Hershey Named as One of the World's Most Ethical Companies

HERSHEY, Pa., March 9, 2014 /3BL Media/ — The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY) announced today that it has been recognized as a 2015 World’s Most Ethical Company^® by the Ethisphere Institute.

The Hershey Company’s first appearance on the World’s Most Ethical Companies list underscores the company’s commitment to leading ethical business standards and practices ensuring long-term value to key stakeholders including customers, employees, suppliers, regulators and investors.  Hershey is one of only five global companies in the Food & Beverage category honored this year.

“Hershey is committed to bringing goodness to the world, whether it’s our iconic products or how we operate our business,” said J.P. Bilbrey, President and Chief Executive Officer, The Hershey Company. “Our longtime values are rooted in the belief that we can do well by doing good in society and we are honored that this core part of who we are as a company is being recognized.”

The World’s Most Ethical Companies designation recognizes those organizations that have had a material impact on the way business is conducted by fostering a culture of ethics and transparency at every level of the company.

Hershey has distinguished itself in recent years for its achievements in ethical and responsible business practices and corporate social responsibility. The company has recently received other recognition for its responsible practices:    

• Named to the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index  for the second consecutive year and the North America Index for the third consecutive year based on substantial progress in environmental sustainability and our ethical sourcing.
• Received the P3 Impact award honoring the best public-private partnership that has the greatest impact on improving communities and the world for its CocoaLink technology program for West Africa Cocoa Farmers.  The award is given by The University of Virginia Darden School of Business' Institute for Business in Society, Concordia, and the U.S. Department of State Secretary’s Office of Global Partnerships.
• Hershey’s CEO was recently named a 2014 Responsible CEO of the Year Award winner by Corporate Responsibility Magazine. 

“The World’s Most Ethical Companies embrace the correlation between ethical business practice and improved company performance. These companies use ethics as a means to further define their industry leadership and understand that creating an ethical culture and earning the World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition involves more than just an outward facing message or a handful of senior executives saying the right thing,” said Ethisphere’s Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Erblich. “Earning this recognition involves the collective action of a global workforce from the top down. We congratulate everyone at The Hershey Company for this extraordinary achievement.”

The Ethisphere Institute is a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. The World's Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute’s Ethics Quotient™ (EQ) framework developed over years of research to provide a means to assess an organization’s performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way. Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20%), culture of ethics (20%), governance (15%) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10%).

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The full list of the 2015 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/wme-honorees/.

About The Hershey Company

The Hershey Company (NYSE: HSY), headquartered in Hershey, Pa., is a global confectionery leader known for bringing goodness to the world through its chocolate, sweets, mints and other great-tasting snacks. Hershey has more than 22,000 employees around the world who work every day to deliver delicious, quality products. The company, which has more than 80 brands around the world that drive over $7.4 billion in annual revenues, includes such iconic brand names as Hershey's, Reese's, Hershey's Kisses, Jolly Rancher, Ice Breakers and Brookside. Hershey is focused on growing its presence in key international markets while continuing to build its competitive advantage in North America. Additionally, Hershey is expanding its portfolio into categories beyond confectionery, finding new ways to bring goodness to people everywhere.

At Hershey, goodness has always been about more than delicious products. For 120 years, Hershey has been committed to good business by operating fairly, ethically and sustainably to make a positive impact on society.  This means contributing to a better life for its employees, consumers, communities, and, ultimately, creating a bright future for children in need.  This commitment is exemplified by Milton Hershey School, established in 1909 by the company's founder and administered by Hershey Trust Company. The children who attend the school receive education, housing, and medical care — thriving as direct beneficiaries of The Hershey Company's success.

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: http://ethisphere.com.

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