Annual Survey Focuses on Corporate Social Responsibility Performance of Major U.S. Companies

NEW YORK, NY – Business Ethics Magazine has released its annual survey of the “100 Best Corporate Citizens” in the Spring 2006 issue published last week. The closely-watched survey has gained national recognition as an indicator of best practices in the area of corporate social responsibility. This year’s “100 Best” list is led by Green Mountain Coffee Roasters (NASDAQ: GMCR) of Waterbury, Vermont, which was cited for its “meticulous attention to corporate social responsibility,” including its pioneering work in the fair trade movement, which pays coffee growers stable, fair prices. Green Mountain has been among the top 10 companies on Business Ethics’ list for four years running.

Now in its seventh year, the list for 2006 is striking because of the dominance of technology firms among the top 10. Hewlett-Packard (NYSE: HPQ) is enjoying its seventh time in the top 10, while Advanced Micro Devices (NYSE: AMD) makes its first appearance on the list. Motorola (NYSE: MOT) is enjoying its third time in the top 10, and Agilent Technologies (NYSE: A) its second time. Rounding out the top ten this year are The Timberland Company (NYSE: TBL), list newcomer Salesforce.com (NYSE: CRM), Cisco Systems (NASDAQ: CSCO), Dell (NASDAQ: DELL) and Texas Instruments (NYSE: TXN)).

Why the strong showing by tech? “Surprisingly, it’s not due to financial out-performance,” said Marjorie Kelly, Editor of Business Ethics, “since none of the top tech companies ranked in the top 10 in financial returns.” Instead, Kelly noted, most top tech companies do well on environmental issues. They also tend to be active in their communities and score high in employee relations, she said. “These firms know that to attract and retain talent, it pays to be socially enlightened. High- tech seems to be a genuinely socially responsible sector.”

The list saw quite a bit of turnover from 2005, with 33 companies appearing for the first time. Newcomers Johnson & Johnson (NYSE: JNJ) and McGraw-Hill Companies (NYSE: MHP) score particularly high in workforce diversity. Newcomer Milwaukee-based Johnson Controls (NYSE: JCI) rates high marks because of products that help conserve energy. The 100 Best Corporate Citizens list puts a numerical rating on service to these various stakeholders. Environmental, social and governance ratings are drawn from SOCRATES , the online social research database created by KLD Research & Analytics, Inc. in Boston, an independent research firm serving investment management professionals. “KLD is proud to have powered the ratings for The 100 Best Corporate Citizens in each of the seven years since inception,” says Peter Kinder, president of KLD. “Our quality is rooted in independent research and analysis of listed companies for environmental, social and governance factors.

Clearly, The 100 Best Corporate Citizens demonstrates some perform better than others. The universe of companies considered for the list encompasses U.S. firms in the Russell 1000, the S&P 500, and KLD’s Domini 400 Social Index. These firms are ranked on their performance in eight stakeholder categories: shareholders, community, governance, diversity, employees, environment, human rights, and product. Social scores use KLD’s assessment of “strengths” and “concerns” demonstrated in each category. The shareholder score is based on three-year average total return (stock appreciation plus dividends) through year-end 2005. “Being a good corporate citizen requires focus, dedication, and hard work. The companies on our list are to be congratulated” said Michael Connor, Publisher and Executive Editor of Business Ethics.

Please find the full list of company names in the rating below. More details regarding the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list are available on the Business Ethics web site at:
www.business-ethics.com/whats_new/100best.html

1 Green Mountain Coffee Roasters, Inc.
2 Hewlett-Packard Company
3 Advanced Micro Devices, Inc.
4 Motorola, Inc.
5 Agilent Technologies, Inc.
6 Timberland Company (The)
7 Salesforce.com, Inc.
8 Cisco Systems, Inc.
9 Dell Inc.
10 Texas Instruments Incorporated
11 Intel Corporation
12 Johnson & Johnson
13 NIKE, Inc.
14 General Mills Incorporated
15 Pitney Bowes, Inc.
16 Wells Fargo & Company
17 Starbucks Corporation
18 Wainwright Bank & Trust Company
19 St. Paul Travelers Companies, Inc. (The)
20 Ecolab Inc.
21 Gap, Inc. (The)
22 Herman Miller, Inc.
23 Southwest Airlines Co.
24 Interface, Inc.
25 Apple Computer, Inc.
26 Chittenden Corporation
27 UnionBanCal Corporation
28 Wild Oats Markets, Inc.
29 American Express Company
30 Northwest Natural Gas Company
31 Coherent, Inc.
32 Gaiam, Inc.
33 Eastman Kodak Company
34 Sovereign Bancorp, Inc.
35 Applied Materials, Inc.
36 Nationwide Financial Services, Inc.
37 Heartland Financial USA, Inc.
38 Freddie Mac
39 Synovus Financial Corp.
40 Chicago Mercantile Exchange Holdings Inc.
41 International Business Machines Corporation
42 Adobe Systems Incorporated
43 3M Company
44 First Horizon National Corporation
45 Office Depot, Inc.
46 SLM Corporation
47 Whole Foods Market, Inc.
48 United Parcel Service, Inc.
49 Whirlpool Corporation
50 United Natural Foods, Inc.
51 State Street Corporation
52 Student Loan Corporation
53 Total System Services, Inc.
54 Tennant Company
55 Kellogg Company
56 Cathay General Bancorp, Inc.
57 McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc.
58 Zimmer Holdings, Inc.
59 Modine Manufacturing Company
60 Northern Trust Corporation
61 Cummins, Inc.
62 Citigroup Inc.
63 Molina Healthcare, Inc.
64 Nature’s Sunshine Products, Inc.
65 Washington Post Company
66 Darden Restaurants, Inc.
67 Biomet, Inc.
68 Bank of Hawaii Corporation
69 Brady Corporation
70 Sun Microsystems, Inc.
71 WGL Holdings, Inc.
72 Ambac Financial Group, Inc.
73 Johnson Controls, Inc.
74 Bright Horizons Family Solutions, Inc.
75 Becton Dickinson and Company
76 Genentech, Inc.
77 Nordstrom, Inc.
78 Lam Research Corporation
79 KeyCorp.
80 Akamai Technologies, Inc.
81 Symantec Corporation
82 Micron Technology, Inc.
83 East West Bancorp, Inc.
84 PepsiCo, Inc.
85 Graco Inc.
86 Autodesk, Inc.
87 Timken Company, (The)
88 American Tower Corporation
89 Hartford Financial Services Group (The)
90 Procter & Gamble Company
91 Xilinx, Inc.
92 Air Products & Chemicals, Inc.
93 Grainger (W.W.), Inc.
94 Gen-Probe Incorporated
95 Baldor Electric Company
96 BB&T Corporation
97 Principal Financial Group, Inc.
98 Apogee Enterprises, Inc.
99 IDEXX Laboratories, Inc.
100 Rockwell Collins