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100 Best Corporate Citizens 2007 |
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Frequently Asked Questions
What is the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list?
Who is the data provider?
Who created the ranking?
What companies are eligible for the list?
How long has the list been published?
Who reads the list?
Has any academic research been done on the list?
Where can I access the lists from previous years?
How do I apply for the 100 best?
Where can I get more details regarding the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List?
About the Research
How does KLD gather data in SOCRATESSM?
Is the list of social ratings criteria used by KLD available?
Where can I get a copy of my own firm’s profile?
What if I want profiles for other companies in my sector?
The methodology behind the rankings
How are the firms ranked?
Is the data dependent upon corporate self –reporting?
What is the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list?
The 100 Best Corporate Citizens list consists of the 100 major U.S. public companies that outperform their peers across a range of environmental, social, governance, and financial metrics.
Who is the data provider?
Environmental, social, and governance performance data for the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list comes from SOCRATESSM, KLD’s comprehensive online database of environmental, social and governance research.
Who created the ranking?
Samuel Graves, Marjorie Kelly, and Sandra Waddock developed the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list.
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What companies are eligible for the list?
The universe of firms considered for the list is drawn from constituents of the following indices: Domini Social 400SM, S&P 500, and Russell 1000.
How long has the list been published?
The 100 Best Corporate Citizens list has been published since 2000. Over that time, KLD Research & Analytics in Boston has been the consistent source of environmental, social and governance data, while the methodology has evolved slightly.
Who reads the list?
Readers are primarily business leaders, corporate managers, and investor relations staff looking to help their brand, employee recruitment and employee retention. Among CEO’s, the list is regarded as the third most influential corporate ranking, behind Fortune magazine’s “Most Admired Companies” and “100 Best Companies to Work For” according to PRWeek/Burson-Marsteller CEO Survey.
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Has any academic research been done on the list?
KLD collects papers from academics around the world that use KLD data and/or the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list as a basis for studying corporate social responsibility and socially responsible investment. For a sample list of research papers, please contact BusinessEthics100@kld.com.
Where can I access the lists from previous years?
To access the 2006 100 Best Corporate Citizens list, please go to: http://www.thecro.com/ and choose 100 Best Corporate Citizens at left.
How do I apply for the 100 best?
There is no application for the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list. Companies in the 100 Best Corporate Citizens universe are covered in KLD's SOCRATESSM database, and this data is used to create scores for 7 of the 8 issue areas. While data in SOCRATESSM is derived from multiple sources and is not dependent upon corporate self-reporting, public U.S. companies are encouraged to update their social profile with KLD analysts. If you have updates to your company profile, please email BusinessEthics100@kld.com.
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Where can I get more details regarding the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List?
More details regarding the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list are available on the Corporate Responsibility Officer website at http://www.thecro.com.
About the Research
How does KLD gather data in SOCRATESSM?
KLD continuously updates company information in SOCRATESSM using data from public documents, non-governmental agencies, government agencies, press searches, trade journals, industry and regional publications, and direct contact with the companies. Rigorous internal quality assurance and editing processes ensure consistent coverage across companies and issues.
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Is the list of social ratings criteria used by KLD available?
Yes. KLD analysts evaluate companies in seven different areas: community, governance, diversity, employees, environment, human rights, and product. For a complete list of social ratings criteria used to make up these areas, see http://www.kld.com/research/ratings_indicators.html.
Where can I get a copy of my own firm’s profile?
For a copy of your firm's profile and information on how to update it, please contact BusinessEthics100@kld.com.
What if I want profiles for other companies in my sector?
Additional profiles are available for a fee. For pricing information, please contact Randy O’Neil at Sales@kld.com or (617) 426-5270 extension 292.
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The methodology behind the rankings
How are the firms ranked?
Firms are ranked based on how well they perform in eight categories: shareholders, community, governance, diversity, employees, environment, human rights, and product. The shareholder score is based upon a three-year average of total return to shareholders (stock price appreciation plus dividends) through year-end 2006. All other scores are drawn from SOCRATESSM, which reports KLD’s assessment of companies’ environmental, social and governance performance.
KLD uses a ranking methodology developed by Samuel Graves, Marjorie Kelly, and Sandra Waddock. KLD assesses the environmental, social, governance, and financial performance of each company eligible for inclusion on the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list., and then assigns a raw score for each of the 8 variables for each company. KLD then normalizes the data so the scores are comparable. Each of the 8 variables is equally weighted. The overall score is the average of the normalized score for each variable.
- In a final step, a CRO led review committee assesses the initial top 100 list and recommends firms to be removed from the list due to recent developments or controversies that were underweighted in the scoring analysis. For the 2007 list, only a handful of firms were removed; the names of companies removed from the list are not publicly released.
Is the data dependent upon corporate self –reporting?
No. Data in KLD's SOCRATESSM is derived from multiple sources. Public U.S. companies are encouraged, however, to update their profile with KLD analysts. If you have any updates to your company profile, please email BusinessEthics100@kld.com.
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