cryptogamesphone|《巴伦周刊》2024全美100家最具可持续发展力公司

Industrial disputes and disputes over pluralistic, fair and inclusive practices are challenging the sustainable development goals of companies, which are being tested.

After a year-long strike from Hollywood to Detroit, many companies are hoping for a respite on labor issues, but this may be wishful thinking.

A resilient economy does not shift debt leverage from workers to corporate bosses. Despite some layoffs in the technology sector, the overall job market remains tight and the unemployment rate is near an all-time low. To the "pluralism, Equity and inclusiveness" initiative (Diversity,Equity,and Inclusion, abbreviated asCryptogamesphoneDEI) strong resistance is spreading from universities to businesses-for example, Alphabet and Meta Platforms are reported to have withdrawn from the initiative. Coupled with the blockade of illegal immigrants and the surge in US manufacturing demand, many companies are likely to face another year of severe labour shortages.

Some companies have solved these problems better than others, finding ways to reward employees and achieve DEI goals without having a significant impact on the company's profit or social responsibility reputation. Several of the companies that are doing well are on Barron's list of the 100 most sustainable companies.

This is the seventh time we have released the annual list, with companies rated according to environmental, social and governance (ESG) indicators. Barron Weekly ranks these companies in partnership with Calvert Research and Management (Calvert Research and Management), a leader in socially responsible investment. The top 1000 companies with the highest scores on the diversity of working environment and greenhouse gas emissions were selected from the 1000 largest listed companies in the United States. (for more information about the complete list and ranking methods, see below.)

Clorox, the household goods company, topped the list for the second year in a row, with Kimberly-Clark (Kimberly), CBRE (CBRE Group), Hasbro (Hasbro) and Agilent Technologies (Agilent) ranked second to fifth, covering a wide range of industries, with technology, industrial and consumer goods companies well represented.

Clorox ranks at the top of Barron Weekly for the second year in a row. In the picture, a worker is supervising the production of the Cole Glad brand factory.

Many companies have brought handsome returns to their shareholders. In 2023, the average return on shares of the top 100 companies was 19%, while the average return on the s & p 500, including dividends, was 26%. It doesn't look very good. But the S & P 500 is a market-weighted index, driven by the seven tech giants (Apple, Microsoft, Amazon, Nvidia, Meta Platforms, Tesla and alphabet) last year. Excluding this impact, the weighted return on the s & p 500 is 14%, lagging behind the 100 most sustainable companies on the list.

Several stocks made excellent returns in 2023, with chipmaker Nvidia ranking 41st with a 239 per cent rise. Other high-performing technology stocks include HubSpot, Intel, Applied Materials and Lam Research. In addition to technology stocks, Trex, Lennox International, Williams-Sonoma, Insight Enterprises and Owens Corning also performed strongly.

Chris, managing director of Calvert, Morgan Stanley Investment Management. One of the main themes of this year's ranking is progress in corporate governance and industrial relations, says Chris Madden. He saidCryptogamesphone"many of the companies on this list have done a great job in dealing with employee issues."

The unprecedented scale of the 2023 strike, including Hollywood writers and Detroit auto workers, stepped onto the cordon of protest for concessions and pay increases. Pilots and other trade unions have done well, injecting life into an organized labor movement that has been in decline since the 1950s. New technologies such as artificial intelligence and electric cars are upending many industries, prompting workers to demand more labour protection.

Tensions between companies and employees are spreading in a more open way, thanks in part to the spread of social media. Alison Taylor, an associate professor at New York University's Stern School of Business and author of a new book, Higher Ground, says employees are using social platforms such as X and TikTok to amplify their voices or humiliate their employers. One of the most interesting recent trends, she says, is the rise of "strategic leaks" (strategic leaking), in which young employees use their life experiences to beat up positive messages from senior executives. She cites the trend to share layoffs on TikTok.

Debates over DEI are also brewing, including conservative political boycotts, complicating companies' efforts to achieve their DEI goals. Last year, a number of well-known chief diversity officers (Chief Diversity Officers) resigned from a number of large American companies, including Walt Disney and Netflix. This month, Zoom Video Communications fired a team focused on DEI projects as part of the layoffs.

This problem also keeps popping up in the presidential campaign. At a rally in Philadelphia last year, presidential candidate Donald Trump promised to eliminate all pluralistic, fair and inclusive programs across the federal government.

Many companies say they are still committed to achieving DEI goals. A survey of chief human resources officers by the World Federation of large Enterprises (Conference Board) at the end of last year showed that no one planned to scale back their diversity efforts, with 75 per cent saying improving the employee experience and organizational culture would be a top priority in 2024. In a statement, Alphabet said it was inaccurate to "ignore our long-term efforts for underrepresented groups".

Wal-Mart scores high on labor and other sustainability factors. The world's largest retailer ranked 61st. Helen, director of research at Calvert? "Wal-Mart stands out with its strong labour policy and we see Wal-Mart doing a very good job in raising wages," said Helen Mbugua-Kahuki.

