Up: companies entering the top 20% of Covalence Ethical Ranking (Grade A)

• Mitsubishi Motors Corp. (Automobiles & Parts)

Mitsubishi i-MiEV awarded the ’Environment Special Grand Prize’ (sample of news title coded in February 2010); Mitsubishi Motors Launches RVR New Compact Crossover

• The Linde Group (Chemicals)

GNA Clients Waste Management and Linde North America Named Winners of “Project of the Year” Award by U.S. EPA’s Landfill Methane Outreach Program; Linde to Supply Gases to Help Research the Effect of Climate Change on the Ozone Layer; Bosch Solar Energy and Linde Bolster Collaboration to Establish a New ‘Solar Cluster’ in Germany

Down: companies entering the last 20% (Grade E)

• PPR SA (Retail)

La Maison de Valérie (groupe PPR): projet de suppression de 110 emplois; NCM summon to Nike, Puma for shoe designs

• United Parcel Service Inc. (Industrial Goods & Services)

UPS to pay $53,000 for alleged waste violations

• Deutsche Lufthansa AG    (Travel & Leisure)

Lufthansa pilots vote for strike action; Les pilotes de la Lufthansa votent la grève; Größter Streik in der Geschichte der Lufthansa

• Australia & New Zealand Banking Group Ltd. Banks

• Zimmer Holdings Inc. Health Care

• Yahoo! Inc. Technology

Covalence Ethical Rankings cover 581 large companies within 18 sectors. They combine the EthicalQuote (measure of popularity) and the scores calculated in each criteria group (measure of diversified performance).

Details can be found in the Ethical Snapshots and Live EthicalQuote.

Product news by Covalence

IBM (Technology), Intel Corp (Technology) and HSBC Holdings (Banks) top Covalence ethical ranking among 581 multinationals within 18 sectors.

Environmental initiatives, Eco-innovative products and social sponsorships have enabled companies to generate positive coverage in 2009, while issues related to downsizing, CO2 emissions and working conditions caused the most criticisms.

New sector leaders are: BMW Group (Automobiles & Parts), Walt Disney Co. (Media), and Suncor Energy Inc. (Oil & Gas). Across sectors, companies progressing the most during 2009 were:  BT Group plc (Telecommunication), Kimberly-Clark Corporation (Personal & Household Goods), Samsung Electronics Co. Ltd. (Technology), and Siemens AG (Industrial Goods & Services). Companies losing ground were: Caterpillar Inc. (Industrial Goods & Services), Brookfield Asset Management Inc. (Financial Services), Vale S.A. (Basic Resources), and Royal Bank of Scotland Group plc (Banks).

Considering recently included companies, the best ranked are: Sodexo (Travel & Leisure), Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (Industrial Goods & Services), and Visa Inc. (Financial Services). New companies appearing at the bottom of the ranking are: Philip Morris International Inc. (Personal & Household Goods), Hess Corporation (Oil & Gas), and Mega Financial Holding Co. LTD (Financial Services).

The most active criteria in 2009 were, among positive news: Environmental Impact of Production (15% of all positive news), Eco Innovative Product (12%), Social Sponsorship (12%), and Information to Consumers (4%). On the negative side, the most active criteria were:  Downsizing (23%!), Environmental Impact of Production (10%), Labour Standards (10%), and Wages (8%).

Leaders Across Sectors: 1. IBM, 2. Intel Corp, 3. HSBC Holdings, 4. Marks & Spencer, 5. Unilever, 6. Xerox, 7. General Electric, 8. Cisco Systems, 9. Dell Inc., 10. Procter & Gamble > More results across sectors

Sector Leaders (click on sector to view details): Automobiles & Parts: BMW Group; Banks: HSBC Holdings; Basic Resources: Alcoa Inc; Chemicals: DuPont; Construction & Materials: Holcim; Financial Services: American Express; Food & Beverages: Unilever; Health Care: GlaxoSmithKline; Industrial Goods & Services: General Electric; Insurance: Swiss Re; Media: Walt Disney Co.; Oil & Gas: Suncor Energy Inc.; Personal & Household Goods: Procter & Gamble; Retail: Marks & Spencer; Technology: IBM; Telecommunication: Vodafone; Travel & Leisure: Starbucks; Utilities: PG&E Corp.

