The top five best corporate citizens
Every corporate body realizes the importance of being a good corporate citizen and has made it an integral part of its core business activities. From being environmental friendly to running education programs in underdeveloped and remote countries, corporations work towards doing their bit towards community. After all, consumers contribute to the success of any corporation, and there is no better way of reciprocating than through giving back to the community. 2009 has seen some new entries in the US list of corporate citizens.
Bristol Myers-Squibb tops the list of corporate citizens in 2009. The BioPharma Company has made a considerable effort to improve the quality of science and technology education in schools. Crossing all boundaries in health care, Bristol-Myers Squibb is engaged in enhancing health services for people in remote countries and has helped build a new children’s hospital in New Jersey. Providing essential services to the underprivileged and most vulnerable citizens, the company has made a strong commitment towards combating diseases. The organization has also been recognized as one of the best companies for working mothers and an industry leader in the environment, health, and safety.
General Mills, famous for marketing brands that include Betty Crocker, Pillsbury, and Cheerios, they contribute to political organizations in their endeavor to support the legislative process. Their contributions include grants to the Ohio State University to build a General Mills Cereal Chemistry Lab, and the Morehouse School of Medicine for physician training. Employees of the company are active volunteers on projects that include relief efforts for natural calamities, urban youth camps, and mentoring programs for at-risk children. The Challenge U project, which includes student achievement and school improvement programs aimed at reducing the high-school dropout rate and incidences of teenage pregnancy, is one of their major achievements as corporate citizens.
IBM is yet another active corporate citizen today. Environment, education, health, and community development tops their agenda. The company makes optimum use of its technology and talent resources to create innovative programs for communities in countries as far away as Ghana, Romania, Tanzania, and the Philippines. The programs include water management and disaster preparedness. Extensive research in biological, environmental, and health-related issues, are undertaken with the help of IBM’s grid computing technology on projects that include Help Fight Childhood Cancer, Clean Energy, and FightAIDS@Home, among others.
The best corporate citizen list is never said to be complete without Merck. A number of programs aimed at fostering the health and safety of people are implemented in global communities where the company operates. Merck also lends its expertise in health care business towards expanding the access to medicines.
Corporate citizenship is one among the seven corporate objectives of HP. The company contributes to society with a number of programs aimed at creating a positive impact on communities throughout the world. Ethics and compliance, human rights, environmental sustainability, privacy, are areas where the company focuses their corporate responsibilities on.
There is no denying the fact that these companies have taken their role as responsible corporate citizens seriously. Other corporations such as Intel, Starbucks, and Cisco also feature among the best. These companies earn a high level of exposure due to the transparency of their programs.
September 12, 2009
Posted in: Ethical Shopping