Month: April 2025

For a third year, members of the Whirlpool Corporation Global IT team teamed up with the Michigan Council of Women in Technology Foundation (MCWT) for the Girls Rock IT event supported by the Whirlpool Foundation. While parents and guardians attended a session on internet safety and careers in technology, local girls (grades 2-8) learned coding basics and game/app development.

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About Whirlpool Corporation

Whirlpool Corporation (NYSE: WHR) is a leading home appliance company, in constant pursuit of improving life at home. As the last-remaining major U.S.-based manufacturer of kitchen and laundry appliances, the company is driving meaningful innovation to meet the evolving needs of consumers through its iconic brand portfolio, including Whirlpool, KitchenAid, JennAir, Maytag, Amana, Brastemp, Consul, and InSinkErator. In 2024, the company reported approximately $17 billion in annual sales – close to 90% of which were in the Americas – 44,000 employees, and 40 manufacturing and technology research centers. Additional information about the company can be found at WhirlpoolCorp.com.

DALLAS, April 1, 2025 /3BL/ – Kimberly-Clark has received the 2025 World’s Most Ethical Companies® recognition by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

This marks the seventh consecutive year that Kimberly-Clark has been named to this prestigious list and ten times overall. The company is one of only two honorees in the Consumer Products industry. In 2025, 136 honorees were recognized spanning 19 countries and 44 industries.

“This long-standing recognition by Ethisphere reflects the deep commitment of our global teams to lead with integrity and uphold our values every day,” said Grant McGee, General Counsel at Kimberly-Clark. “It is an honor to receive this award, which powerfully affirms the high standards by which Kimberly-Clark fulfills our purpose of providing Better Care for a Better World.”

“Kimberly-Clark’s inclusion on the World’s Most Ethical Companies list for seven consecutive years underscores the company’s steadfast dedication to corporate compliance and ethical culture,” said Erica Salmon Byrne, Ethisphere’s Chief Strategy Officer and Executive Chair. “The company’s long-standing, deep-rooted commitment to upholding the highest standards of ethics and integrity is a powerful example of leadership in business.”

Methodology & Scoring
The World’s Most Ethical Companies assessment is grounded in Ethisphere’s proprietary Ethics Quotient®, which requires companies to provide 240+ different proof points on practices that support robust ethics and compliance; governance; a culture of ethics; environmental and social impact; and initiatives that support a strong value chain. 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, at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees.

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, Plenitud, Sweety, Softex, Viva and WypAll, hold No. 1 or No. 2 share positions in approximately 70 countries. We use sustainable practices that support a healthy planet, build strong communities, and ensure our business thrives for decades to come. We are proud to be recognized as one of the World’s Most Ethical Companies® by Ethisphere for the seventh year in a row and one of Fortune’s Most Innovative Companies in America in 2024. To keep up with the latest news and to learn more about the company’s more than 150-year history of innovation, visit the Kimberly-Clark website.

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 and 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.

SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation

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AMSTERDAM, HONG KONG, and OAKLAND, Calif., April 1, 2025 /3BL/ – Today, Cascale launched the ninth annual Better Buying Purchasing Practices Index (BBPPI) ratings cycle, a significant milestone in the organization’s integration of key Better Buying Institute (BBI) assets and confirmation that BBI’s positive impact on purchasing practices continues to thrive.

A cornerstone of Cascale’s Support Decent Work for All strategic pillar, the BBPPI is a comprehensive deep dive into purchasing practices across the apparel industry. The survey’s unique methodology enables suppliers – Cascale members and non-members alike – to feed back on their customers’ purchasing practices anonymously and deliver actionable insights. Widely recognized for its credibility, the BBPPI is a trusted benchmark for purchasing practice transparency. In 2024, the BBPPI showed that 70% of participants improved their purchasing practices scores.

“Gone are the days when buyer companies can claim ignorance of responsible purchasing practices or excuse inaction by asserting that there is no way to measure progress on decent work for all,” said Colin Browne, Cascale CEO. “Cascale‘s Better Buying tools are a tried-and-tested, safe way for companies to measure their purchasing practices and track progress, year over year. And we know they work.”

By championing fair purchasing practices, Better Buying tools like the BBPPI help address challenges such as last-minute order changes, delayed payments, and pricing practices that undermine supply chain resilience. These efforts ultimately contribute to improved labor conditions and more sustainable supply chains.

“BBPPI is a secure and anonymous feedback channel, allowing us to share insights that drive meaningful industry improvements,” said Nikhil Hirdaramani, Director, Hirdaramani Group. “This collective input fosters better manufacturing practices and empowers us to build a fairer, more sustainable future together. As a manufacturer, we have experienced how BBPPI supports us, and it is great to see our customers engage constructively and take result-driven actions based on the surveys we have participated in.”

