BMW
- Has already introduced Advanced Diesel engines to Canada, and will launch its ActiveHybrid vehicles this year.
- Currently developing hydrogen technology as a long-term source of automotive energy, and has an action plan to reach zero emissions.
- Through its “Design for Recycling” concept, new BMW vehicles contain 15 per cent recycled materials and customers are able to return used vehicles free of charge for safe disassembly, recycling and reuse.
- Implemented an HIV/AIDS program in South Africa, which will be expanded to China, Russia and Thailand.
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I find it reprehensible that you would steal this entire concept from Corporate Knights and then release it on the same day as theirs. There is no way to defend this as anything other than plagarism and infringement. Shame on your editorial department for such a low, underhanded move. Just another reason to shy away from your publication.
http://www.corporateknights.ca/component/content/...
Jason S.
Vancouver, BC
Not many of the "usual suspects" on this list (Whole Foods, HT Naturals, Lululemon etc). What was the criteria for this list? Seems like only the largest branded corporations are listed here – and none have a very in-depth profile to justify their presence on the list! I read through the methodology but didn't really learn much from it.
Can't say I agree with many of these assessments – especially since the very business activities of many of these should have left them off the list! In my opinion, you can't call an oil company "socially responsible", even if they stress a good work/life balance for employees and implemented water recycling at the Oil Sands. Hello?! The Oil Sands are the single most environmentally destructive project on the planet!!
Sorry Jantzi – I'm sure all your hearts are in the right places, but I'm not impressed with this kind of high-profile, media-catching "buzz" list that does little to add to legitimate value to corporate responsibility.
not to be overly cynical, but it isn't uncommon for companies to be required to submit themselves for consideration or even pay a fee to be considered for lists like these, and often the most deserving simply don't bother.
Wonderful information…keep up the great work!
OK, thanks.
A few questions while I've gotten your attention.
1) Why did you pull the link to the complaint letter that Jason Steeghs provided (first commenter)? I was teasing one of the signatories, and then I found the document has vanmoosed.
2) What percentage of you mag advertising revenue comes from companies in your top 50 list?
3) The document you provided states:
"The weightings and full details for the baseline and KPI indicators are available for purchase in the form of Sector-Specific Reports on demand by contacting the Corporate Knights Sales Group at sales@corporateknights.caThis e-mail address is being protected from spambots, you need JavaScript enabled to view it "
Sorry, but I ain't paying.
4) In your O&G sector, you list these factors:
Oil and Gas
• GHG intensity
• Water intensity
• Renewable energy portfolio
• Aboriginal relations
Why does a given O&G company earn a higher score for owning renewable assets if the return they earn on that asset is greater than their cost of capital? In other words, it doesn't cost them anything (unlike say a carbon tax which comes off as an expense), in fact probably earns them a profit ,and in all likelihood, any projects that a company undertakes, would probably be heavily subsidized – and hence could be provided by private companies that specialize in those areas.
Excuse me Jason, but I actually quite enjoy reading Macleans Magazine as they focus on many various topics and are a lot more involved in sharing and spreading their news through more than one medium. Please explain to me even one other reason we should “shy away” from this publication. Perhaps Corporate Knight did come up with this “top 50″ list first, but for those of us who haven’t even heard of Corporate Knights before, Macleans offers us the insight.
[...] it has been insinuated that Macleans “borrowed” the idea for their June cover story Canada’s 50 Best Corporate Citizens. It turns out that Corporate Knights magazine, run by my friends Toby Heaps and Karen Kun, has [...]
How socially responsible is it For Petro Canada to have locked out their 260 workers in Montreal for 14 months all the while breaking provincial anti-scab laws and operating the refinery with overworked under experienced office personnel placing not only themselves at risk but the surrounding communities as well. Socially responsible my _ _ _. This is one lame study. One can't help but wonder just how much it costs to get on this list. wink, wink, nudge, nudge.
The listing should exclude companies that engage in Tax Avoidance schemes. Hard to get that info!
As is unfortunately usual with responses to Democracy Watch's criticisms of such corporate responsibility rankings, Jay Shepherd changes the basis of the criticism and then dismisses it by claiming it is unrealistic.
Democracy Watch does not in any way suggest, or appear to suggest, "that we can't recognize banks or insurance companies who excel" "until they reach a state of perfect enlightenment" as Mr. Shepherd misleadingly claims.
Democracy Watch's criticism is that no one has the information necessary to rank the banks or insurance companies level of corporate responsibility. The improvements in information flow that Mr. Shepherd claims have not provided details about which companies banks and insurance companies are lending, investing or insuring with more than $1 trillion.
Lending, investing and insuring (along with customer service, about which few details are also known) are the core activities of these financial institutions. If you don't have the details about a company's core activities, it is impossible to know if they act responsibly, and therefore it is clearly irresponsible to rank its level of responsibility.
It amounts to whitewash because most people will very likely only look at the top 50 list and assume those doing the ranking had the detailed information needed to do such a ranking.
Yeah, but if there are two banks, and one buys fair trade coffee…