100 Best Corporate Citizens

Corporate Responsibility Magazine (the new name of CRO Magazine) recently announced its 11th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens list, known as the world’s top corporate responsibility ranking based on publicly-available information and recognized by PR Week as one of America’s top three most-important business rankings.

Though Nike is the only sports-specific company on the list, you will also see major sports sponsors such as Coca-Cola, PepsiCo, P&G, Cisco, Verizon, McDonald’s, Yum! Brands, and Ford. You can view the full list here.

According to the press release from CRO,

“Company stakeholders from investors to customers to employees to regulators watch the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List closely, and are using it now more than ever to make important decisions.  As a result, making the List is worth millions or even billions in increased shareholder and brand value,” said Corporate Responsibility Magazine publisher Jay Whitehead.  “That is why we are seeing leading companies focusing in greater numbers on their public reporting and performance, particularly in the areas of climate change, environment, employee relations, and human rights.  Between 2009 and 2010, for instance, the top company’s total score improved by 66 percent, and the average score of all 100 companies climbed by 19 percent.”