The 100 Best Corporate Citizens- BMY Tops the Frobes CSR List

According to a Forbes.com article Bristol Myers Squibb and General Mills set the bar for corporate social responsibility (CSR). Read more..

With the nation and world in the depths of recession, companies are trying harder than ever to become more efficient, keep their remaining employees happy and have the right current policies for a healthy, prosperous future.

Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine has looked at the largest publicly traded companies in the U.S.--based on the Russell 1000 Index--to produce its tenth annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List. These companies are doing all they can to bring their shareholders more value and make sure they are running places where employees are proud to work.

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CRO publisher Jay Whitehead tells Forbes that the list is all about transparency. "If they are doing it but not talking about it, they might as well not be doing it at all," he says.

The magazine uses all publicly accessible documents to determine who the leaders are in seven categories: environment, climate change, human rights, philanthropy, employee relations, finance and governance. The list weights environment and employee relations the highest, giving each a 19.5% weighting, while climate change and human rights come in next at 16.5% and 16%, respectively. Whitehead's rationale: Employees and the environment are the two biggest hot-button issues in the current economic climate, as millions of Americans struggle with unemployment and the environment takes center stage in the government's recent $787 billion stimulus package.

Topping the 2009 list is pharmaceutical giant Bristol-Myers Squibb (nyse: BMY - news - people ), a company that CRO included in its "penalty box" until just recently. Whitehead explains that the penalty box is for companies that would have otherwise made the list but have some blemish on their record that can't be overlooked.

For additional details follow this link: http://www.forbes.com/2009/03/05/best-corporate-citizens-leadership-citizenship-ranking.html