Wal-Mart is one of the largest employers in the United States, with 1.6 million employees. Last year, Wal-Mart raised the starting salary for store employees, raising the average hourly wage to $18 an hour, well above 7%.cryptogamesphone.25美元/小时的联邦最低工资标准。该公司还将门店经理的平均年工资提高到12.8万美元，并增加了奖金。沃尔玛发言人表示：公司在过去几年里一直在投资于前线员工”。

　　左上角顺时针方向：艺电的终极团队游戏模式，由Selma Bacha主演cryptogamesphone；Trex可持续家居装饰；沃尔玛的员工培训。

　　沃尔玛的其他积极因素还包括教育和培训福利，该公司表示，在过去五年中这些福利为员工节省了近5亿美元。Clvert对沃尔玛通过新的数字在线论坛更加开放地接受员工反馈给予了高度评价。姆布瓜-卡胡基说:“这是一种开放的沟通形式，让员工可以自由地表达自己的想法。”

　　沃尔玛仍然有人对进行劳工批评，该公司面临多起性别歧视诉讼。沃尔玛在美国大约4700家门店都没有成立工会，这使其成为美国没有工会的最大雇主。今年1月，美国国家劳工关系委员会(National Labor Relations Board,  简称NLRB)旧金山办事处对加州尤里卡市(Eureka)的一家沃尔玛门店提出投诉，指控其侵犯劳工权利。NLRB表示，还有另外21起针对沃尔玛的不公平劳工行为案件正在审理中。

　　沃尔玛在法律诉讼中否认了NLRB的指控，该公司没有回复记者的置评请求。

　　可持续发展的其他方面

　　卡尔弗特公司表示，高乐氏(Clorox)凭借其强大的治理结构和薪酬公平等因素获得了最高荣誉，该公司旗下品牌包括同名漂白剂、Burt’s Bees化妆品和Glad垃圾袋。该公司董事会是多元化的，女性占50%，有色人种占25%。高乐氏表示，2023年该公司再次实现了薪酬公平，这意味着全球性别和美国种族或民族的薪酬“没有统计学上显著差异”。“薪酬公平很重要，因为它能创造更好的企业文化，” 卡尔弗特公司马登说。

　　高乐氏的股价在2023年表现不佳，部分原因是网络攻击造成了大范围的破坏，损害了财务业绩。但至少它的员工似乎得到了很好的待遇，享有包括更灵活的工作时间在内的福利。该公司首席人力和企业事务官柯尔斯滕?马里纳(Kirsten Marriner)表示:“我们真的想让员工通过这些福利待遇来给自己的油箱加满油。”

　　今年榜单中约有五分之一是新上榜公司。游戏发行商艺电（Electronic Arts）首次上榜，排名第32位。卡尔弗特公司表示，该公司在DEI方面取得了长足进步，包括在游戏中更好地呈现女性形象。去年，艺电广受欢迎的终极团队游戏模式首次引入了女性足球运动员。卡尔弗特公司还称赞该公司连续第五年以高于行业平均水平的速度招聘“未被充分代表的人才”，并让更多少数族裔担任高管职位。艺电拒绝接受采访，但证实了卡尔弗特公司的消息。

　　今年首次上榜的还有Trex，排名第68位。该公司是一家领先的“木材替代品”家居装饰和栏杆制造商，其产品采用回收和再生原材料混合物制成。

　　部分公司今年的排名大幅上升，其中包括利乐科技(Tetra Tech)，从第56位跃升至第8位。卡尔弗特重点指出了这家咨询和工程公司在修复有毒的全氟烷基和多氟烷基物质(PFAS)方面所做的努力，PFAS被称为“永远”的化学品。但同时表示，利乐科技还可以进一步改善人力资本管理，并为员工提供更多激励。

　　我们如何对公司进行排名

　　为了评选出最具可持续发展力的公司名单，《巴伦周刊》与ESG投资领域的领军者卡尔弗特公司合作。从按市值计算的1000家最大的上市公司(不包括房地产投资信托)开始，根据五个关键类别(股东、员工、客户、社区和地球)的表现对每家公司进行排名。具体来说，考察了包括ISS、MSCI和Sustainalytics在内的7家评级公司230多项ESG绩效指标，以及其他数据和Calvert的内部研究。

　　这些数据被划分成28个主题，然后分成5个类别。例如，在股东类别中，主题包括董事会结构、商业道德和高管薪酬。对员工来说，工作环境多样性是一个关键话题。地球类别包括温室气体(GHG)排放和相关政策;生物多样性;还有淡水资源短缺。卡尔弗特根据公司的表现，在每个类别中给出0到100分的分数。然后根据每个类别在其行业中的重要性，为每家公司创建了该类别的加权平均值。要进入《巴伦周刊》的榜单，一家公司的评级必须高于每个类别中排名垫底的四分之一以上，如果在任何一个重要的类别中表现不佳，就会被取消资格。

　　《巴伦周刊》2024全美100最具可持续发展力公司

　　卡尔弗特研究与管理公司根据230项环境、社会和治理(ESG)绩效指标，对全美1000家最大的上市公司进行评分，最终得出我们第七届最具可持续发展力公司榜单。

　　文 | 劳伦・福斯特(603806)（Lauren Foster）

　　编辑 | 康国亮

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