Trust is central in business management and the rules used by businesses to uphold trust between stakeholders, businesses and the society in general. As more and more voices across the globe start paying attention to Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), in particular, SDG 16 which stimulates the flow of peace, justice, and strong institutions, the corporations get pressured to apply ethical conduct to their governance strategies. The present research is exploring the association between the corporate ethics, governance mechanisms, and creation of trust, and how it promotes SDG 16. This was done in a mixed-method approach, whereby structured surveys, interviews and secondary reports were utilized in collecting the data of 120 organizations, which represent cross-sectoral organizations. The results show that clear governance, code of ethics, and stakeholder interactions play a significant role in increasing trust in an organization, and hence accountability and institutional integrity. Nevertheless, potential challenges that may constrain the efficacy of such practices are the irregularity in the application of regulations and different cultural attitudes towards ethical issues. The research will provide evidence-based lessons to managers and policy makers to establish sound governance frameworks to be in line with the SDG 16 targets, as well as opening future research opportunities on ethical standardization and cross-cultural governance practices
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