“VF Corporation has long recognized the value of Better Buying’s ratings cycles,” said Sean Cady, VP Global Sustainability, Responsibility, Trade and Government Affairs at VF Corporation, and Cascale Board Director. “The enhanced supply chain, visibility, ability to improve purchasing practices, and tangible business benefits make it a powerful tool for advancing our responsible sourcing efforts.”

Suppliers can submit ratings and access step-by-step guides, supplier testimonials, and FAQs on the Better Buying website. All ratings must be submitted by the deadline of May 31, 2025.

ABOUT CASCALE

Cascale is the global nonprofit alliance empowering collaboration to drive equitable and restorative business practices in the consumer goods industry. Formerly known as the Sustainable Apparel Coalition, Cascale owns and develops the Higg Index, which is exclusively available on Worldly, the most comprehensive sustainability data and insights platform. Cascale unites over 300 retailers, brands, manufacturers, governments, academics, and NGO/nonprofit affiliates around the globe through one singular vision: To catalyze impact at scale and give back more than we take to the planet and its people. LinkedIn | X | Instagram | Facebook | YouTube

Mastercard

These days, there’s nothing small about small business. The global economy has always stood on the shoulders of small businesses, and the digital revolution is enabling them to grow beyond Main Street into the world marketplace.

But a larger digital footprint brings risks as well as opportunities — risks that small business owners, who long considered themselves beneath the notice of cybercriminals, are now painfully, and in many cases, personally, aware of.

A forthcoming Mastercard survey of more than 5,000 small and medium-sized business owners across four continents reveals that 46% have experienced a cyberattack on their current business, and nearly one in five that suffered an attack then filed for bankruptcy or closed their business.

The impact of these attacks — most commonly hacking, malware and phishing, according to the survey — puts a financial strain on businesses. Productivity suffers. Reputational damage lingers: Following an attack, 80% said they had to spend time rebuilding trust with clients and partners.

Upping their cyberthreat posture is now a priority for small businesses, and 86% of small and medium-sized businesses have conducted an active cybersecurity risk assessment and have a cyberattack prevention plan. But only 23% are very satisfied with their plan, and only 23% again are very confident in their ability to identify threats. In other words, they know enough to know they don’t know enough.

And cybercriminals know this. With budget and other resources typically dedicated to growing their business rather than protecting it, owners are often their own IT experts. Among their biggest challenges — their own workers, who are the front line in cyber defense and sometimes the weak link as well. In the survey, 73% of these business owners say getting employees to take cybersecurity seriously is a challenge, and only a quarter are very confident in their ability to educate employees on cybersecurity best practices.

They need support. This is an increasingly large part of our mission to help small businesses securely pay, get paid, access capital and digitize their operations. Since 2020, Mastercard has brought more than 50 million small businesses into the digital economy. But only trust will keep them there.

That’s why we’re partnering with other cybersecurity experts and investing in innovation that simplifies yet strengthens cybersecurity approaches so small business owners can focus on what they do best — serving their customers. For example, we’ve customized our flagship RiskRecon vulnerability scanner for small businesses through My Cyber Risk, enabling them to pinpoint, prioritize and act on cybersecurity threats to their websites or apps.

Launched in February, the Mastercard Business Builder program offers credit and debit cards for small businesses with cybersecurity services that help them protect themselves from fraudsters and provide enterprise-grade security technology and expertise. It includes, among other benefits, ID Theft Protection, which provides monitoring, alerts and resolution services to help protect against identity theft.

Though most people associate identity theft with the misuse of personal information, it can and does happen to businesses. Fraudsters can use the identities of business owners or employees to falsely apply for loans, file fake tax refunds or even steal rights to a company’s intellectual property. That’s why we’ve focused the power of open finance on small businesses, with tools that can confirm ownership of accounts, verify account holder identity and even validate the device being used when a small business opens and funds a financial account.

We’re also bringing scale to cybersecurity through new partnerships. For example, with global cyber company VikingCloud, we’re combining Mastercard’s own highly developed risk scoring and evaluation capabilities with VikingCloud’s cybersecurity remediation solutions for its millions of merchant locations worldwide. With CyberMonks, we launched a marketplace for businesses of all sizes to easily find and seamlessly implement tailored cybersecurity and risk management solutions.

As technology evolves and threats change, ongoing education that meets businesses where they are is also crucial. The Mastercard Trust Center is a platform that helps small business owners access research, resources and tools for free in collaboration with our longstanding partners the Global Cyber Alliance, Cyber Readiness Institute, and National Cybersecurity Alliance.

By working together, we can create a safer ecosystem for small businesses. After all, security isn’t just about defense — it’s about enabling growth. The trust it creates is what helps small businesses operate with confidence and thrive without fear.

Johan Gerber is Mastercard’s executive vice president of Security Solutions. Jane Prokop is Mastercard’s global head of Small and Medium Enterprises. 

Originally published by Mastercard

Follow along Mastercard’s journey to connect and power an inclusive, digital economy that benefits everyone, everywhere.