Companies are ranked within each sector as well as on a cross-sector basis. Built on web-based public information, this ranking runs from 2002 to December 31st 2009.

Details on rankings can be found in the Ethical Snapshots.

• Press Release (.pdf)

About Covalence

Covalence ethical quotation system is a reputation index based on quantifying qualitative data, which is classified according to 45 criteria such as Labour standards, Waste management, Product social utility or Human rights policy. It is a barometer of how multinationals are perceived in the ethical field.

The system integrates thousands of documents found among media, enterprise, NGO and other sources, for producing the EthicalQuote score which serves as a base for calculating Covalence rankings. This score reflects the historical evolution of multinational companies’ ethical reputation.

This tool received the Cantonal Sustainable Development Prize (Geneva) in 2004 and prompted Covalence among the finalists of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 award organised by the Schwab Foundation. Covalence research is also distributed by Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg and Capital IQ.

Covalence is closely monitoring 18 sectors including 581 companies that are included in the Dow Jones Sector Titans. Covalence is a limited company that was founded in Geneva in 2001 by six persons with political science and finance backgrounds.

Press contact

Covalence SA Antoine Mach, Direction & Research

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; antoine.mach@covalence.ch

Sales contact

Covalence SA Marc Rochat, Marketing & Sales

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; marc.rochat@covalence.ch

IBM (Technology), Intel Corp (Technology) and HSBC Holdings (Banks) top Covalence ethical ranking among 541 multinationals within 18 sectors.

Eco-innovative products and social sponsorships have enabled companies to generate positive coverage over the last quarter, while issues related to employment and working conditions (wages, bonuses) caused criticisms – the pressure being particularly strong in France and towards the Banking sector.

Canon Inc (Technology), Google (Technology), and AT&T (Telecommunication) entered the top 50, across 541 companies and 18 sectors.

Entering the last 50 in Q3 2009 were: Unicredit (Banks), UBS (Banks), Royal Bank of Scotland (Banks), CRH PLC (Construction & Materials), Schering Plough (Health Care), Coach Inc (Personal & Household Goods), and TeliaSonera (Telecommunication).

New sector leaders are: American Express (Financial Services), Clear Channel Communications (Media).

The most active criteria in Q3 2009 were, among positive news: Training & Insertion, Environmental Impact of Production, Eco-Innovative Product, and Social Sponsorship. On the negative side, the most active criteria were: Wages, Downsizing, Product Human Risk, and Anti-corruption Policy.

Leaders Across Sectors: 1. IBM, 2. Intel Corp, 3. HSBC Holdings, 4. Unilever, 5. Xerox, 6. Cisco Systems, 7. Marks & Spencer, 8. General Electric, 9. Procter & Gamble , 10. Alcoa Inc > More results across sectors

Sector Leaders (click on sector to view details): Automobiles & Parts: Johnson Controls; Banks: HSBC Holdings; Basic Resources: Alcoa Inc; Chemicals: DuPont; Construction & Materials: Holcim; Financial Services: American Express; Food & Beverages: Unilever; Health Care: GlaxoSmithKline; Industrial Goods & Services: General Electric; Insurance: Swiss Re; Media: Clear Channel Communications; Oil & Gas: StatoilHydro; Personal & Household Goods: Procter & Gamble; Retail: Marks & Spencer; Technology: IBM; Telecommunication: Vodafone; Travel & Leisure: Starbucks; Utilities: PG&E Corp.

Companies are ranked within each sector as well as on a cross-sector basis. Built on web-based public information, this ranking runs from 2002 to September 30th 2009.

More information on Covalence Ethical Ranking Q3 2009:

> Press Release (.pdf)

> Detailed Results (.xls)

About Covalence

Covalence ethical quotation system is a reputation index based on quantifying qualitative data, which is classified according to 45 criteria such as Labour standards, Waste management, Product social utility or Human rights policy. It is a barometer of how multinationals are perceived in the ethical field.

The system integrates thousands of documents found among media, enterprise, NGO and other sources, for producing the EthicalQuote score which serves as a base for calculating Covalence rankings. This score reflects the historical evolution of multinational companies’ ethical reputation.

