Safeway Named Among World's Most Ethical Companies
Safeway Inc. has been named one of the 2013 World's Most Ethical Companies (WME) by the Ethisphere Institute for its commitment to maintaining superior business practices.
"We are honored to be included in this prestigious list and humbled to be in the company of the most admired and principled businesses in the world," said Larree Renda, Safeway EVP and chair of the Safeway Foundation. "Safeway, at all times, strives to be an exemplary corporate citizen and a trusted partner. It is a commitment we make every day to our employees, business partners and the many communities we serve throughout North America."
The Ethisphere Institute is a think tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability. For the past seven years, it has selected companies from throughout the world for its prestigious WME list.
Safeway was selected from thousands of nominated companies representing more than 100 countries and 36 industries. In its announcement of this year's WME list, Ethisphere Institute said that the recognized companies "go beyond making statements about doing business 'ethically' and translate those words into action. WME honorees not only promote ethical business standards and practices internally, they exceed legal compliance minimums and shape future industry standards by introducing best practices today."
The methodology for the WME list includes reviewing codes of ethics, litigation and regulatory infraction histories; evaluating the investment in innovation and sustainable business practices; looking at activities designed to improve corporate citizenship; and studying nominations from senior executives, industry peers, suppliers and customers.
Safeway strives to be an industry leader in ethical business practices, environmental sustainability and effective community outreach. The company has repeatedly been named to the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, the Carbon Disclosure Project, the Newsweek's Green Rankings, and placed No. 1 on Greenpeace's Supermarket Seafood Sustainability Scorecard. Safeway upholds an operating philosophy that is rooted in corporate social responsibility and is focused on four key fundamentals: People, Products, Community and the Planet.
The complete list of the 2013 World's Most Ethical Companies is availabe online.
Pleasanton, Calif.-based Safeway Inc. operates 1,641 stores in the United States and western Canada.