Press Release

GIA Designated a 2014 World’s Most Ethical Company

GIA Receives School of Excellence Award

Ethisphere Institute announces honorees

CARLSBAD, Calif. – March 20, 2014 – The Ethisphere® Institute has named GIA (Gemological Institute of America) as a 2014 World’s Most Ethical Company®. This is the second year in a row the 83-year old nonprofit Institute has received the designation, which recognizes its continued efforts to build and maintain a superior ethics and compliance program. GIA’s mission is to ensure the public trust in gems and jewelry through research discoveries, education, laboratory services and instrument development.
 
“We’re honored to be recognized by the Ethisphere Institute for the second consecutive year. This designation is truly a testament to the tremendous dedication of GIA staff to conduct every aspect of our global activities with the utmost integrity and according to the best principles of ethical business practice. Everything we do revolves around GIA’s public-benefit mission, and our compliance program is always a priority,” said Susan Jacques, GIA’s president and CEO.
 
“The entire community of World’s Most Ethical Companies believe that customers, employees, investors and regulators place a high premium on trust and that ethics and good governance are key in earning it,” said Ethisphere’s Chief  Executive Officer, Timothy Erblich. “GIA joins an exclusive community committed to driving performance through leading business practices. We congratulate everyone at GIA for this extraordinary achievement.”
 
To be included in the annual list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies, organizations must demonstrate an active role in promoting ethical business practices internally and exceeding legal compliance standards. The Ethisphere Institute is an independent research center dedicated to promoting best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability.
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Visit http://ethisphere.com/worlds-most-ethical/wme-honorees/ for more information about the 2014 World’s Most Ethical Companies.

About GIA
An independent nonprofit organization, GIA (Gemological Institute of America), established in 1931, is recognized as the world’s foremost authority in gemology. GIA invented the famous 4Cs of Color, Cut, Clarity and Carat Weight in the early 1950s and in 1953, created the International Diamond Grading System™ which, today, is recognized by virtually every professional jeweler in the world.
 
Through research, education, gemological laboratory services, and instrument development, the Institute is dedicated to ensuring the public trust in gems and jewelry by upholding the highest standards of integrity, academics, science, and professionalism. Visit www.gia.edu. 
 
About 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.