34
The Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Inside® Certification
In today’s highly charged atmosphere of economic protestors and tightened corporate governance programs, a company’s ethics are more important than ever. People need to believe that not only are a company’s business practices sound, but also that the company follows a high standard of integrity. In fact, recent studies show that up to 75% of the value of an organization is based upon its intangible assets – with the most significant being ethics.
This is perhaps more true in health care than in many other fields. Health care is a field that affects the lives of every single person. High quality care, patient safety and the latest medical technology are of the utmost importance, but trust and integrity are the foundation for a patient’s peace of mind.
Similarly, those who work on behalf of those hospitals need to share a commitment to ethics and integrity. Group purchasing organizations work on behalf of hospitals to help them save money on supply expenses and, in turn, focus resources on providing high quality patient care.
The benefits of group purchasing are vital to a hospital’s ability to provide quality patient care while remaining financially viable. In fact, the recent study by Dr. Eugene S. Schneller, entitled, ‘The Value of Group Purchasing 2009: Meeting the Needs for Strategic Savings’, found that group purchasing organizations save each hospital an average of 10-18 percent compared with direct purchases from medical device companies. Knowing that group purchasing organizations are delivering quality service in an ethical manner means that the health care supply chain can remain resilient and vibrant.
Recently, Novation, a leading health care group purchasing organization, submitted its corporate governance and compliance programs for review.
Ethisphere’s highly-regarded Ethics Inside® Certified seal is the only independent verification of a company’s ethics and compliance program and practices. The certification is exclusively awarded to companies that can demonstrably prove a superior employee and leadership culture that promotes ethical business practices. Furthermore, such companies must have adequate compliance systems and programs to reasonably prevent compliance failures.
In the case of Novation, Ethisphere’s licensed credentialing partners reviewed hundreds of documents, evaluated programs and conducted multiple interviews with employees and other constituents. They looked at more than 100 separate criteria during the Ethics Inside® Certification process, including corporate citizenship and responsibility; overall compliance and ethics program; organizational health and culture of ethics; corporate governance; and regulatory history. No company is expected to excel in all criteria areas—yet the aggregate score must meet or exceed a level at which ethical behavior becomes the core expectation, fundamental compliance systems are in place, tone from the top is clear and the company’s actions bear unmistakable signs of good corporate citizenship.
Following this comprehensive review, Novation earned the coveted Ethics Inside® Certification. Being certified as “Ethics Inside®” means that an organization, whether public or private, cares about conducting business in an ethical and sustainable manner. In other words,
• Customers will want to do business with your company. • Talented employees are more willing to work for your company. • Other businesses feel comfort in partnering with your company. • Investors want to hold stock in your company. • Regulators (and potential judges and juries) will know that your organization is making a real effort to prevent compliance failures.
During the rigorous corporate credentialing process, exceptional governance systems and supply chain sustainability were two of the standout components of Novation’s Ethics Inside Certification.
Novation’s strong culture of ethics, robust compliance and ethics program, and solid governance systems were absolutely noteworthy. And, our credentialing team was impressed with Novation’s efforts in supply chain sustainability and oversight, including their best-practice vendor grievance and feedback process which other organizations should consider adopting.
Blog written by: Erica Salmon Byrne, Senior Vice President of Compliance Advisory Services and Assistant General Counsel for Corpedia, a licensed Ethisphere credentialing partner
About Ethisphere Institute 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™. The Institute’s premier membership group, the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance™, is a business ethics forum that includes more than 100 leading corporations, universities and institutions that collectively leverage their experience, expertise and innovative ways to address emerging compliance challenges. More information on the Ethisphere Institute, including ranking projects and membership, can be found at www.ethisphere.com.
35
36
37
38