The Ethisphere has revealed its 2016 honorees for the coveted World’s Most Ethical Companies title. Some 131 companies, spanning 21 countries and five continents, picked up the coveted award this year, the 10th anniversary of the organisation.

Among the cosmetics and personal care companies who made the cut were Brazil’s Natura Cosmeticos, Kao Corporation and Shiseido from Japan, Colgate-Palmolive from the USA and France’s L’Oréal. However, despite its high-profile ethical campaigns, Unilever failed to make the list.

“We are honored to receive this recognition by Ethisphere, it will be a source of pride for all L’Oréal employees. Over the last 10 years, we have seen growing expectation for companies to behave ethically. The next 10 years will see Ethics becoming no longer a ‘nice to have’ but a fundamental prerequisite to any organization’s license to operate. For companies who are leaders in this area, it will become a competitive advantage,” commented L’Oréal Chairman and CEO Jean-Paul Agon as the company celebrated its seventh stint as an Ethisphere honoree.

The World’s Most Ethical Companies honors companies that excel in three areas: promoting business standards and practices internally, enabling managers and employees to make good choices, and shaping future industry standards by introducing tomorrow’s best practices today.