MERRILLVILLE, Ind., March 20, 2014 /PRNewswire/ --NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI) has been designated as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute for the third consecutive year. Ethisphere is a leading international organization dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability.
"We don't take this distinction for granted," NiSource President and Chief Executive Officer Robert C. Skaggs Jr. said. "This is a significant achievement, recognizing our commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility."
NiSource is one of 143 companies from 30 different countries recognized by Ethisphere for leadership in promoting ethical business standards as measured by four specific categories: Ethics and Compliance Programs; Reputation, Leadership and Innovation; Governance; and Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility.
"The entire community of World's Most Ethical Companies believe that customers, employees, investors and regulators place a high premium on trust and that ethics and good governance are key in earning it," said Ethisphere's Chief Executive Officer Timothy Erblich. "NiSource joins an exclusive community committed to driving performance through leading business practices. We congratulate everyone at NiSource for this extraordinary achievement."
The NiSource Code of Business Conduct is the foundation of the NiSource Ethics and Compliance Program, and is designed to provide guidance on how to apply the company's Core Values and Principles to maintain high standards of business conduct. NiSource's Code of Business Conduct is available at www.nisource.com/ethics.
More on NiSource's commitment to ethics and compliance, as well as the company's overall corporate sustainability priorities, can be found in the 2012 Sustainability Report available at www.nisource.com/sustainability. The 2013 report will be published later this year.
Ethisphere's Selection Process
The methodology for the World's Most Ethical Companies 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.
Read about the methodology and view the complete list of the 2014 World's Most Ethical Companies at http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical. The World's Most Ethical Companies will also be featured in the first quarter 2014 issue of the quarterly magazine Ethisphere.
About NiSource:
NiSource Inc. (NYSE: NI), based in Merrillville, Ind., is a Fortune 500 company engaged in natural gas transmission, storage and distribution, as well as electric generation, transmission and distribution. Designated as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies since 2012, NiSource operating companies deliver energy to 3.8 million customers located within the high-demand energy corridor stretching from the Gulf Coast through the Midwest to New England. Information about NiSource and its subsidiaries is available at www.nisource.com. NI-F
About Ethisphere Institute:
The Ethisphere® Institute is an independent center of research, best practices and thought leadership that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and governance and enables organizations to improve compliance, mitigate risk, and enhance relationships with employees, business partners, investors and the broad regulatory community. Ethisphere evaluates and benchmarks compliance and governance programs, honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies® recognition program and publishes Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs that include: Ethics Inside® Certification, Compliance Leader Verification' and Anti-Corruption Program Verification'. More information about Ethisphere can be found at: www.ethisphere.com.
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SOURCE NiSource Inc.
