Companies with Corporate Social Responsibility

20. General Electric

The GE Foundation contributed $88 million to community and educational programs in 2016. They also
match contributions by employees and retirees through their GE Foundation Matching Gifts Program.

The foundation’s signature Developing Health programs focus on health-care access for communities
around the world.

19. Deloitte
This professional consulting firm makes clear its “commitment to driving societal change and promoting
environmental sustainability”. Working on innovative solutions along with government and non-profit
organizations, Deloitte makes an effort to encourage its employees to donate time to pro bono work.

This pays off for the company as well. In fact, 83 percent of Deloitte employees say that pro bono work
has made a positive impact on job satisfaction and 60 percent reported “significant gains in job-relevant
skills”.

18. IBM
Citizen IBM embodies the company’s dedication to corporate citizenship. IBM supports a wide range of
efforts for education, disaster relief, diversity, economic development, global health, and more. Their
approach to corporate citizenship aligns with that of their business — “applied technology, continuous
transformation, and sustainable change”.

In 2016, The World Community Grid combined the computing power of idle PCs and mobile devices
across a worldwide network for an equivalent of 167,000 years of computing time to support projects
such as cancer treatment research.

17. 3M
With 90,000 employees, 3M has adopted “science applied to life” as a trademark. It’s 3MGives program
— with $67 million funded in 2016 — focuses on community and the environment, plus educational
initiatives that help boost student interest in science and technology.

One program, the Discovery Education 3M Young Scientist Challenge, asks students from grades 5 to 8
to find innovative solutions to everyday problems, with ten finalists offered the opportunity to work
with a 3M scientist during a summer mentorship.

16. Zappos
Zappos’ core values include “Embrace and Drive Change” and “Be Humble”. Their charitable group,
Zappos for Good, works with charitable organizations to donate goods such as shoes, books, and school
supplies to those in need.

15. Cisco
Cisco’s CSR programs make use of the company’s technology and resources to aid underserved
communities with education, healthcare, economic empowerment, and disaster relief.

They have set a goal to impact 1 billion people by 2025 positively.

14. TOMS
TOMS was founded on the concept of sustainable giving through a for-profit business model. “One for
One” started with the promise of donating one pair of shoes for every pair purchased, but has since
expanded to programs supporting a wide range of services for people in need.

They also invest in jobs, social entrepreneurship, and integration with other charitable organizations
through their Giving Partners program.

13. Apple
As one of the world’s leading technology companies, Apple takes its global responsibility seriously. One
aspect of its social initiatives is the environment, adopting a mission to “ask less of the planet”.

Greenpeace has named Apple the “greenest tech company in the world” for three consecutive years.
Not only does the company encourage its IT partners to take full advantage of renewable energy, Apple
packaging is now manufactured with 99 percent recycled paper products.

12. LinkedIn
LinkedIn’s non-profit initiative, LinkedIn for Good, works with various organizations to connect
underserved communities to economic opportunity. They partner with youth training organizations,
veterans career services, refugee resource networks, and more.

Being a social networking service, they also utilize their platform to provide LinkedIn members with
channels to participate in mentorships, donate time, and find volunteering opportunities through their
Volunteer Marketplace.

11. Walt Disney Company

Disney, the number one company in the entertainment industry, has been ranked one of the “World’s
Most Admired Companies” by Fortune for two years in a row. The company’s social mission is to
strengthen communities “by providing hope, happiness, and comfort to kids and families who need it
most” and gave more than $400 million to nonprofit organizations in 2016.

The company’s “VoluntEARS” program encourages employees to donate time, which has totaled to 2.9
million hours of service since 2012 with a goal of reaching five million hours of employee community
service by 2020.

10. Alphabet (Google)

Regularly ranked as one of the most valuable brands in the world, and well-known for treating its
employees well, Google supports a wide range of initiatives based on innovative use of technology to
achieve social goals.

One of its goals is “Data-driven, human-focused philanthropy—powered by Google”. This takes the form
of programs such as using data to uncover racial injustice, translating books through an open-sourced
platform to improve education, and — one close to our heart at SmartRecruiters — connecting people
with jobs to enhance economic mobility worldwide.

