/PRNewswire/ - The Ethics Resource Center today announced United Technologies Corp. (NYSE: UTX) and its Chairman & CEO Louis Chenevert have been awarded the 2010 Stanley C. Pace Leadership in Ethics Award. The award recognizes UTC for pioneering leadership in developing internal systems to successfully encourage, achieve and measure ethical behavior across all levels of the company.

ERC President Patricia Harned applauded UTC for moving beyond words, by focusing also on systems and execution that make every employee responsible for meeting the company's ethical goals.

"You've approached ethics with the same rigor and energy as other business imperatives," Harned said. "Your CEO, Louis Chenevert, has led you to build the kind of permanent foundation that is making ethical conduct a fundamental part of UTC's DNA - and not just a passing fancy. At ERC, we believe that's the kind of leadership that deserves recognition."

Harned said recent ERC surveys show across-the-board gains in ethics at UTC since the company's 2006 launch of an internal Ethics Competency as well as a set of ethics objectives that cascade annually from the CEO to business unit presidents and, then, to other executives and managers.

"You have not only changed your company, but also blazed a path that others can follow," Harned said. "UTC is the first company to quantitatively connect employees to ethical behavior in such a meaningful way. You are the first to develop a systematic means to evaluate and reward ethical conduct."

United Technologies Chairman & CEO Louis Chenevert accepted the award on behalf of UTC, saying the company's commitment to an ethical culture is unwavering. "At UTC we are committed to improving continuously our ethics performance," Chenevert said. "Our plan for the future remains the same: strong leadership combined with robust processes and flawless execution. Ethics is - and must remain - the foundation of UTC's performance culture."

General Dynamics and ERC jointly launched the award program in 1999 in recognition of Stanley C. Pace, former CEO and chairman of General Dynamics who established one of the U.S.'s first corporate ethics programs. The award honors an individual or group for accomplishments in ethical business management and for demonstrated moral vision and the ability to translate that vision into specific goals.

Previous recipients of the Pace Award are the late Carol Marshall, an ERC board member and senior ethics official at Lockheed Martin and MCI; Transparency International; Sir Mark Moody-Stuart, former CEO of Royal Dutch/Shell; Ira Lipman, CEO of Guardsmark, LLC; John E. Pepper, former CEO and chairman of Proctor & Gamble; Norman Augustine, former chairman of Lockheed Martin; Aaron Feuerstein, retired president, CEO and chairman of Malden Mills; Charles Bowsher, former comptroller general of the United States; Stephen Potts, former associate counsel to President George W. Bush, and Jean Paul Agon, CEO of L'Oreal.

About UTC
United Technologies Corp., based in Hartford, Connecticut, is a diversified company that provides a broad range of high technology products and support services to the building systems and aerospace industries. UTC's products include Carrier heating, air conditioning and refrigeration, Hamilton Sundstrand aerospace systems and industrial products, Otis elevators and escalators, Pratt & Whitney aircraft engines, Sikorsky helicopters, UTC Fire & Security systems and UTC Power fuel cells. www.utc.com

About ERC
The Ethics Resource Center (ERC) is a private, nonprofit organization devoted to independent research and the advancement of high ethical standards and practices in public and private institutions. For 87 years ERC has been a resource for institutions committed to a strong ethical culture. ERC's expertise also informs the public dialogue on ethics and ethical behavior. ERC researchers analyze current and emerging issues and produce new ideas and benchmarks that matter - for the public trust. For more information, visit www.ethics.org or call (703) 401-6339.

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