Bristol-Myers Tops Corporate Responsibility List

From the penalty box to the top of the list, Bristol Myers-Squibb rises above all other corporations on the 2009 Top 100 Best Corporate Citizens list from Corporate Responsibility Officer.

With a weighted average score of 50.45, pharmaceuticals giant Bristol Myers-Squibb edged General Mills (51.085), IBM (51.685), Merck (54.12) and HP (55.385). View the entire list here.

As for rankings on the environment, HP topped the list.

As for rankings on climate change, Johnson Controls led the pack.

Placing low on the list, or not making the list, is something that a company can redeem itself from. CRO notes that Bristol Myers-Squibb, Merck and HP – all five companies this year – were in the penalty box last year. According to CRO, Bristol Myers-Squibb was penalized in last year’s rankings after CEO Peter Dolan and General Counsel Richard Willard resigned on corporate-governance grounds related to Plavix patent litigation. Additionally, the firm was mired in a scandal regarding claims of improper pricing, marketing and sales practices.

Merck was accused of concealing health risk data and using improper marketing for its Vioxx painkiller. The firm settled for nearly $5 billion with plaintiffs alleging injuries from the drug.

As for HP, Chairwoman Patricia Dunn resigned in September 2006 after improperly investigating boardroom leaks.