Ecolab Named One of the World's Most Ethical Companies for Eleventh Consecutive Year by Ethisphere Institute

(Business Wire) Ecolab Inc., the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources, has again been recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies by the Ethisphere Institute, the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices. This is Ecolab’s eleventh consecutive year on the World’s Most Ethical Companies list.

Ethisphere’s World’s Most Ethical Companies list recognizes companies who exemplify transparency, integrity, ethics and compliance in their business practices. Ecolab has been named to the World’s Most Ethical Companies list every year since the list’s inception in 2007.

“Ecolab is a team of 48,000 associates with a shared commitment to operate ethically and responsibly as we work to make the world cleaner, safer and healthier,” said Ecolab Chairman and CEO Douglas M. Baker, Jr. “We are honored to again be recognized as one of the world’s most ethical companies.”

The World's Most Ethical Company assessment is based upon the Ethisphere Institute's Ethics Quotient ^® (EQ) framework. Designed to assess an organization's performance in an objective, consistent and standardized way, the information collected through the EQ framework provides a comprehensive sampling of definitive criteria of core competencies, rather than all aspects of corporate governance, risk, sustainability, compliance and ethics. The framework and methodology is determined, vetted and refined by the expert advice and insights gleaned from Ethisphere's network of thought leaders and from the World's Most Ethical Company Methodology Advisory Panel.

Assessment 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). The full list of the 2017 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at worldsmostethicalcompanies.ethisphere.com/honorees.

About Ecolab
A trusted partner at more than one million customer locations, Ecolab (ECL) is the global leader in water, hygiene and energy technologies and services that protect people and vital resources. With 2016 sales of $13 billion and 48,000 associates, Ecolab delivers comprehensive solutions and on-site service to promote safe food, maintain clean environments, optimize water and energy use and improve operational efficiencies for customers in the food, healthcare, energy, hospitality and industrial markets in more than 170 countries around the world. For more Ecolab news and information, visit www.ecolab.com.

About the Ethisphere Institute
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 that help companies enhance corporate character. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World's Most Ethical Companies^® recognition program, provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), and showcases trends and best practices in ethics with the publication of Ethisphere Magazine and The World's Most Ethical Companies Executive Briefing. Ethisphere is also the leading provider of independent verification of corporate ethics and compliance programs. More information about Ethisphere can be found at: ethisphere.com.

(ECL-C)

Ecolab Inc.
Roman Blahoski, 651-250-4385
MediaRelations@Ecolab.com