PepsiCo is the sixth “best corporate citizen” among all public companies in a list just published. Hershey’s not far behind at No. 10, and altogether seven food & beverage processors made the annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking from 3BL, a public relations firm specializing in disseminating environmental, social and governance (ESG) information.
The annual ranking recognizes outstanding ESG transparency and performance among the 1,000 largest U.S. public companies. Hewlett Packard Enterprise Corp. was No. 1 with a score of 77.75, and former affiliate HP Inc. was No. 3 with a 76.28. PepsiCo’s score was 74.96.
The food & beverage company ranking and scores:
6. PepsiCo 74.96
10. Hershey 73.94
35. Mondelez 67.89
40. Kellogg 67.2
49. General Mills 66.07
61. Kraft Heinz 65.34
79. Coca-Cola 63.81
Within that “overall weighted score,” PepsiCo was ranked No. 1 among all 1,000 companies on human rights. Other criteria used to assess each company are climate change, employees, environment, stakeholders & society, governance, and ESG performance.
Hershey was second in human rights and eighth in employees. Kellogg was 10th in climate change.
3BL Media develops the 100 Best Corporate Citizens ranking in partnership with Institutional Shareholder Services ESG. Following a methodology, ISS ESG researches relevant data and processes the ranking. All data and information considered for the ranking must be publicly available through corporate websites, financial filings, policies, reports and reputable third-party sources.
The 2023 methodology considers 184 ESG factors across seven pillars (Climate Change; Employees; Environment; ESG Performance; Governance; Human Rights; Stakeholders and Society) and measures Russell 1000 companies’ performance and transparency on key issues of corporate citizenship and sustainability.
“Now more than ever, corporate leadership on environmental, social and governance issues is imperative. And so is transparency,” 3BL said. “As companies decarbonize, align with the Sustainable Development Goals and rebuild an equitable economy post-pandemic, they must be open about their efforts.”