This tool received the Cantonal Sustainable Development Prize (Geneva) in 2004 and prompted Covalence among the finalists of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 award organised by the Schwab Foundation. Covalence research is also distributed by Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg and Capital IQ.

Covalence is closely monitoring 18 sectors including 541 companies that are included in the Dow Jones Sector Titans. Covalence is a limited company that was founded in Geneva in 2001 by six persons with political science and finance backgrounds.

Press contact

Covalence SA Antoine Mach, Direction & Research

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; antoine.mach@covalence.ch

Sales contact

Covalence SA Marc Rochat, Marketing & Sales

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; marc.rochat@covalence.ch

Pharmaceutical companies involved in consumer health activities achieve the best ethical reputation, states Geneva-based Covalence in its latest Health Care Sector Report.

Among the seven leaders of the Covalence ethical ranking in the health care sector, five companies are following a diversified business strategy and operate in consumer health (such as over-the-counter drugs, eye and dental care, anti-obesity treatments): GlaxoSmithKline, Bristol Myers Squibb, Novartis, Abbott, and Johnson & Johnson.

These 5 companies have communicated towards the general public on topics such as Social Sponsorship, Climate Change, and Community.

Future success for diversified Health Care companies will be driven by their ability to create brand loyalty through strong ethical behavior. These companies are also subject to special risks due to the extended reach of their products. Sound consumer information and marketing practices are essential to allow for appropriate selection and self medication.

Comparing the EthicalQuote scores of 18 sectors in the 2002 – 2009 (July) time frame, the Health Care sector is ranked as number 8, while Technology Hardware and Automobiles & Parts are leading.

The Health Care sector experienced a decline from August 2008 to July 2009, reaching the 12th rank among 18 sectors. Some explanations for this ranking are:

- Negative coverage on issues such as Product side-effects and risks; Legal issues; Marketing practices; Child issues

- On a cross-sector comparison, Health Care puts little focus on climate change mitigation

- Health Care companies should increase communication related to working conditions

- Most companies found their environmental efforts undermined by the negative coverage related to the economic downturn and following job cuts

- Blogs are a major generator of criticisms targeting the Health Care sector

Covalence Ethical Ranking for 31 companies in the Health Care sector, with data spanning the 2002 – 2009 (Jul) period: GlaxoSmithKline is the top company (#27 across 18 sectors and 541 companies), ahead of Bristol Myers Squibb (#34) and Novartis (#53), while Gilead Sciences Inc (#515), Schering Plough (#478), and Wyeth (#453) occupy the last ranks.

More information on Covalence Health Care Sector Report 2009:

> Extract: Covalence Health Care Sector Report 2009

> Press Release (.pdf)

About Covalence

Geneva-based Covalence tracks the ethical reputation of multinationals by sourcing online information. We publish ethical rankings and offer reputation management products to clients among companies, investors and institutions, while informing researchers and the media > Covalence in the news.

Covalence’ s ethical quotation system is a reputation index based on quantifying qualitative data, which is classified according to 45 criteria such as Labour standards, Waste management, Product social utility or Human rights policy. It is a barometer of how multinationals are perceived in the ethical field. The system integrates thousands of documents found among media, companies, blogs, NGOs and other sources.

This tool received the Cantonal Sustainable Development Prize (Geneva) in 2004 and prompted Covalence among the finalists of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 award organised by the Schwab Foundation. Covalence research is also distributed by Reuters, Thomson Financial and Bloomberg.

Covalence is closely monitoring 18 sectors including 550 companies that are classified as the largest market capitalizations in the Dow Jones World Index. Covalence is a limited company that was founded in Geneva in 2001 by six persons with political science and finance backgrounds.

Press contact

Covalence SA Antoine Mach, Direction & Research

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; antoine.mach@covalence.ch

Sales contact

Covalence SA Marc Rochat, Marketing & Sales

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; marc.rochat@covalence.ch

It has been another bad year for the Basic Resources sector’s ethical reputation: criticisms have increased and demonstrating the social and environmental value of products remains a though challenge, states Geneva-based Covalence in a report published today.

