2.26.2008 - 11:59pm ET

SPRINGFIELD, MA - February 26, 2008 - "The more things change, the more they stay the same." So goes the old saying, aptly describing the annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List, which shifted its nameplate last year from advocacy-leaning (Business Ethics) to industry-leaning (CRO--short for Corporate Responsibility Officer) after Marjorie Kelly sold the magazine to Michael Connor who handed it off to current publisher Jay Whitehead. This year, the number-cruncher also changed hands from KLD Research & Analytics, which analyzed companies in its Domini 400 Social Index (DSI) as well as the S&P 500 and Russell 1000, to IW Financial, which dropped the DSI from the consideration universe and hence transforming the list's focus to larger companies.

Unchanged is the controversy surrounding the list, which inevitably accompanies any attempt to rank corporate social responsibility. Questions have already arisen about the inclusion of Monsanto (over child labor in India), Coca-Cola (over ground-water depletion), and Dow (over its Union Carbide legacy in Bhopal.) CRO wisely insulates itself from undue criticism by disclosing the methodology behind the list, which was “driven by the numbers. Period.” In other words, companies make the list based on IW Financial’s analysis of the list criteria, so criticism should rightly target the underlying structure of the list. That, or IW’s analysis, which is based on patented environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings.

CSRwire.com members named to the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list include Dow (13), Baxter (24), American Electric Power (69), and SPX (100.) The list does not include Fidelity, Barclays, Franklin Templeton, T. Rowe Price, or Vanguard--all mutual fund firms targeted by Investors Against Genocide with shareholder resolutions seeking portfolios free of companies supporting genocide, for example in Sudan.

Looking toward the future, a symposium projecting the next two decades of development in CSR will be hosted by John Elkington, Mark Lee, and Sophia Tickell of SustainAbility, which helped define the field over the past two decades--for example by coining the term “triple bottom line” in 1994 and more recently by promoting social entrepreneurship. This article was written by CSRwire contributor Bill Baue.

To read the latest corporate social responsibility news from State Farm, Deloitte, Carbonfund, Seventh Generation and other leading socially responsible organizations, visit http://www.csrwire.com/LastAlert.html.

About CSRwire's Weekly News Alert

CSRwire's free weekly News Alert is a summary of the latest and most important CSR news from the week, put into context with local and global news. The Alert highlights noteworthy initiatives and informs the CSR and Social Responsible Investing communities including professionals, analysts, academics activists, and consumers.

Click Here to subscribe to the CSRwire Weekly News Alert.

About CSRwire.com

CSRwire is the leading source of corporate social responsibility and sustainability news, reports and information. CSRwire members are companies and NGOs, agencies and organizations interested in communicating their corporate citizenship, sustainability, and socially responsible initiatives to a global audience through CSRwire's syndication network and weekly News Alerts. CSRwire content covers issues of Diversity, Philanthropy, Socially Responsible Investing (SRI) Environment, Human Rights, Workplace Issues, Business Ethics, Community Development and Corporate Governance.
For more information please email editor@csrwire.com.

For more information please contact:

Commitment to Transparency: This organization is committed to transparency and stakeholder dialogue and encourages your comments and feedback.

Post a comment below: Anonymous "SRI" Professional    2008-02-27 15:03:14 This list (just like last year's) is Greenwash. Let's take just one easy example: #33 Raytheon Co. - a simple google search for "raytheon watch" reveals such allegations as: The Patriot Missile Deception Corporate Crime and Punishment Black Tuesday - Securities Fraud Exploitation of Employees Age Discrimination Spying and Internet Censorship Weapons Trafficking Corporate Welfare Environmental Concerns Influence Peddling You may try to pass off the blame on IW Financial (which stands (or stood) for "Ideals Work"), but you selected them, and you published the list. You could have hired other researchers, or spent 5 minutes on google validating the results. Here are some starting points to understand the truth about Raytheon's Citizenship: www.gis.net/~larrabee/raytheonwatch.htm www.sourcewatch.org/index.php?title=Raytheon www.corpwatch.org/article.php?list=type&type=13 www.corporatewatch.org.uk/?lid=141 Customers and investors who want the truth can't rely on SRI & CSR. It's been sold. *Your Comment: *Name: *E-mail (will not be displayed):   Notify me when others add comments to this discussion. Verification String (Six characters shown at left)