Mar 9 2009
Corporate Responsibility Officer magazine today named Entergy Corporation (NYSE: ETR) as one of the top ten corporate citizens in the United States. For the second time in three years, Entergy was the highest-ranking utility company on CRO's honored list.
CRO publisher Jay Whitehead announced the magazine's 10th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List during a news conference in New York City. First published in 2000 by Business Ethics Magazine, the Citizens List is the most-recognized corporate responsibility ranking of Russell 1000 companies. It is based on publicly available information that is used to rank performance in seven key areas: environment, climate change, human rights, philanthropy, employee relations, financial and governance.
"Social and environmental responsibility is embedded in our corporate DNA," said J. Wayne Leonard, Entergy's chairman and chief executive officer. "Recognition as a top corporate citizen is a very special and important achievement for us as we continue to aggressively pursue smart carbon policy for a sustainable future."
The 100 Best Corporate Citizens List was compiled for CRO by IW Financial, a leading provider of socially responsible investment rankings to institutional investors. The final designation of the 100 best companies was determined by averaging the ranks within the seven categories. Entergy has now appeared on the CRO Best Corporate Citizens List for three consecutive years.
"In today's deep recession, human capital and financial capital seek safety -- and companies on the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List are today's safest harbors," Whitehead said.
A complete list of CRO's Best Corporate Citizens is available on the CRO Web site (www.thecro.com).
In another recently announced list, Entergy was honored as Best in Class for environmental and social performance by Storebrand, a SRI financial services company. Storebrand's ranking is based on an analysis of 53 companies worldwide that represent the electric utilities industry, independent power producers and energy traders.
The main indicators for analysis included climate change, environmental management and governance. Companies that ranked in the top 30 percentile of environmental and social performance qualified for investment by Storebrand's Best in Class funds. Only 14 companies were chosen as Best in Class for the 2009 analysis with Entergy being one of only two U.S.-based companies included on the list.
Entergy Corporation is an integrated energy company engaged primarily in electric power production and retail distribution operations. Entergy owns and operates power plants with approximately 30,000 megawatts of electric generating capacity, and it is the second-largest nuclear generator in the United States. Entergy delivers electricity to 2.7 million utility customers in Arkansas, Louisiana, Mississippi and Texas. Entergy has annual revenues of more than $13 billion and approximately 14,300 employees.