The Basic Resources sector ranks 17th out of 18 sectors in Covalence EthicalQuote calculated from July 2008 to June 2009. In the last 24 months, the sector has lost nearly half of its past gains, while the overall benchmark doubled.

Criticisms have strongly increased in 2008 and 2009. The recent economic down-turn is certainly an important explanation. Last year downsizing and jobs cuts have weighted heavily on the sector’s ethical performance, more than on the 18 sectors benchmark. Other negative issues last year have been: Legal issues; Water issues | usage, rivers, etc.; Community issues| health, family etc; corporate governance.

The current inflation of negative news naming Basic Resources can also be interpreted in terms of Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) dialectics. This socially and environmentally exposed sector has always had to face various ethical challenges. Non Governmental Organizations (NGOs) and alliances, local groups and communities are watching it closely. It has therefore been strongly stimulated to develop CSR strategies. Companies’ announcements ands initiatives have generated a mostly positive coverage in years 2005 to 2007.

Now, Basic Resources remains an ethically exposed sector. Critical observers have acknowledged the progresses that were made and have adapted and, for some, renewed their political scope. As companies respond to critics through various commitments, NGOs adapt to this change: recognize progress, consider partnerships, question own conceptions, set up new campaigns. Negative news push companies to generate positive news, which in turn push critics to reformulate their ethical demands, etc.

Basic Resources companies present sensibly less positive news in criteria group Impact of Product compared to the all-sectors benchmark. It is difficult for metal companies to demonstrate the social and environmental end value of their products. The challenge seems even greater for mining companies: what is the utility of gold and diamonds for society? What are their benefits for the environment?

Alcoa and Rio Tinto are clearly the leaders of the sector and are the only companies to reach the top 100 of Covalence cross sectors ranking with Alcoa being member of the top 10. On the 12 months period the best progresses have been accomplished by International Paper and Peabody Energy, while Arcelor Mittal, Impala Platinum, Freeport-McMoRan and Barrick Gold suffered the most.

Major positive issues & keywords registered for the Basic Resources sector in the Jul 2008 – Jun 2009 period were: Climate Change | emissions, energy, etc.; CSR Commitments |Policies, programs and initiatives; Community issues; Health issues.

More information on Covalence Basic Resources Sector Report 2009:

> Extract: Covalence Basic Resources Sector Report 2009

> Press Release (.pdf)

About Covalence

Geneva-based Covalence tracks the ethical reputation of multinationals by sourcing online information. We publish ethical rankings and offer reputation management products to clients among companies, investors and institutions, while informing researchers and the media > Covalence in the news.

Covalence’ s ethical quotation system is a reputation index based on quantifying qualitative data, which is classified according to 45 criteria such as Labour standards, Waste management, Product social utility or Human rights policy. It is a barometer of how multinationals are perceived in the ethical field. The system integrates thousands of documents found among media, companies, blogs, NGOs and other sources.

This tool received the Cantonal Sustainable Development Prize (Geneva) in 2004 and prompted Covalence among the finalists of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 award organised by the Schwab Foundation. Covalence research is also distributed by Reuters, Thomson Financial and Bloomberg.

Covalence is closely monitoring 18 sectors including 550 companies that are classified as the largest market capitalizations in the Dow Jones World Index. Covalence is a limited company that was founded in Geneva in 2001 by six persons with political science and finance backgrounds.

Press contact

Covalence SA Antoine Mach, Direction & Research

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; antoine.mach@covalence.ch

Sales contact

Covalence SA Marc Rochat, Marketing & Sales

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; marc.rochat@covalence.ch

It has been a very bad year for the ethical reputation of banks, but some outsiders moved up in the rankings, as reported by the Covalence Banking Sector Report 2009 published today.

Banks rank 18th out of 18 sectors in Covalence EthicalQuote calculated from June 2008 to May 2009.

Companies the most exposed to the subprime crisis contributed greatly to the downturn (UBS, Citigroup, Royal Bank of Scotland, Bank of America). The Economic Impact and Downsizing criteria were the most active. For the first time, Europe and North America generated a majority of negative news.

Compared to the 18 sectors, Banks receive relatively more positive news on Social Sponsorship and Social Stability criteria, and more negative news with the criteria Fiscal Contributions and Downsizing: banks are strong on philanthropy and community support, but weak on tax issues.

