2025 E&C Program Trends & Employee Perceptions

Ethisphere’s 2025 Ethics & Compliance Report offers a comprehensive dual-lens analysis of program practices and workplace experience, drawing from data across 136 organizations and more than 1.2 million employee responses from 98 companies in 58 countries. As businesses navigate unprecedented uncertainty, this report provides clear guidance for compliance leaders to manage risk, develop opportunity and build resilient programs.

The data reveals significant challenges: globally, half of employees who witness misconduct don’t report it, and 21% of organizations have experienced a significant integrity incident. Yet companies that prioritize ethical business practices continue to outperform the market, with Ethisphere’s 2025 Five-Year Ethics Premium showing a 7.8% margin of outperformance.

Key insights from the report:

• Ethics and compliance teams are evolving from reactive enforcement to strategic risk partners, with 90% now evaluating risk as part of enterprise-wide processes.
• Strong ethical cultures deliver measurably higher financial performance, with organizations scoring above benchmark on culture metrics achieving nearly 40% higher return on assets.
• Speaking up remains primarily human-driven, with 60% of misconduct reports made to people rather than anonymous channels, underscoring the critical importance of manager training.
• The average monetary settlement amount since 2022 has reached $113.7 million, while U.S. companies have paid more than $1 trillion in fines, penalties and settlements since 2000.
• Third-party risk management requires greater rigor as supplier networks expand and regulatory complexity increases.