The award annually recognizes the 50 most community-oriented companies in the country.
The Civic 50 has been the national standard for corporate citizenship for 10 years, Deere said in a release Thursday. The awardees include companies with at least $1 billion in annual revenue in the U.S. and are selected based on four dimensions of their corporate citizenship and social impact programs – investment of resources, integration among business functions, institutionalization through policies and systems, and impact measurement.
Civic 50 is an initiative of Points of Light, the world’s largest nonprofit organization dedicated to accelerating change through people and creating a global culture of volunteerism. Now in its 10th year, the program serves as a benchmarking tool and platform for sharing best practices in the corporate citizenship sector.
“We are honored to learn that Points of Light has recognized John Deere as one of the 50 most community-oriented companies in the United States,” said Nate Clark, global director of corporate social responsibility at John Deere and president of the John Deere Foundation. “This recognition reaffirms our shared belief that we should be community-focused because we create it.”
According to John Deere’s 2021 Sustainability Report, last year the John Deere Foundation invested $2.7 million in food banks located in the United States and around the world, helping them provide nearly 12.8 million meals to those experiencing hunger.
John Deere employees have spent more than 124,000 hours volunteering, resulting in more than $1.2 million in donations to their favorite causes through the Foundation’s employee giving program.
“Corporate leadership and a commitment to civic engagement are critical to strengthening communities,” said Natalie Paquin, president and CEO of Points of Light. “Our latest global research shows that 86 percent of people say they expect companies to act on social issues. Companies like John Deere are leading the way and setting an example of how they can use their employee talent, business models and assets to create profound impact to drive transformational change.”
