Columbia Gas of Massachusetts earns ‘World’s Most Ethical Company’ honor

Date: 4/10/2014

GREATER SPRINGFIELD – Columbia Gas of Massachusetts and its fellow NiSource Inc. companies have again been designated as one of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies” by the Ethisphere Institute for the third consecutive year.

Ethisphere is a leading international organization dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption and sustainability.

“We don’t take this distinction for granted,” Robert C. Skaggs Jr., NiSource president and chief executive officer, said. “This is a significant achievement, recognizing our commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices and corporate social responsibility.”

NiSource is one of 143 companies from 30 different countries recognized by Ethisphere for leadership in promoting ethical business standards as measured by four specific categories: Ethics and Compliance Programs; Reputation, Leadership and Innovation; Governance; and Corporate Citizenship and Responsibility.

“The entire community of World’s Most Ethical Companies believe that customers, employees, investors and regulators place a high premium on trust and that ethics and good governance are key in earning it,” Timothy Erblich, Ethisphere’s CEO, said.

“NiSource joins an exclusive community committed to driving performance through leading business practices. We congratulate everyone at NiSource for this extraordinary achievement.”

The NiSource Code of Business Conduct is the foundation of the NiSource Ethics and Compliance Program, and is designed to provide guidance on how to apply the company’s Core Values and Principles to maintain high standards of business conduct. NiSource’s Code of Business Conduct is available at www.nisource.com/ethics.