by Kate McKee

Created on: November 17, 2009   Last Updated: November 20, 2009

How do you measure social and environmental consciousness in the business world? Do you look to lists that have been compiled by independent organizations? Do you look at public perception? Do you look to a company's own reporting? Or do you look to the smaller companies who may not have the clout or exposure to make the big lists or circulate glossy reports, but whose very reason for coming into existence was to further the greater good?

Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) refers to many things. CRO Magazine used 7 criteria when compiling their list of the 100 Best Corporate Citizens of 2009: environment, climate change, human rights, philanthropy, employee relations, finance and governance. These criteria cover all the aspects of CSR, which can be defined in simple terms as the extent to which a company considers 'people' and 'the planet' while striving to make a profit.

When looking at the corporate giants, it is interesting to see the disparity that arises between the various ratings. A glance at the following four lists makes for interesting reading.

1. Global 100's 100 Most Sustainable Corporations in the World

2. CRO Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens of 2009

3.Boston College Center for Corporate Citizenship's CSR Index

4. Fortune 500's list of America's Most Socially Responsible Companies, 2008

If we look at the top ten companies of the last three lists, no one company features on all three (Global 100's list is not rated). Some companies which feature in the top ten of Fortune 500 and Boston College do not appear at all in CRO or Global 100. More significantly, there is not one company which features on all four lists! There are some names which crop up regularly though. Walt Disney does well, featuring on three of the lists. Other regular names include General Mills, Hewlitt Packard, Baxter, Microsoft and Starbucks.

Based on these lists, and based on the information that all of these companies give in their annual reports, it is probably safe to presume a certain level of social responsibility in all of these corporations. And, in fact, CSR is becoming a more and more important feature of the corporate world. Consumers, investors and potential employees are voting with their feet and demanding increased levels of responsibility from the corporations, and studies have shown that the public perception of the level of responsibility a company takes can have a direct impact on financial performance.

But let's have a look at some of the smaller companies:

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