Tax issues dampened the ethical reputation of UBS last year. It is likely that banks favoring individual and corporate tax avoidance will also generate unfavorable media coverage in the future. The philanthropic legitimacy of tax avoidance is becoming increasingly difficult to justify, as modern governments are increasingly democratic.

The banking sector once led in setting goals to reduce carbon emissions; now, other sectors are following suit. In addition, more skeptical observers are monitoring project financing and the real achievements of banks in climate change mitigation.

The top 4 companies in Covalence’s all-time ethical ranking are HSBC – by far-, Barclays Bank, Bank of America and Royal Bank of Canada. Royal Bank of Scotland and UBS are the laggards of the sector.

Five banks appear to have registered important ethical reputation gains during the last 12 months. These are: HSBC, BNP Paribas, BBVA, Scotiabank, and Royal Bank of Canada, which benefited from innovative products (SRI, microfinance, social entrepreneurship), employee-related initiatives (diversity) and social sponsorship.

More information on Covalence Banking Sector Report 2009:

> Extract: Covalence Banking Sector Report 2009

> Press Release (.pdf)

About Covalence

Geneva-based Covalence tracks the ethical reputation of multinationals by sourcing online information. We publish ethical rankings and offer reputation management products to clients among companies, investors and institutions, while informing researchers and the media > Covalence in the news.

Covalence’ s ethical quotation system is a reputation index based on quantifying qualitative data, which is classified according to 45 criteria such as Labour standards, Waste management, Product social utility or Human rights policy. It is a barometer of how multinationals are perceived in the ethical field. The system integrates thousands of documents found among media, companies, blogs, NGOs and other sources.

This tool received the Cantonal Sustainable Development Prize (Geneva) in 2004 and prompted Covalence among the finalists of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 award organised by the Schwab Foundation. Covalence research is also distributed by Reuters, Thomson Financial and Bloomberg.

Covalence is closely monitoring 18 sectors including 550 companies that are classified as the largest market capitalizations in the Dow Jones World Index. Covalence is a limited company that was founded in Geneva in 2001 by six persons with political science and finance backgrounds.

Press contact

Covalence SA Antoine Mach, Direction & Research

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; antoine.mach@covalence.ch

Sales contact

Covalence SA Marc Rochat, Marketing & Sales

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; marc.rochat@covalence.ch

Press Release | Geneva (Switzerland), 16 July 2009

For the first time, IBM reaches the top position in Covalence quarterly ethical ranking, published today. Following are Intel and HSBC among 541 multinationals within 18 sectors.

IBM benefited from continuous improvement over the last 3 years as well as from its recent green supply chain logistics announcements and new water-cooled supercomputer.

Procter & Gamble enters the top 10, replacing Dell Inc. Telefonica SA, PepsiCo, Veolia Environnement, Toshiba Corp, and Nike enter the top 50.

Green initiatives, on the positive side, and working conditions and downsizing, on the negative, generated high volumes of news during the last quarter.

Despite belonging to controversial sectors (Basic Resources, Chemicals), Alcoa (9th) and Rio Tinto (14th), as well as of DuPont (11th) and BASF (12th) are ranked well. Technology places 4 companies in the top 10 : IBM, Intel, Xerox, and Cisco.

New sector leaders are: Johnson Controls (Automobiles), showing positive results in all criteria groups while previous leaders Honda, Toyota and Nissan saw their performance decline on Working conditions-related criteria (Labour standards, wages) and Downsizing; GlaxoSmithKline (Healthcare) stepped ahead of challenger Bristol Myers Squibb; IBM (Technology).

The Oil & Gas sector is concentrated in the lower part of the ranking with 5 companies within the last 10 : Total, Occidental Petroleum, ExxonMobil, Chevron, Halliburton. Caterpillar, General Dynamics, GKN PLC, Nortel Networks, Pioneer Corp, Total, Archer Daniels Midland, and Genuine Parts Company enter the bottom 50.

The most active criteria during Q2 2009 have been: Environmental Impact of Production, Social Sponsorship, Downsizing, International Presence, Eco-Innovative Product, and Information to Consumers.

