Press Release – All Good Organics

A small Kiwi company with 10 employees operating out of a Grey Lynn shed has been named one of the Worlds Most Ethical (WME) Companies by the New York-based Ethisphere Institute.
Small Kiwi Company Named One of World’s Most Ethical

A small Kiwi company with 10 employees operating out of a Grey Lynn shed has been named one of the World’s Most Ethical (WME) Companies by the New York-based Ethisphere® Institute.

All Good Organics is the first and only New Zealand company to make the coveted international list, which has been published annually since 2007.

Ethisphere reviewed nominations from companies in more than 100 countries and 36 industries to compile the list of World’s Most Ethical (WME) companies 2013, which recognises companies that outperform industry peers when it comes to ethical behavior.

The 2013 WME companies are those that truly embrace ethical business practice and demonstrate industry leadership, forcing peers to follow suit or fall behind. 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.

All Good Organics sits next to some well-recognised names in ethical business who have been previously recognised on the WME list, such as the UK’s Marks & Spencer and Wholefoods and Patagonia in the US.

The small 100% Kiwi-owned company put Fairtrade bananas on the map in New Zealand when they started importing the country’s first Fairtrade fruit just three years ago. All Good Organics has managed to grasp a 5% share of the competitive banana market in New Zealand, taking on some of the world’s biggest fruit brands – who have a notorious track record of poor ethical performance.

In addition to Fairtrade fruit, All Good have recently launched an ethical soft drink, the Southern Hemisphere’s first, Fairtrade organic Karma Cola. The cola is made with real cola nut sourced from farmers in Sierra Leone with a contribution from the sale of every bottle going back to the village to support sustainable agriculture and community initiatives, as well as supporting small producers in Paraguay and Papua New Guinea. They also launched a second soft drink, a Fairtrade organic Ginger Ale called Gingerella, just last week.

This year a record number of nominations and applications were received for the World’s Most Ethical Companies’, highlighting growing recognition by various stakeholder groups and companies’ desire to be recognized for their integrity standards and ethical cultures. The 2013 list is the largest list since the award’s inception seven years ago, according to Ethisphere Executive Director Alex Brigham.

“Not only did more companies apply for the World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition this year than any year in the past, which demonstrates that ethical activity is an important part of many of these companies’ business models, but we are also seeing more companies be proactive and create new initiatives that expand ethics programs and cultures across entire industries, such as industry-based ethics associations and other activities,” said Mr Brigham, Executive Director of Ethisphere.

“We are excited to see the 2013 World’s Most Ethical Companies take these leadership positions, and embrace the correlation between ethical behavior and improved financial performance.”

All Good was founded by three Kiwi entrepreneurs, Chris Morrison founder of Phoenix Organics, his brother Matt Morrison and former 42-below Marketing Director Simon Coley who met at a beach in West Auckland and decided they wanted to create a company that would raise the bar for ethical and sustainable in business.

Chris Morrison Director of All Good Organics and Sustainable Business Network Sustainable Champion 2012 said the company was absolutely blown away to be recognised as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.

“We started this business to help support small-famers in developing nations whether it be our neighbours in the Pacific, banana growers in Ecuador or cola nut farmers in West Africa,” he said. “At All Good believe we can’t ignore the consequences humane or environmental, of growing the food we eat and enjoy even though it may happen a long way from New Zealand.

“An ethical approach is woven into every aspect of what we do, it’s not just part of a policy or CSR strategy. It hasn’t been an easy journey, especially when competitors have tried to jump on the ethical bandwagon with self-certification. But being recogonised like this helps to cement that we’re on the right track. New Zealand has a whole range of emerging small ethical businesses that show you can have ethical, sustainable approach and be financially successful too – it’s the new face of business and we’re proud to be highlighting this country on a world stage.”

The list is compiled through in-depth research and a multi-step analysis. 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 2013 World’s Most Ethical Companies at http://ethisphere.com/wme. The World’s Most Ethical Companies list will also be featured in the 2013 Quarter 1 issue of Ethisphere Magazine.
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