20th annual recognition honors organizations committed to business integrity through robust ethics, compliance, and governance programs
Houston, Texas – March 18, 2026 – WM, North America's leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions, has been named one of the 2026 World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.
This is the 17th time WM has received this recognition and is on the 2026 list in the environmental services industry.
“Ethical leadership is the foundation of WM,” said Jim Fish, CEO, WM. “To continue being named to the Ethisphere list requires all our team members to make decisions every day that reflect integrity, accountability and respect for the communities and customers we serve.”
“Congratulations to WM for achieving recognition as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies®. As we mark the 20th class of honorees, this group continues to raise the bar for business integrity by embedding ethics into everyday decision-making and long-term strategy. Companies with strong ethics, compliance, and governance programs are built for better long-term performance,” said Erica Salmon Byrne, Ethisphere’s Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Chair.
Methodology & Scoring
The World’s Most Ethical Companies assessment is grounded in Ethisphere’s proprietary Ethics Quotient®, which requires companies to provide 240+ documented proof points on practices that support robust ethics and compliance, including: corporate governance; program structure & resourcing; written standards; training, awareness, & communication; risk assessment & auditing; investigations, enforcement, discipline & incentives; measurement of ethical culture; third-party risk management, and environmental & social impact.
That data undergoes further qualitative analysis by our panel of experts who spend thousands of hours vetting and evaluating each year’s group of applicants.
This process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify best-in-class ethics and compliance practices from organizations across industries and from around the world.
Honorees
To view the full list of this year’s honorees, please visit the World’s Most Ethical Companies website: https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees.
About WM
WM (WM.com) is North America's leading provider of comprehensive environmental solutions. Previously known as Waste Management and based in Houston, Texas, WM is driven by commitments to put people first and achieve success with integrity. The company, through its subsidiaries, provides collection, recycling and disposal services to millions of residential, commercial, industrial, medical and municipal customers throughout the U.S. and Canada. With innovative infrastructure and capabilities in recycling, organics and renewable energy, WM provides environmental solutions to and collaborates with its customers in helping them pursue their sustainability goals. In North America, WM has the largest disposal network and collection fleet, is the largest recycler and is a leader in beneficial use of landfill gas, with a growing network of renewable natural gas plants and the most landfill gas-to-electricity plants, as well as the largest heavy-duty natural gas truck fleet in the industry. WM Healthcare Solutions provides collection and disposal services of regulated medical waste and secure information destruction services in the U.S., Canada and Western Europe. To learn more about WM and the company's sustainability progress and solutions, visit Sustainability.WM.com.
About Ethisphere
Ethisphere is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that strengthen corporate brands, build trust in the marketplace, and deliver business success. Companies turn ethics, compliance, and culture into a business advantage by leveraging Ethisphere’s data-driven program & culture assessments featuring the latest guidance and the practices of hundreds of global organizations across the 8 pillars of an ethical culture, and 240+ ethics, compliance, social, and governance data points delivered through a proprietary software platform. Ethisphere also honors superior integrity programs through World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition, brings together a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA), and advances ethical business practices through the Global Ethics Summit, Ethisphere Magazine, and the Ethicast podcast. For more information, visit https://ethisphere.com.
Media Contacts
WM Media Contact
Media@WM.com
Ethisphere Media Contact
Julia Petre
Julia.petre@ethisphere.com