DENVER–(BUSINESS WIRE)–The Ethisphere Institute has spent a decade helping to define and advance ethical business practice standards, and has announced CH2M on its list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies for an eighth consecutive year.

Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies program honors companies that excel in three areas:

1) Promoting ethical business standards and practices internally; 2) Enabling managers and employees to make good choices; and 3) Shaping future standards today by pioneering innovative best practices.

“Our company was founded by a group of employees who put integrity and ethics at the center of our business—as our moral compass—and 70 years later, I couldn’t be more proud of our employees, for the way they demonstrate our founding principles, turning challenge to opportunity,” says CH2M Chairman and Chief Executive Officer Jacqueline Hinman. “Around the world, CH2Mers deliver smart, socially and sustainably inclusive solutions to enhance the lives of people everywhere.”

As an eight-year recipient, the award emphasizes CH2M’s commitment not only to leading ethical business practices that benefit clients and employees, but also to offering sustainable and socially responsible solutions that impact our lives and our planet in a positive way.

In the past year, CH2M achieved the following in service to clients and communities around the world:

Stewarding sustainability in operations and services:

• Eliminated nearly 90 tons of paper from our offices.
• Redirected 4,200+ tons of wastewater biosolids for beneficial reuse.
• Performed audits for Department of Defense clients at more than 2,300 buildings and identified cost-effective energy projects with potential annual savings exceeding $23 million, nearly 1 million MBTUs of energy, and 330 million gallons of water each year.
• Joined the Value of Water Coalition’s efforts to protect major city watersheds.
• Raised nearly $2 million for Water for People to provide clean water to communities in need.
• Partnered with The Nature Conservancy and World Business Council for Sustainable Development to deliver The Natural Infrastructure for Business Guide and 200+ projects strengthening the environmental and economic viability of coastal communities.
• Delivered water conservation, treatment, reuse and enrichment in several countries, earning CH2M water’s highest honor – the 2015 Stockholm Industry Water Award.
• Working toward a goal of 25 percent reduction in carbon footprint, for which we’ve been recognized by the White House and the U.S. EPA with a Climate Leadership Award.

Engagement, diversity & inclusion:

• Contributed $1 million+ via the CH2M Foundation for STEM education and community development.
• Strengthened leadership diversity with women and people of color comprising 31 and 14 percent of CH2M management respectively, versus industry averages (16 and 9 percent).
• Hosted a leadership summit to provide development opportunities for minorities.
• Engaged 25,000+ employees, suppliers and partners to make our workplaces and communities safer, cleaner and more inclusive.
• Supported Bridges to Prosperity to construct two bridges in Rwanda and one in Nicaragua for safe passage across dangerous rivers.

In light of these accomplishments, CH2M has been selected to receive the 2016 World Environmental Center Gold Medal Award, among the highest commendations of leadership in sustainable business and citizenship.

“We have firm support from our board, senior leaders and employees around the world working on complex projects who persistently look for opportunities to improve outcomes by doing the right thing,” says Chief Ethics and Compliance Officer William Brierly. “You don’t get this award without having a strong corporate culture of like-minded people focused on making the world a better place.”

The World’s Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient (EQ^TM) framework developed with years of research as a way to assess an organization’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. The information provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies to arrive at an EQ framework and methodology vetted and refined by expert advice and insights gleaned from Ethisphere’s network of thought leaders and the World’s Most Ethical Companies Methodology Advisory Panel.

Scores are generated in five key categories:

1. Ethics and compliance program – 35 percent.
2. Corporate citizenship and responsibility – 20 percent.
3. Culture of ethics – 20 percent.
4. Governance – 15 percent.
5. Leadership, innovation and reputation – 10 percent.

About CH2M

CH2M is the leading professional services firm delivering sustainable solutions to clients working on the world’s most complex challenges. CH2M’s ~25,000 people make a positive difference providing consulting, design, engineering and program management through delivery of vital infrastructure and resource developments for public- and private-sector clients. With more than $US5 billion in revenue, the firm operates from offices in 50 countries across five business segments: water; environmental and nuclear; transportation; oil, gas and chemical; and industrial and urban environments, including global events such as the 2012 London Olympics. Among many honors, CH2M in 2016 was selected to receive the World Environmental Center’s prestigious Gold Medal Award. The firm ranks among Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies; number-one in environmental consulting and program management according to Engineering News-Record; and among sustainability leaders by independent analyst Verdantix. In 2015, CH2M received the Stockholm International Water Institute’s highest Industry Water Award for pioneering water conservation and reuse technologies.

To learn more about the CH2M difference, interact with the company at www.ch2m.com; linkedin.com/company/ch2m; twitter.com/ch2m; facebook.com/ch2mhill; and search for jobs at ch2m.com/careers.

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. 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 and The World’s Most Ethical Companies Executive Briefing. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs. More information about Ethisphere can be found at Ethisphere.com.