NEW YORK — The Ethisphere Institute selected AECOM Technology Corp., Parsons, and CH2M Hill to be among the World’s Most Ethical Companies in 2011 and the only three firms in the Engineering and Design category.

This designation recognizes firms based on their commitment to ethical leadership, compliance practices, and corporate social responsibility. Ethisphere is a research-based institute dedicated to the creation, advancement, and sharing of best practices in business ethics, corporate social responsibility, anti-corruption, and sustainability. The methodology for the World’s Most Ethical Companies ranking includes reviewing codes of ethics, litigation and regulatory infraction histories, evaluating the investment in innovation and sustainable business practices, looking at activities designed to improve corporate citizenship, and studying nominations from senior executives, industry peers, suppliers, and customers. This year, 110 companies received this recognition.