Google Ranks High In Corporate Social Responsibility

Top RankedWhen it comes to perceptions of corporate social responsibility, Google, Campbell Soup and Johnson & Johnson rank highest in the public's mind, according to the just-released Top 50 2008 Corporate Social Responsibility Index (CSRI) rankings from the Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship (BCCCC) and Reputation Institute.

The Top 10 companies also include Walt Disney, Kraft Foods, General Mills, Levi Strauss, UPS, Berkshire Hathaway and Microsoft.

The Reputation Institute has been conducting annual Global Pulse Studies of corporate reputations since 2006. This year, the consumer surveys delved deeper into factors specifically driving perceptions of corporate responsibility to create the CSRI. The researchers estimate that corporate responsibility accounts for about 40% of overall reputation.

The CSRI represents the combined average of people's perceptions of a company on three institutional performance indicators: citizenship (supports good causes and does not harm the environment); governance (responsibly run, behaves ethically and is transparent in its business dealings); and workplace (treats employees well, is an appealing place to work).

top 10 The CSRI research focused on 200-plus companies with a dominant presence in the U.S. and a reasonably high recognition factor with the general public. The companies included America's 150 largest, plus a sample of companies included as members of the BCCCC.

"This is the first time we see how the public votes on how companies operate as corporate citizens," said Philip Mirvis, senior research fellow for BCCCC. "Although the survey was taken before the Wall Street collapse, the U.S. findings show that corporate governance ethics and transparency are increasing in their importance to overall corporate reputation."

On a scale of 1 to 100, the companies' average CSRI was 64.2. Google, Campbell, J&J and Walt Disney all earned scores at or around 80. The range for the other companies in the top 10 was 76.89 to 74.83. The lowest score within the top 25 was 72.87, and the lowest score within the top 50 was 69.88.

Numbers 11 through 25 are: 3M, FedEx, Anheuser-Busch, Sara Lee, Apple, General Electric, Publix Super Markets, Honda of America, Deere & Company, Adobe Systems, Xerox, New Balance, Toyota Motor Corp. and Texas Instruments.

The researchers note that the general public tends to rate makers of consumer products, computers and beverages highest when it comes to social dimensions. Industries that fall below the global average include construction/engineering, finance, utilities and telecommunications.

Perceptions of computer companies were mixed, with scores ranging from 74.83 (Microsoft) to a 66.90 (McAfee). Intel, Apple, Adobe, Texas Instruments, IBM, Hewlett-Packard, Cisco, Sun Microsystems and Dell fell in between.

Relatively few business-to-business companies made the Top 50. In addition to Berkshire Hathaway, these included Xerox (#22), IBM (#30), TIAA CREF (#35), Hewlett Packard (#38), Cisco Systems (#41), Sun Microsystems (#43), Express Scripts (#47), Deloitte & Touche (#48) and Boeing (#50).

The study's overall results drive home the close relationships among social responsibility perception, overall corporate reputation and a company's ability to turn consumers into brand champions.

Companies with the best overall reputation rankings also tend to get high CSRI scores, and there is a linear relationship between a company's CSRI and the percentage of people that would recommend it to others.

Companies that have invested in creating a strong social responsibility profile get much higher levels of support than other companies. Nearly 70% (65.7%) of the U.S. public would recommend the top 20 socially responsible companies to others, compared to 25.9% recommending the bottom 20. Nearly 30% say they would not recommend companies that are not seen as socially responsible.

"Companies that invest in social initiatives are also investing in creating support from their stakeholders" and "a direct way to improved business success," sum up the analysts.

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