Blue Shield of California Named One of the World's Most Ethical Companies for Third Straight Year

SAN FRANCISCO, March 20, 2014 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Blue Shield of California was recognized by the Ethisphere Institute as a World's Most Ethical Company for the third year in a row.

Ethisphere is an independent research center that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and governance.

The recognition reflects the not-for-profit health plan's strong culture of ethical behavior and integrity, which is reinforced by a robust Corporate Compliance program. The company is also an active supporter of charitable and volunteer activities, and has contributed more than $200 million to the Blue Shield of California Foundation since 2005.

"We are honored to receive this prestigious award and view it as a reflection of the company's and our employees' foundational commitment to conducting business with integrity," said K.C. Turan, Blue Shield's Chief Compliance & Ethics Officer.

The World's Most Ethical Company award is given based on the Ethisphere Institute's Ethics Quotient™ framework, which offers an objective, consistent and standardized assessment of an organization's performance. Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (25%), reputation, leadership and innovation (20%), governance (10%), corporate citizenship and responsibility (25%) and culture of ethics (20%).

­­Additional information about Ethisphere, the World's Most Ethical ranking methodology and the full list of the 2014 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/wme-honorees/.

Background on Blue Shield of California
Blue Shield of California, an independent member of the Blue Cross Blue Shield Association, is a not-for-profit health plan with 3.3 million members, 5,000 employees and $10.8 billion in annual revenue. Founded in 1939 and headquartered in San Francisco, Blue Shield of California provides health, life, dental, vision, and Medicare insurance and health care service plans in California. Blue Shield of California was named one of the World's Most Ethical Companies in 2012, 2013 and 2014. Since 2005, the company has contributed more than $200 million to the Blue Shield of California Foundation, one of BusinessWeek's most generous corporate foundations. Contact your local agent or broker about Blue Shield of California products and services, or visit www.blueshieldca.com

Background on the Ethisphere Institute
The Ethisphere® Institute is an independent center of research, best practices and thought leadership that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and governance and enables organizations to improve compliance, mitigate risk, and enhance relationships with employees, business partners, investors and the broad regulatory community. Ethisphere evaluates and benchmarks compliance and governance programs, honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies® recognition program and publishes Ethisphere Magazine. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs that include: Ethics Inside® Certification, Compliance Leader Verification™ and Anti-Corruption Program Verification™. More information about Ethisphere can be found at: www.ethisphere.com.

CONTACT:
Blue Shield of California
Sean Barry
Corporate Communications
(415) 229-5627
[email protected]

SOURCE Blue Shield of California