Friday, March 26, 2010

Ethisphere: Florida Power and Light honored for "ethical leadership"? ... by gimleteye

According to an industry press release earlier this week, "For the fourth straight year, FPL Group Inc. - one of the largest wind developers in the U.S. - has been named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. According to Ethisphere, this year's list recognizes winning companies' "outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility." Wow. Guess Ethisphere operates in the ether-sphere.

FPL's efforts in 2009 to corrupt the Public Service Commission in Florida did not rise to disqualification nor did its long record of ethically challenged behavior with respect to zoning and permitting of power plants in Florida. A specific example in Miami-Dade: the refusal by FPL to live up to the terms of its agreement at Turkey Point to monitor possible groundwater contamination from existing nuclear reactors. I suppose, though, that to be able to afford doing ethically responsible things, and win awards, that a corporation has to do unethical things.

A friend and consultant to big businesses wrote me: "Bad companies use this crap to paint the whore. I had thought Ethisphere was better than this. For shame." My friend was shocked. He went to the Ethisphere website and wrote in the comment section:

a. They have a definition of "ethical" that is unique in the world
b. They have not done their homework
c. They are partway through the metamorphosis from prostitute to pimp for this client.

Click, 'read more', for the full press release and our archive tab, "Florida Power and Light", for perspectives from the point of view of simple-minded ratepayers.


FPL Group Honored By Ethisphere Institute
in News Departments > FYI
by NAW Staff on Thursday 25 March 2010


For the fourth straight year, FPL Group Inc. - one of the largest wind developers in the U.S. - has been named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute. According to Ethisphere, this year's list recognizes winning companies' "outstanding commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility."

"FPL Group's promotion of a sound ethical environment shines within its industry and shows a clear understanding that operating under the highest standards for business behavior goes beyond goodwill and 'lip-service,' and is intimately linked to performance and profitability," says Alex Brigham, executive director of the Ethisphere Institute.

Ethisphere reviewed thousands of nominations from companies in more than 100 countries and dozens of industries to determine the winners. Of the 100 firms named to the World's Most Ethical Companies list this year, only four were from the U.S. energy and utility sector. In addition, FPL Group is one of 36 companies worldwide to receive the Ethisphere honor all four years.

The Ethisphere Institute is a think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability. Other 2010 winners include American Express, General Electric, Google, Nike, Starbucks, UPS, Whole Foods Market and Xerox.

4 comments:

Anonymous said...

Saying FPL is ethical is like saying a porn star is a virgin.

Anonymous said...

What about the cancer cluster that they created here in Homestead? One of my neighbors children died this month of brain cancer. He was 10. With no family history.
He isn't the first and I 'm sure he won't be the last. thank you FP&L.

Gimleteye said...

EOM would be interested in ANY Homestead residents who would like to discuss their observations and stories about cancer rates in neighborhoods. Email us, please.

Anonymous said...

I live in Homestead.(Keys Gate) Two of my neighbors have cancer and another one is in the process of being dignosed. That 10 year old boy who died lived within a mile of my neighborhood. We are real upset about the whole thing. It just isn't right.