Tata Steel and Wipro have been named among the world's most ethical companies by an American think tank, Ethisphere Institute.

The Ethisphere Institute's annual World's Most Ethical Companies (WME) list revealed that 145 companies in countries including the US, Great Britain, Japan, Portugal and India stood out for setting high standards of employee behaviour and conduct.

Ethisphere evaluated about 5,000 global companies, including those in Standard & Poor's 500 index on reputation, corporate citizenship, culture and other qualities.

Ethisphere's annual list of the WME recognises companies that truly go beyond making statements and conduct business ethically by translating words into actions.

HM Nerurkar, Managing Director, Tata Steel, said ethical business principles and practices have been the key differentiators of Tata Group and Tata Steel since inception.

In 1998, the Tata Group developed its first Code of Conduct, which was articulation of its values and business principles followed by its employees since the inception of
the group and the company, Tata Steel said in a press
release.