical respond to these challenges. They invest in their local communities around the world, embrace strategies of diversity and inclusion, and focus on sustainability as a long-term business advantage. Congratulations to everyone at Schnitzer for being recognized as a World’s Most Ethical Company.”

The World’s Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient framework, which offers a quantitative way to assess a company’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.

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) and provided to all companies who participate in the process.

Schnitzer Steel Industries is one of the largest manufacturers and exporters of recycled metal products in the United States with operating facilities located in 23 states, Puerto Rico and Western Canada. Schnitzer has seven deep water export facilities located on the East Coast and West Coast, as well as in Hawaii and Puerto Rico. The company’s integrated operating platform also includes auto parts stores with approximately 5 million annual retail visits. The company’s steel manufacturing business produces finished steel products, including rebar, wire rod and other specialty products. Schnitzer began operations in 1906 in Portland, Oregon.

The Ethisphere Institute, Scottsdale, Arizona, says it has expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA) and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with the publication of Ethisphere Magazine.