Who are the world’s most ethical companies?

The Ethisphere Institute, an international think-tank focused on the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability has published their 6^th annual list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.

Ethisphere evaluated 5,000 global companies, including all members of the Standard & Poor's 500 index, on reputation, corporate citizenship, culture and other qualities. There are 145 companies named on this year’s list – the most ever - including 53 new and returning honorees.

The list includes six companies in the computer software category: Adobe Systems, Microsoft, Salesforce.com, Symantec Corporation, Teradata Corporation, and Wipro Ltd; and two companies in the computer hardware category: Hitachi Data Systems and Intel Corporation.

According to Ethisphere, each 2012 honoree was chosen for promoting ethical business standards and practices by exceeding legal minimums for compliance, introducing innovative ideas that benefit the public and forcing their competitors to follow suit.

Ethisphere will celebrate the winning companies at a dinner in New York keynoted by former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine K. Albright.

You can find the full list on Ethisphere’s web site and check out more coverage on Forbes.