Former CEOs Applaud The Civic 100 and Encourage Participation in Letter to S&P 500 Executives

ELIGIBLE COMPANIES URGED TO PARTICIPATE IN CORPORATE CIVIC ENGAGEMENT SURVEY BEFORE JULY 31 DEADLINE

WASHINGTON, July 25, 2012 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- Steve Case, former CEO and chairman of America Online, Michael Eskew, former CEO and chairman of UPS, John Pepper, former CEO of Proctor & Gamble, Bob Nardelli, former CEO of Home Depot and Chrysler, and Ray Chambers, former chairman of private equity firm Wesray Capital Corporation, today shared their endorsement of The Civic 100, a survey initiative to survey, rank, and recognize S&P 500 corporations making a difference in communities, in a letter to current corporate CEOs. In the letter, the five former CEOs call on their colleagues to participate in the survey as well as evaluate how their companies are leveraging their time, talent, and resources to build stronger communities. The deadline for completing the survey is July 31.

"Our leadership responsibility extends beyond ensuring financial success and ethical business practices," write Case, Eskew, Nardelli, Pepper, and Chambers. "We and our associates are stewards of the cities and towns in which we work, and we are responsible for fostering a strong sense of community throughout our enterprises – each and every day.  As business leaders, it is we who must grab the bull by the horns, rather than pass the buck, to ignite a culture of corporations giving back."

Specifically, the formers CEOs highlight the importance of assessing the current CSR landscape to determine what actions companies are taking to elevate the communities where they do business. This information, in turn, will help establish a blueprint for other corporations wishing to build their corporate social responsibility capacity and infrastructure.

"We hold steadfast to the notion that the private sector, wants to and can contribute more to solutions that address community challenges," the former CEOs continue. "America's challenges require much more from corporations than attending charity galas and supporting golf tournaments. Real change comes from companies devoting their time, collective talent and resources to developing long-term, sustainable action plans to improve their local communities nationwide."

The Civic 100, a partnership among Bloomberg News, the National Conference on Citizenship and Points of Light, is the first survey to implement a scientific approach to measuring and evaluating corporate civic engagement. A mix of qualitative and quantitative responses will be used to generate an overall composite score, resulting in a rank ordered 1-to-100 list to be published in Bloomberg Businessweek in mid-November. 

The full text of Case, Nardelli, Eskew, Pepper, and Chambers' letter to the current CEOs of S&P 500 companies is below. To learn more about The Civic 100 survey, please visit www.Civic100.org.

"Having been at the helm of major companies, we recognize the deeper meaning behind President Truman's phrase, 'The buck stops here.' Our leadership responsibility extends beyond ensuring financial success and ethical business practices.  We and our associates are stewards of the cities and towns in which we work, and we are responsible for fostering a strong sense of community throughout our enterprises – each and every day.  As business leaders, it is we who must grab the bull by the horns, rather than pass the buck, to ignite a culture of corporations giving back.

"We hold steadfast to the notion that the private sector, wants to and can contribute more to solutions that address community challenges.  America's challenges require much more from corporations than attending charity galas and supporting golf tournaments. Real change comes from companies devoting their time, collective talent and resources to developing long-term, sustainable action plans to improve their local communities nationwide.

"The Civic 100, a national survey that recognizes S&P 500 companies that are making a difference in communities across America, elevates corporations leading the charge to create positive change. The survey not only recognizes the good work companies are doing, but through rigorous data collection and analysis, establishes a base line that can serve as a blueprint for any company wishing to bolster its corporate social responsibility capacity and infrastructure.

"Participation of S&P companies is vital to ensuring the success of this valuable tool. We understand the demands placed on CSR departments and that completing yet another survey can be taxing.  However, if we are determined to make measurable social impact, we must be rigorous in our assessments of the current landscape. We call on our colleagues and partners sharing our common goal to take The Civic 100 survey today and rethink how your company is leveraging its time, talent and resources to building stronger communities. Corporate America has a great community engagement story to tell – so let's start telling it in our words, and more importantly through our actions."

SOURCE The Civic 100