South San Francisco, CA March 14, 2023 Submitted by Karl Sonkin, Kaiser Permanente
The recognition honors organizations that demonstrate business integrity through best-in-class ethics, compliance, and governance practices
Kaiser Permanente is again one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, according to Ethisphere Institute, an independent group that monitors business ethics.
Companies that receive the World’s Most Ethical Company designation work to improve their communities. They also foster and grow empowered employees while modeling a workplace where ethics and a strong sense of purpose lead the way.
“Kaiser Permanente is committed to improving access to care, having a diverse workforce reflective of our communities, and addressing the inequities, structural racism, and injustices that marginalize our most vulnerable populations,” said Diane Ott, vice president, ethics and compliance for Kaiser Permanente’s Northern California region. “This recognition highlights our on-going efforts to improve the health and well-being of our members, patients, and the communities we serve.”
Some of those efforts in Northern California include:
- Prioritizing communities that have endured decades of underinvestment. Kaiser Permanente is investing in programs that will close the racial wealth gap by creating economic opportunity for underrepresented communities and supporting programs that focus on addressing racism and trauma.
- In 2022, Kaiser Permanente awarded $1.6 million in grants to 20 Northern California agencies for child and family vaccination outreach in areas with lower vaccination rates and to ensure the equitable distribution of the vaccine across communities of color. It is part of a larger $12 million investment in vaccine equity the organization has made to date.
- We’ve invested in diverse small businesses and programs that provide quality jobs and prepare young people for college and careers. We also increased our purchase of goods and services from businesses owned by women, people of color, and other underrepresented groups.
- Kaiser Permanente is partnering with homeless service providers, affordable housing organizations, researchers, homeless advocates, and city and county officials, working together to build a more robust and coordinated homeless response system to improve the health of our communities.
- We have invested $30 million through the Kaiser Permanente Mental Health Scholars Academy, to expand the pipeline for new, culturally diverse mental health clinicians across California. This includes offering eligible Kaiser Permanente employees the opportunity to pursue masters and doctorate degrees in mental health fields through our own and affiliated degree programs, with a focus on increasing diversity and representation in the mental health workforce. This will help impact communities where demand for services exceeds the availability of highly qualified mental health professionals.
Best-in-class practices
Kaiser Permanente is one of 135 honorees in 19 countries being recognized. In addition, Kaiser Permanente is one of only 2 organizations recognized in the Integrated Healthcare System category for 2023.
Honorees are scored based on an evaluation of their ethics and compliance program, culture of ethics, corporate citizenship and responsibility, governance, and leadership and reputation.
“Ethics matters. Organizations that commit to business integrity through robust programs and practices not only elevate standards and expectations for all, but also have better long-term performance,” said Ethisphere CEO, Erica Salmon Byrne. “We continue to be inspired by the World’s Most Ethical Companies honorees and their dedication to making real impact for their stakeholders and displaying exemplary values-based leadership. Congratulations to Kaiser Permanente for earning a place in the World’s Most Ethical Companies community.”