Reputation Institute (RI), the global leader in Reputation Intelligence, today announced the 2018 Global CR RepTrak® rankings. Google tops the ranking with the best reputation for overall corporate responsibility (CR) closely followed by Disney and LEGO. Five new companies in the Top 10 of Global CR this year include Natura, Novo Nordisk, Canon, Michelin and IKEA.
This year’s top 10 companies with the best reputation for corporate responsibility worldwide are:
- Google [NASDAQ: GOOGL]
- Walt Disney Company [NYSE: DIS]
- The LEGO Group
- Natura [BVMF: NATU3]
- Novo Nordisk [NYSE: NVO]
- Microsoft [NASDAQ: MSFT]
- Bosch [NSE: BOSCHLTD]
- Canon [NYSE: CAJ]
- Michelin [OTCMKTS: MGDDY]
- IKEA
The largest corporate reputation study of its kind, the Global CR RepTrak is based on more than 230,000 individual ratings from among the informed general public worldwide. The survey quantifies the public’s perception of corporate responsibility, based on the emotional bond stakeholders have with companies, and reveals how this deep connection can drive supportive behavior such as the intent to purchase, benefit of the doubt, likelihood to recommend, and willingness to work for the company.
“To win on reputation through corporate responsibility, it is integral to practice what you preach in terms of corporate brand purpose and stand behind what you say and do,” said Ana Angelovska, Research Director at Reputation Institute. “Companies that rank highest are those that spark relevant and authentic dialogue about responsible behavior.”
“This year’s results demonstrate an important inflection point. We are now in an era when companies need to go beyond just social responsibility – they must execute on fiscal, social, environmental, and employer responsibility,” said Stephen Hahn-Griffiths, Chief Reputation Officer at Reputation Institute. “There is unique opportunity for a company to raise the bar and deliver on higher expectations for a holistic commitment to corporate responsibility.”
The 2018 ranking reveals the central importance of responsible leadership in supporting a CR agenda. Companies within the CR Top 10 have CEOs who are seen as responsible, behave ethically, and care about social causes. Their scores on the measures of responsibility are significantly higher than those companies that did not make it into the CR RepTrak Top 100 ranking. In a time of CEO activism, companies with familiar and visible CEOs experience increased perception of CR.
The values of Google’s CEO, Sundar Pichai, help elevate the company’s reputation for corporate responsibility. Google also benefits from its performance in the Workplace category of the recent study; it is the only company with a strong Workplace score and is a leader in equal opportunities, employee well-being and incentives. Google also achieved #1 in the Citizenship category.
Google’s success is even more remarkable in the context of reputational challenges for the technology sector as a whole in 2018. Of all sectors, the technology industry experienced the largest decline in corporate responsibility rankings, with a -3.1-point decline in the CR Index, led by Workplace (-3.9), Citizenship (-2.9) and Governance (-2.7).
Among the top companies, the LEGO Group is recognized as the leader in Governance and is the only company to have a strong score in both Governance and Citizenship. Novo Nordisk is recognized as the top pharmaceutical company for CR and is the only pharma company in the top 30.
For more information, view the 2018 Global CSR RepTrak webinar and download the report and full rankings: https://www.reputationinstitute.com/2018-global-csr
