Recognition honors those who operate with purpose and incorporate integrity into their ecosystems.

ROLLING MEADOWS, Ill., Feb. 12, 2018 /PRNewswire/ -- Gallagher is honored to have once again been recognized by the Ethisphere^® Institute, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies^®.

Gallagher has been recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies^® every year since 2012 and is the only insurance broker to have received this honor, underscoring the company's ongoing commitment to leading with integrity and prioritizing ethical business practices.

In 2018, 135 honorees were recognized, spanning 23 countries and 57 industries. The twelfth class of honorees had record levels of involvement with their stakeholders and their communities around the world. Measuring and improving culture, leading authentically and committing to transparency, diversity and inclusion were all priorities for honorees.

"From our company's inception in 1927, Gallagher has always been committed to maintaining the highest standards of moral and ethical behavior," said J. Patrick Gallagher, Jr., Chairman, President and CEO. "Operating with integrity is a critical component of the Gallagher culture and we are truly honored to again be recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies^® in 2018."

"We view the World's Most Ethical Companies^® award as a great recognition for our company. More importantly, we value Ethisphere's research into highly ethical operations and we use that information to drive our ongoing improvement efforts," added Thomas J. Tropp, Corporate Vice President – Ethics and Sustainability for Gallagher.

"While the discourse around the world changed profoundly in 2017, a stronger voice emerged. Global corporations operating with a common rule of law are now society's strongest force to improve the human condition. This year we saw companies increasingly finding their voice. The World's Most Ethical Companies in particular continued to show exemplary leadership," explained Ethisphere's CEO, Timothy Erblich. "I congratulate everyone at Gallagher for being recognized as one of the World's Most Ethical Companies."

Ethics & Performance
Once again, the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies have proven that operating with integrity leads to greater financial performance. Research has found that, when indexed, listed World's Most Ethical Companies outperformed the U.S. Large Cap Index over five years by 10.72 percent and over three years by 4.88 percent. Ethisphere refers to this as the Ethics Premium.

Methodology & Scoring
The World's Most Ethical Companies assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute'sEthics Quotient^® (EQ) framework, which offers a quantitative way to assess a company's performance in an objective, consistent and standardized manner. 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). All companies that participate in the assessment process receive their scores, providing them with valuable insights into how they stack up against leading organizations.

­­Honorees
The full list of the 2018 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees

Best practices and insights from the 2018 honorees will be released in a report and webcast in March and April of this year. Sign up to receive the report.

About Gallagher
Gallagher, a global insurance brokerage, risk management and consulting services firm, is headquartered in Rolling Meadows, Illinois.  The company has operations in 33 countries and offers client service capabilities in more than 150 countries around the world through a network of correspondent brokers and consultants.

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 and measure and improve culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at: https://ethisphere.com.

Gallagher Media Contact
Linda J. Collins
630.285.4009
linda_collins@ajg.com

Ethisphere Media Contact
Clea Nabozny
480.397.2658
clea.nabozny@ethisphere.com

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SOURCE Gallagher