Wegmans, Publix earn top social responsibility scores

U.S. consumers rate Wegmans, Publix Super Markets and Amazon.com as the top three companies for corporate social responsibility, according to the findings of a Harris Poll “Reputation Quotient” survey.

For the study, more than 23,000 consumers were asked to rate the 100 most visible companies in the United States on social responsibility attributes such as “supports good causes,” “environmental responsibility” and “community responsibility.”

"Long gone are the days when acting in a socially responsible manner was optional," said Carol Gstalder, Harris Poll senior vice president, in a press release. "The expectations have evolved from simply acting responsibly to how companies create social value for their stakeholders."

According to the survey, employee treatment (39 percent), ethics (38 percent) and respectful treatment of customers (35 percent) are the most important social responsibility issues, followed by providing affordable and accessible products and services (29 percent) and safety (28 percent).

The study revealed differences between how baby boomers and millennials rated the companies. For example, millennials rated Tesla Motors as No. 1 on social responsibility, followed by Publix and then Amazon. In contrast, baby boomers gave Wegmans the best score, followed by General Mills, Southwest Airlines and Amazon.

Nevertheless, Rochester, N.Y.-based Wegmans and Lakeland, Fla.-based Publix, which are both known for their store brands, had the top cumulative scores in the study, which included other generations besides baby boomers and millennials.