9. BMW
Just finished celebrating its 100th year in business, The BMW Group has maintained its rank as one of
the world’s most sustainable automotive company as rated in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indexes.

This aspect of BMW’s operations is only one of the company’s social responsibility programs, which
include education, wellness, and inter-cultural understanding as key tenets of a commitment to “social
peace” and “stable economic development”.

8. Virgin Atlantic
Virgin Atlantic’s Change is in the Air sustainability initiative has three main pillars: environment,
sustainable design and buying, and community investment.

Since 2007, they have reduced total aircraft carbon emissions by 22% and have partnered with
LanzaTech to develop low carbon fuels for the future. Virgin Holidays donates £200,000 annually to the
Brandon Center for Entrepreneurship Caribbean to support young entrepreneurs in Jamaica. In 2016,
through onboard collection of spare foreign currency from customers, they raised over £500,000 for
charity partner WE.

7. Levi Strauss & Co.

Like many companies on this list, Levi Strauss & Co. demonstrates social responsibility to a large extent
through sustainability initiatives that are “sewn into the fabric” of the company.

One trademarked campaign, Water<Less, significantly reduces water use in manufacturing, by up to 96

percent for some styles. Since launching the process in 2011, the company has saved more than one
billion liters of water. By 2020, the company expects to manufacture 80 percent of its products through
this process, up from 25 percent today.

6. Dell
Dell has implemented the 2020 Legacy of Good Plan as their commitment to “drive human progress”
through environmental sustainability, addressing community challenges, global supply chain
responsibility, hiring diversity, and, ultimately, a dedication to putting more back than they take out.

The Net Positive Project goal is, by 2020, to contribute 10x the good that it takes to create and use their
technology.

5. Salesforce
Marc Benioff, chairman and CEO of Salesforce sums up corporate social responsibility quite clearly when
he says “The business of business Is improving the state of the World.”

The company has adopted an integrated philanthropic approach called the 1-1-1 model. This means that
one percent of the company’s equity is set aside for grants in communities where employees live and
work, one percent of the company’s product is donated to non-profit organizations, and one percent of
each employee’s time is donated to community initiatives. It’s a simple model that’s easily understood.

4. IKEA
The IKEA Foundation focuses on the Circle of Prosperity — funding home, health, education, and
sustainable income for communities in need. As stated by the founder, their mission is to “create a
better everyday life for as many people as possible around the world”.
In 2017, the foundation’s Brighter Lives for Refugees campaign funded a solar farm to bring renewable
power to Jordan’s Azraq refugee camp. This is the world’s first solar plant built in a refugee setting and
will save $1.5 million, as well as reduce CO₂ emissions by 2,370 tons annually.

3. Starbucks
As a company established in the 1970s, Starbucks has always operated with a sensitivity to social
responsibility — committed to sustainability and strengthening communities.

For example, the company has committed to providing one million coffee trees to farmers as a partner
in Conservation International’s “Sustainable Coffee Challenge.” In addition, the company plans to hire
10,000 refugees across 75 countries in the next five years, plus, hire 25,000 veterans by 2025.

2. Bosch
The company continues to operate by the values of founder Robert Bosch, who said “I have always
acted according to the principle that it is better to lose money than trust.” The credo that “responsibility
creates trust” carries through in the company’s efforts around ecological and social improvement.

Bosch invests 50% of its R&D budget in technologies supporting conservation and environmental
protection. The Bosch eXchange program remanufactures used car components, generating 23,000
metric tons less CO₂ annually compared to new production.

1. Ben & Jerry’s

This company has a reputation for social responsibility that goes back to its original IPO in 1985. That’s
when the Ben & Jerry’s Foundation was created with an initial gift of 50,000 shares and a decision of the
company’s Board that 7.5 percent of the company’s pretax profits be allocated to philanthropy.

The foundation now awards more than $1.8 million per year to fund community action, social change,
sustainability, and other initiatives in the company’s home state of Vermont and throughout the
country.