JUST Capital, a nonprofit research organization, and Forbes have released the 2017 edition of the JUST 100 List, which ranks publicly traded companies in the US on their performance to act on the priorities of the public.
The rankings are based on comprehensive surveys conducted on public attitudes towards corporate behavior, involving 10,000 respondents in 2017, and produced in partnership with one of the nation’s foremost data science organizations, NORC at the University of Chicago, using its survey tool, AmeriSpeak.
The JUST 100 List aims to inspire the private sector into action and drive positive change on issues consumers care about most — worker compensation and wellbeing, customer treatment, product impacts, environmental pollution, strong communities, job generation, ethical sourcing and supply chains, transparency and more.
“By having the public define this new business performance benchmark, we believe we can help to build trust in big corporations as a force of good, breathing new life into the idea that capitalism and markets can indeed serve the broader best interests of society. In other words, it doesn’t have to be a win-lose binary battle between shareholders and society,” said Martin Whittaker, CEO of JUST Capital.
“America is a country that thrives on change, diversity and free market enterprise — precisely the conditions required to redefine the meaning of business success. JUST Capital’s rankings help provide a new moral compass for this inevitability, with the JUST Seal, awarded to the top performing companies, proudly displayed to light the way.”
This year’s top 10 was dominated by the tech industry, software and semiconductors and equipment companies in particular. Intel secured the ranking’s number one spot, followed by Texas Instruments, NVIDIA, Microsoft, IBM, Accenture, Cisco Systems, Alphabet, Salesforce.com and Symantec.
In terms of environment, Accenture scored the top spot, with Intel, Estée Lauder, IBM and Texas Instruments rounding out the top five.
Sustainable Brands members AT&T (#12), Procter & Gamble (#15), Humana (#17), PepsiCo (#19), Eastman Chemical (#33), Johnson & Johnson (#35), Kimberly-Clark (#47), 3M (#52), UPS (#66), General Motors (#70), Campbell Soup (#88), and HPE (#94) also made an appearance on the list.
“We’re grateful that P&G’s leadership in responsible governance, ethical behavior, community support and environment stewardship is being recognized,” said David Taylor, Chairman of the Board, President and CEO of P&G. “Consumers care about the company behind the brands they purchase and use. They want to know that the products they are buying come from a trusted source, and we’re working to build on that trust every single day.”
In October, P&G released its 2017 Citizenship Report, which details the company’s progress on focus areas of ethics and corporate responsibility, community impact, gender equality, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability. The company’s activities have included relief efforts following more than 20 natural disasters, sparking conversations about gender and racial bias, and developing new technology to advance the recycling industry.
“We are deeply honored to be recognized as one of America’s most JUST companies and to be named alongside so many notable and reputable companies,” said Mark Costa, Chairman and CEO of Eastman. “This recognition is a reflection of our culture, our values and our talented team of people who strive to fulfill our purpose of enhancing the quality of life in a material way.”
“For Eastman, success extends beyond financial performance. We believe that the best companies are those that balance the needs of all stakeholders — employees, customers, communities, investors and suppliers. This is why we believe investing in our workforce, providing a safe work environment, fostering a culture of inclusion and diversity, innovating for the future and supporting our global communities.”
JUST Capital’s full methodology is available at JUSTCapital.com/methodology as both an interactive guide and a comprehensive report.
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Published Dec 15, 2017 9am EST / 6am PST / 2pm GMT / 3pm CET