DALLAS, Feb. 26, 2019 /PRNewswire/ -- Kimberly-Clark Corporation today announced its recognition as one of the "World's Most Ethical Companies" according to today's announcement from Ethisphere Institute, the independent center of research that promotes best practices in corporate ethics and governance.

"At Kimberly-Clark, everything we do is motivated by our vision to lead the world in essentials for a better life. This vision inspires the products we make and how we operate our business," said Jeff Melucci, Kimberly-Clark's General Counsel.

"Being named to this list reflects the commitment of our employees around the world to our values of accountability and authenticity," said Kurt Drake, Kimberly-Clark's Chief Ethics & Compliance Officer.

Ethisphere Institute's recognition also reinforces the valuable link between ethics, compliance and financial performance. A comparison of the 2019 publicly traded "World's Most Ethical Companies" to the Large Cap Index found that companies on this year's list outperformed the large cap sector over five years by 14.4 percent and over three years by 10.5 percent.

The World's Most Ethical Companies assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute's Ethics Quotient® (EQ) framework, which offers a quantitative way to assess a company's performance in an objective, consistent and standardized manner. The information collected provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics.

Scores are generated in five key categories: ethics and compliance program (35 percent), corporate citizenship and responsibility (20 percent), culture of ethics (20 percent), governance (15 percent) and leadership, innovation and reputation (10 percent). All participating companies receive their scores, providing them with valuable insights into how they stack up against leading organizations.

The full list of the 2019 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at:
https://www.worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees.

Learn more about Kimberly-Clark's commitment to ethics and compliance at:
kimberly-clark.com/responsibility

About Ethisphere
The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights from our Ethics Quotient and works with the world's largest companies to enhance culture capital with the insights from our culture assessment data set, which is grounded in our 8 Pillars of Ethical Culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at https://ethisphere.com.

About Kimberly-Clark
Kimberly-Clark (NYSE: KMB) and its trusted brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 175 countries. Fueled by ingenuity, creativity, and an understanding of people's most essential needs, we create products that help individuals experience more of what's important to them. Our portfolio of brands, including Huggies, Kleenex, Scott, Kotex, Cottonelle, Poise, Depend, Andrex, Pull-Ups, GoodNites, Intimus, Neve, Plenitud, Viva and WypAll, hold No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in 80 countries. We use sustainable practices that support a healthy planet, build strong communities, and ensure our business thrives for decades to come. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the company's 147-year history of innovation, visit kimberly-clark.com or follow us on Facebook or Twitter.

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SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation