Recognition honors those companies that take the long view with a purpose-based strategy and strive to create positive change throughout their global communities

SPOKANE, Wash., Feb. 25, 2020 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Avista Corp. (AVA), a Washington state-based energy company with operations spanning five states, has been recognized by Ethisphere, a global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices, as one of the 2020 World’s Most Ethical Companies.



Avista has always had a commitment to conducting business and delivering its products in ways that create broader societal value. Founded on clean, renewable hydro power, Avista has maintained a generation portfolio that is more than half renewable, while continuously making investments in new renewable energy. In 2019, the company announced its goal to serve its customers with 100 percent clean electricity by 2045 and to have a carbon-neutral supply of electricity by the end of 2027.

“At Avista, we’ve considered how we interact, as a business and as people, with our natural environment, communities and employees for decades,” said Avista president and CEO Dennis Vermillion. “Our actions are mission-driven and values-based, with a commitment to achieving our organizational goals in ways that deliver value for all of our stakeholders. We’re honored to receive this recognition, which demonstrates the leadership of our employees and Avista’s commitment to an ethical corporate culture built on trust, integrity and respect.”

“Congratulations to everyone at Avista for earning this recognition,” said Ethisphere’s Chief Executive Officer, Timothy Erblich. “This is a moment to acknowledge the leaders working to advance corporate cultures defined by integrity and affirm those companies contributing to broader societal imperatives and the greater good.”



Avista has been recognized in its first year completing Ethisphere’s assessment and is one of only nine honorees in the Energy & Utilities industry. In 2020, 132 honorees were recognized spanning 21 countries and 51 industries.

Methodology & Scoring

Grounded in Ethisphere’s proprietary Ethics Quotient®, the World’s Most Ethical Companies assessment process includes more than 200 questions on culture, environmental and social practices, ethics and compliance activities, governance, diversity and initiatives to support a strong value chain. The process serves as an operating framework to capture and codify the leading practices of organizations across industries and around the globe. Best practices and insights from the 2020 honorees will be released in a report and webcast in March and April of this year.



All companies that participate in the assessment process receive an Analytical Scorecard providing them a holistic assessment of where their programs stand against the demanding standards of leading companies.

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Honorees

The full list of the 2020 World's Most Ethical Companies can be found at https://worldsmostethicalcompanies.com/honorees.

About Avista Corp.

Avista Corp. is an energy company involved in the production, transmission and distribution of energy as well as other energy-related businesses. Avista Utilities is the operating division that provides electric service to 392,000 customers and natural gas to 357,000 customers. Its service territory covers 30,000 square miles in eastern Washington, northern Idaho and parts of southern and eastern Oregon, with a population of 1.7 million. Alaska Energy and Resources Company is an Avista subsidiary that provides retail electric service in the city and borough of Juneau, Alaska, through its subsidiary Alaska Electric Light and Power Company . Avista stock is traded under the ticker symbol "AVA." For more information about Avista, please visit www.avistacorp.com .

Avista Corp. and the Avista Corp. logo are trademarks of Avista Corporation.

About the Ethisphere Institute

The Ethisphere® Institute is the global leader in defining and advancing the standards of ethical business practices that fuel corporate character, marketplace trust and business success. Ethisphere has deep expertise in measuring and defining core ethics standards using data-driven insights that help companies enhance corporate character and measure and improve culture. Ethisphere honors superior achievement through its World’s Most Ethical Companies recognition program and provides a community of industry experts with the Business Ethics Leadership Alliance (BELA). More information about Ethisphere can be found at: https://ethisphere.com.

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