Which Companies Give The Most?
With huge profit comes huge responsibility. Corporate America fuels the economy by providing jobs, products and an enhanced infrastructure, but that is not enough. Currently, a number of corporations have enhanced their public profiles by simply doing good, increasing sustainability efforts and maintaining high levels of charitable giving. By supporting each of these goals, forward-thinking companies show interest in supporting the planet and providing men, women and children worldwide with better opportunities for enhanced health care, education and quality of life. Here are a few of America's corporate frontrunners to keep on your radar.
www.caterpillar.com
Sustainability and innovation earmark Caterpillar's corporate ideology and leadership efforts in reducing waste and energy efficiency. Over $59,000,000 was dispersed through the Caterpillar Foundation in 2012 to key causes operating within three strategic areas: education, the environment and emergency relief. Caterpillar's focus on empowering girls and young women in an effort to stem poverty has created broad-based societal change in both local U.S. neighborhoods and developing countries.
www.merck.com
Global health care giant, Merck, looks to expand health care access via sweeping global initiatives such as Merck for Mothers, a program geared towards ensuring safe pregnancies and childbirth for all women, everywhere. Its partnerships with organizations such as the Safe Water Network and Support My School work towards increasing access to clean water and reducing wastewater pollution. The Merck Foundation donated just under $43,000,000 in 2012 to health, education and community-based causes centering on a variety of issues, including asthma, HIV/AIDS and science education.
www.jnj.com
Waste reduction and industrial usage geared towards lowering energy reliance and inefficiency are key elements in J&J's family-focused platform. Financial giving focuses on protecting the environment and community-centric solutions to local health challenges and concerns. Three key, strategic areas of focus are saving and enriching the lives of women and children, preventing disease among the most vulnerable populations and protecting health care workers both internationally and domestically. The Johnson & Johnson Family of Companies Foundation donated just under $47,000,000 in 2013 to a wide variety of programs centered upon these goals. J&J also granted permission to generic pharmaceutical companies to produce and distribute a copy of their HIV medication in sub-Saharan Africa, vastly improving health care access to untold thousands who previously had no or limited access to this life-saving drug.
www.abbott.com
Supporting people to live better, healthier lives has been Abbott's focus for over 100 years. Responsible, sustainable business practices are part of the corporate fabric of this global, patient-focused leader, from sourcing raw materials through to the manufacturing process and product disposal practices. The Abbott Fund contributed just under $73,000,000 in 2012 to highly diverse, global programs with a key emphasis on humanitarian causes, such as women's health care in Afghanistan and feeding hungry children throughout the U.S. and in Puerto Rico.
www.ge.com
GE is one of the oldest and largest technology companies operating in the global marketplace today, with a long track record of resiliency and problem solving. A broad-based commitment to global sustainability includes a focus on optimization of natural resources and increased energy-efficiency management. The GE Foundation contributed over $130,000,000 in 2012 to organizations and projects reflecting these and other long- and short-term goals. With a stated commitment to building a world that works better, GE's major funding focuses are educating people by providing cutting-edge skill acquisition and supporting communities with enhanced technological access in order to enable education and health-based initiatives to thrive.
