Starbucks, the largest coffeehouse company in the world, has made it onto Ethisphere Institute's World's Most Ethical List for the sixth year in a row.

The New York-based Ethisphere Institute, an international think-tank with its credo of "Good. Smart. Business. Profit", started publishing this list in 2007.

According to Ethisphere Institute, there is no set number of companies that make the list each year. The institute makes ranking based on "ethics and compliance programs; reputation, leadership and innovation; governance; corporate citizenship and responsibility; and culture of ethics."

This year, nearly 5,000 submissions for consideration from companies all over the world have been sent to the institute, a record high that shows that companies are increasingly seeking to maintain/raise high ethical standards.