Leaders Across Sectors | 1. IBM, 2. Intel Corp, 3. HSBC Holdings, 4. Marks & Spencer, 5. Unilever, 6. Xerox, 7. Cisco Systems, 8. General Electric, 9. Alcoa Inc, 10. Procter & Gamble. > More results across sectors

Sector Leaders (click on sector to view details): Automobiles & Parts: Johnson Controls; Banks: HSBC Holdings; Basic Resources: Alcoa Inc; Chemicals: DuPont; Construction & Materials: Holcim; Financial Services: Goldman Sachs; Food & Beverages: Unilever; Health Care: GlaxoSmithKline; Industrial Goods & Services: General Electric; Insurance: Swiss Re; Media: Walt Disney Co; Oil & Gas: StatoilHydro; Personal & Household Goods: Procter & Gamble; Retail: Marks & Spencer; Technology: IBM; Telecommunication: Vodafone; Travel & Leisure: Starbucks; Utilities: PG&E Corp.

Companies are ranked in each sector as well as across sectors. Built on web-based public information, this ranking runs from 2002 to 30 June 2009.

More information on Covalence Ethical Ranking Q2 2009:

> Press Release (.pdf)

> Communiqué de presse (français, .pdf)

> Detailed Results (.xls)

About Covalence

Covalence ethical quotation system is a reputation index based on quantifying qualitative data, which is classified according to 45 criteria such as Labour standards, Waste management, Product social utility or Human rights policy. It is a barometer of how multinationals are perceived in the ethical field.

The system integrates thousands of documents found among media, enterprise, NGO and other sources, for producing the EthicalQuote score which serves as a base for calculating Covalence rankings. This score reflects the historical evolution of multinational companies’ ethical reputation.

This tool received the Cantonal Sustainable Development Prize (Geneva) in 2004 and prompted Covalence among the finalists of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 award organised by the Schwab Foundation. Covalence research is also distributed by Thomson Reuters, Bloomberg and Capital IQ.

Covalence is closely monitoring 18 sectors including 541 companies that are included in the Dow Jones Sector Titans. Covalence is a limited company that was founded in Geneva in 2001 by six persons with political science and finance backgrounds.

Press contact

Covalence SA Antoine Mach, Direction & Research

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; antoine.mach@covalence.ch

Sales contact

Covalence SA Marc Rochat, Marketing & Sales

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; marc.rochat@covalence.ch

The telecommunication sector shows a relatively small volume of ethical information but should be exposed to greater Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) challenges in the future, states a report published today by Geneva-based ethical reputation research firm Covalence in its Telecommunication Report 2009.

The telecommunication sector registers a modest volume of CSR information (the 14th out of 18 sectors). It doesn’t generate intense ethical debates like automobiles or food & beverages. While this relative quietness may be seen as a chance, it is also a risk. Product-based companies traditionally have been more exposed to CSR controversies than those in services-based sectors like telecommunication. However, the latter may soon have to face new, hidden CSR challenges: expanding its ethical reach to anticipate this evolution will be the telecommunication sector’s greatest challenge.

Among topics that could represent future CSR challenges to telecommunication companies are access to telecommunication among low-income populations, anti-corruption policy, supply chain management (working conditions, waste management), product life cycle – telecommunication companies increasingly market products such as phones and notebooks while offering network services.

The telecommunication sector receives few criticisms on products, while it is suffering on working conditions and job stability (due to downsizing).

Criteria showing the most positive news for the Telecommunication sector in the 2002 – 2009 (Mar) period are: 37. Social Sponsorship, 26. Environmental Impact of Production, 34. Information to Consumers, 10. International Presence, and 1. Labour Standards. Criteria registering the most negatives: 18. Downsizing, 1. Labour Standards, 38. Anticorruption Policy, 12. Economic Impact, and 45. Lobbying Practices.

Comparing the Ethical Ranking of 30 companies in the Telecommunication sector calculated from 01.01.2002 to 31.03.2009, Vodafone Group PLC is leading (#23 across 18 sectors and 541 companies), ahead of Verizon Communications (#46) and Telefonica SA (#86), while Telecom Italia (#525), Chunghwa Telecom (#498), and Softbank Corp (#477) occupy the last positions.

