Co-Winner: Coca-Cola Enterprises
Corporate responsibility and sustainability at Coca-Cola Enterprises begins at the very top. A specially designated committee of the board of directors meets five times a year to review CCE’s progress on the CSR front, and to oversee the allocation of funding from specific CSR budgets. In September 2011, CCE launched a new sustainability plan, “Deliver for Today, Inspire for Tomorrow,” designed to not only reduce negative impacts, but to also actively make a positive difference in communities and the world. CCE determined three strategic priorities: Delivering on CSR commitments in seven focus areas and measuring itself against key performance indicators as determined by the Global Reporting Initiative; leading the industry in energy and climate change as well as sustainable packaging and recycling; and collaborating with partners and stakeholders to determine where future innovations are required. —SP
Co-Winner: IBM Corporation
“Corporations prosper only to the extent that they satisfy human needs. Profit is only the scoring system. The end is better living for us.” Uttered by former IBM chairman Thomas J. Watson, Jr., this has long been a guiding credo for the company. To IBM, this means going beyond simply writing a check. For its 100-year anniversary in 2011, IBM engaged in a massive hands-on global “Celebration of Service” that inspired a whopping 88% of its global workforce (which, in total, is more than 426,000) to volunteer in thousands of highly localized volunteer programs. IBM also launched its largest philanthropic initiative to date—a $50 million Smarter Cities Challenge grant program that provides 100 municipalities worldwide with action- able advice from the company’s top technical experts and consultants on how to tackle the cities’ biggest problems. —SP
Honorable Mentions:
Honeywell: Honeywell Hometown Solutions—via its Honeywell Educators @ Space Academy scholarship program—offered a series of astronaut-style exercises and simulations that taught 1,500 teachers from 43 countries new practices in science and math education.
Oracle: Among the company’s CSR successes in the fiscal year of 2011: The Oracle Academy delivered more than $2.7 billion in software, curriculum, hosting services and teacher professional development to thousands of global education institutions, and more than 14,000 employees volunteered on 441 projects.
Procter & Gamble: In 2011, P&G’s Live, Learn & Thrive program provided lifesaving vaccinations and clean water in Africa, safe homes across Europe, educational opportunities in Asia and early childhood development in Latin America.