SAN DIEGO, April 14, 2009 – Sempra Energy (NYSE:  SRE) has earned recognition for its ethical business practices from the Ethisphere Institute, an international think-tank on business ethics. 

        Ethisphere’s highly regarded Ethics Inside® Certified seal is the only independent verification of a company’s ethics and compliance program and practices.  The Institute conducts a rigorous evaluation of companies’ ethical practices, reviewing 50 criteria, including:  organizational health and culture; ethics and compliance programs and initiatives; corporate governance systems; corporate citizenship and social responsibility initiatives; environmental performance; legal and regulatory track record; and third-party perception, among others. 

        Only those companies that score the highest in these criteria earn the Institute’s Ethics Inside Certification.  The certification is granted exclusively to organizations that can “demonstrably prove the existence of a superior employee and leadership culture that promotes ethical business practices and corporate responsibility.”

        “Being recognized among the top companies in our sector in 2009 for our ethical practices and compliance is a high honor,” said G. Joyce Rowland, senior vice president of human resources and chief ethics officer of Sempra Energy.  “We are focused on implementing Sempra Energy’s values of being an ethical and responsible partner to make a positive impact on the communities in which we live and work.”

        Other companies worldwide that have been awarded the Ethics Inside Certification include, Xerox, Pepsico, McDonald’s, The Gap, Sun Microsystems, Fluor, S.C. Johnson & Son, IKEA, Starbucks, CISCO and Avaya.

        The Institute’s magazine, Ethisphere, also has named Sempra Energy to the magazine’s annual list of the “World’s Most Ethical Companies,” a first-time accomplishment for Sempra Energy.  The Ethisphere Institute’s researchers and analysts reviewed more than 10,000 companies globally to determine the finalists.  Sempra Energy was one of five companies recognized in the Energy & Utilities sector.

        A full list of the World’s Most Ethical Companies is available at www.ethisphere.org and will be published in the next quarterly issue of Ethisphere magazine, scheduled for release April 20.

        The research-based Ethisphere Institute is a leading international think-tank dedicated to the creation, advancement and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption, and sustainability.  Ethisphere magazine, which publishes the globally recognized World’s Most Ethical Companies Ranking, is the quarterly publication of the Institute.

        Sempra Energy, based in San Diego, is a Fortune 500 energy services holding company with 2008 revenues of nearly $11 billion.  The Sempra Energy companies’ 13,600 employees serve more than 29 million consumers worldwide.

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