More information on Covalence Telecommunication Report 2009:

> Extract: Covalence Telecommunication Report 2009

> Press Release (.pdf)

About Covalence

Geneva-based Covalence tracks the ethical reputation of multinationals by sourcing online information. We publish ethical rankings and offer reputation management products to clients among companies, investors and institutions, while informing researchers and the media > Covalence in the news.

Covalence’ s ethical quotation system is a reputation index based on quantifying qualitative data, which is classified according to 45 criteria such as Labour standards, Waste management, Product social utility or Human rights policy. It is a barometer of how multinationals are perceived in the ethical field. The system integrates thousands of documents found among media, companies, blogs, NGOs and other sources.

This tool received the Cantonal Sustainable Development Prize (Geneva) in 2004 and prompted Covalence among the finalists of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 award organised by the Schwab Foundation. Covalence research is also distributed by Reuters, Thomson Financial and Bloomberg.

sified as the largest market capitalizations in the Dow Jones World Index. Covalence is a limited company that was founded in Geneva in 2001 by six persons with political science and finance backgrounds.

Press contact

Covalence SA Antoine Mach, Direction & Research

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; antoine.mach@covalence.ch

Sales contact

Covalence SA Marc Rochat, Marketing & Sales

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; marc.rochat@covalence.ch

The main results across sectors are:

> The following companies enter the top 10: IBM (3^rd) and Cisco Systems (9^th), replacing DuPont (11^th) and Rio Tinto (13^th).

> During Q1 2009 the following criteria have gained importance compared to the previous quarter: International Presence, Wages, Eco Innovative Product, Downsizing, Anticorruption Policy.

Companies are ranked in each sector as well as across sectors. The data used to build this ranking runs from 2002 to 31 March 2009.

Leaders Across Sectors: 1. Intel Corp, 2. HSBC Holdings, 3. IBM, 4. Unilever, 5. Marks & Spencer, 6. Alcoa Inc, 7. Dell Inc, 8. Xerox, 9. Cisco Systems, 10. General Electric

Sector Leaders (click on sector to view details): Automobiles & Parts: Honda Motor; Banks: HSBC Holdings; Basic Resources: Alcoa Inc; Chemicals: DuPont; Construction & Materials: Holcim; Financial Services: Goldman Sachs; Food & Beverages: Unilever; Health Care: Bristol Myers Squibb; Industrial Goods & Services: General Electric; Insurance: Swiss Re; Media: Walt Disney Co; Oil & Gas: StatoilHydro; Personal & Household Goods: Procter & Gamble; Retail: Marks & Spencer; Technology: Intel Corp; Telecommunication: Vodafone; Travel & Leisure: Starbucks; Utilities: PG&E Corp.

More information on Covalence Ethical Ranking Q1 2009:

> Press Release (.pdf)
> Detailed Results (.xls)

About Covalence

Geneva-based Covalence tracks the ethical reputation of multinationals by sourcing online information. We publish ethical rankings and offer reputation management products to clients among companies, investors and institutions, while informing researchers and the media > Covalence in the news.

Covalence’ s ethical quotation system is a reputation index based on quantifying qualitative data, which is classified according to 45 criteria such as Labour standards, Waste management, Product social utility or Human rights policy. It is a barometer of how multinationals are perceived in the ethical field. The system integrates thousands of documents found among media, companies, blogs, NGOs and other sources.

This tool received the Cantonal Sustainable Development Prize (Geneva) in 2004 and prompted Covalence among the finalists of the Social Entrepreneur of the Year 2005 award organised by the Schwab Foundation. Covalence research is also distributed by Thomson Reuters and Bloomberg.

Covalence is closely monitoring 18 sectors including 550 companies that are classified as the largest market capitalizations in the Dow Jones World Index. Covalence is a limited company that was founded in Geneva in 2001 by six persons with political science and finance backgrounds.

Press contact

Covalence SA Antoine Mach, Direction & Research

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; antoine.mach@covalence.ch

Sales contact

Covalence SA Marc Rochat, Marketing & Sales

Tel: +41 (0)22 800 08 55; marc.rochat@covalence.ch