December 13, 2001 | Read Time: 1 minute
A new report on 14 multinational companies that run charitable-giving or community programs worldwide gives top honors to International Business Machines, in Armonk, N.Y.
The report, which rates companies according to seven criteria, such as how well the businesses measure the impact of their work, is based on a study conducted by the Center for Corporate Citizenship, at Boston College, and ProbusBNW, a consulting company in London. The organizations examined the community involvement of eight European and six American businesses.
IBM garnered particularly high marks for creating close partnerships with school systems worldwide, and for commissioning independent evaluations to determine the effectiveness of its education programs on student achievement.
Along with the ratings, the report identifies the practices common to the best-run international programs. Among those practices:
- Designing giving and community programs from the outset to be international, instead of adding a global component to existing domestic programs.
- Having the commitment of top company leadership at both the headquarters and local levels.
- Demonstrating sensitivity to different languages, cultures, and traditions.
Copies of the report, “Benchmarks for International Corporate Community Involvement,” are available from the Center for Corporate Citizenship, 55 Lee Road, Chestnut Hill, Mass. 02467; (617) 552-4545; ccc@bc.edu.
The cost is $195 for the center’s members and $395 for nonmembers.
A free summary of the report can be found at http://www.bc.edu/corporatecitizenship.
