Thrivent Financial for Lutherans has been selected as one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” for 2012 by the Ethisphere Institute. Thrivent Financial was named to the prestigious list as a result of its leadership in promoting ethical business standards as well as for introducing innovative ideas to benefit the public.

“Being named as one of the world’s most ethical companies is a great honor for our organization,” said Teresa Rasmussen, senior vice president, general counsel and secretary for Thrivent Financial. “As a fraternal, faith-based organization, we strive to maintain the highest standards of ethics and integrity in everything we do and this recognition helps validate our efforts.”

The 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. It announced its sixth-annual selection of the World’s Most Ethical Companies at an honoree dinner on March 15 attended by representatives of Thrivent Financial.

“Each year the competition for World’s Most Ethical Companies intensifies as the number of nominations submitted for consideration grows,” said Alex Brigham, executive director of Ethisphere. “This year’s winners know that a strong ethics program is a key component to a successful business model, and they continue to scrutinize their ethical standards to keep up with an ever-changing regulatory environment.”

A record number of nominations and applications this year is evidence of both the award’s growing prominence and companies’ desire to be acknowledged for their high ethical standards. The 2012 list is the largest since the award’s inception in 2007.

Through in-depth research and a multi-step analysis, Ethisphere reviewed nominations from companies in more than 100 countries and 36 industries. 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 2012 World’s Most Ethical Companies at http://ethisphere.com/wme. The World’s Most Ethical Companies will also be featured in the Q1 issue of the quarterly magazine Ethisphere.