Three major DFW-based companies have been included in Ethisphere Institute’s 10th annual list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies.

Fluor Corp. of Irving (NYSE: FLR), Dallas-based Texas Instruments (Nasdaq: TXN), and Irving-based Vizient Inc., a member-owned health care company, were included among the 131 businesses from 21 countries honored by Ethisphere. The honorees span 45 industries.

“In each of the last 10 years, the Ethisphere Institute has measured companies who demonstrate leadership in areas like citizenship, integrity and transparency as the World’s Most Ethical Companies,” Ethisphere CEO Timothy Erblich said. “It is both thrilling and humbling to see the results of our joint efforts to advance the standards of corporate behavior, and the ways that this behavior influences and improves the human condition.”

Ethisphere Institute is a leader worldwide in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices.

The institute said the companies excel in three areas, “promoting ethical 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.”

Here’s how Ethisphere scores the companies in five 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).

Texas Instruments CEO Richard Templeton emphasized how ethics are important part of business.

“While expectations for companies will likely become even more complex in the next decade due to fast-changing technology and globalization, ethics will continue to be foundational requirement for doing business,” Templeton said on the Ethisphere website. “Being a responsible corporate citizen is not an option, it’s an absolute requirement.”

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