2011 CSR Awards: Overall Leader in CSR Practices – Organization With More Than 25,000 Employees

Winner: Novartis

Each year 11 million children from around the globe under the age of 5 die from preventable diseases. Pharmaceutical company Novartis strives to lower that number through access-to-medicine programs. Weaving these efforts into a comprehensive CSR package is a top priority at Novartis. Its access-to-medicine programs have been valued at $1.5 billion and reach 80 million patients—clearly impressive numbers to communicate to stakeholders.

Key to the company’s strategy is partnerships, with groups like the World Health Organization and numerous other NGOs; the governments of countries such as Tanzania and Singapore; and corporations such as IBM and Vodaphone. Novartis’ efforts in beating malaria, tuberculosis and leprosy have been touted in top-tier pubs like The Wall Street Journal, Financial Times and Bloomberg Businessweek. —SVC

Honorable Mentions:
Honeywell: CSR efforts focus on issues that resonate with communities, including science and math education; family safety and security; housing and shelter; and conservation. Honeywell's Hometown Solutions leverages high-impact local events, seasonal hooks, and scholarship and awards programs to for maximum media coverage.

Oracle: The tech company’s citizenship efforts are trumpeted by an external Web site, an employee portal and extensive media outreach around its programs in education, volunteerism and the environment. Oracle's efforts resulted in the company being named on Corporate Responsibility Magazine's 100 Best Corporate Citizens list in 2010.

Yum! Brands: The restaurant company’s quest to eliminate global hunger is backed by key partners and spokespersons like Muhammad Ali and Christina Aguilera. Online, grassroots activities rallied a concerned public through Facebook, YouTube, Yum! brand Web sites and Twitter.