What is a good corporate citizen? According to Corporate Responsibility Magazine, the good corporate citizen is transparent about its performance across a number of areas, including employee relations, the environment, climate change and philanthropy, among others.
Hasbro Inc. placed No. 5 on the 2018 list of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens (falling from No. 1 last year). The Pawtucket-based company ranks high on this list perennially, a testament to its commitment to its employees and the communities it operates in.
Also ranking high on the list is CVS Health Corp., placing at No. 26, an improvement from last year’s No. 38, driven by strong rankings for employee relations, human rights and philanthropy.
It is no surprise the companies that rank high on the corporate citizens list are also high-performing enterprises. After all, creating a more sustainable value proposition – which is the result of performing well against the metrics set by Corporate Responsibility Magazine – leads to healthy returns for shareholders.
For example, over the last five years, Hasbro’s share price has doubled, even including the challenge that Toys R Us going bankrupt recently presents. And while CVS cannot claim the same stock performance, it continues to kick out oodles of cash for shareholders, something its pending merger with Aetna is unlikely to slow down.
Add to that the financial benefits the buzz that showing up on the list creates for attracting new employees, and all that is left to ask is: Why aren’t more companies looking to make their own marks as good corporate citizens?