Press Releases

IW FINANCIAL SUSTAINABILITY RESEARCH UNDERPINS 2009 CRO BEST CORPORATE CITIZENS LIST

IW Financial provides research, applies CRO criteria to methodology for list

PORTLAND, Maine (March 6, 2009) — Corporate Responsibility Officer (CRO) Magazine's 10th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List® was released today in New York City by CRO publisher Jay Whitehead. Based on criteria defined by CRO, the list ranks Russell 1000® companies on their performance in seven key areas: Environment, Climate Change, Human Rights, Philanthropy, Employee Relations, Financial and Governance. This is the second year that IW Financial has provided the sustainability research and applied the CRO criteria to develop the list.

"IW Financial's research on Russell 1000 companies and their expertise in developing ranking methodologies has been integral to CRO's 100 Best Corporate Citizens List since 2008," said Jay Whitehead, President and Publisher of CRO. "They remain the gold standard for investors and others interested in ranking companies according to ESG-related criteria."

IW Financial worked closely with the CRO to develop a methodology that reflects CRO's definition of corporate citizenship. The methodology is based solely on publicly available data and rewards companies with high levels of public disclosure and transparency.

"There are a lot of factors that can be considered components of corporate citizenship and sustainability — we collect over 1000 discrete data points on sustainability issues alone — and those factors can also be combined in myriad ways. Our goal at IW Financial is to assist our clients in making their own determinations about what is important and then facilitate their analysis with objective research and analytics," said Mark Bateman, Director of Research at IW Financial. "The CRO is a good example of this approach to applying our research."

The 2009 CRO list comes at a time when corporate sustainability and citizenship are increasingly being seen as material, an assertion supported by the performance of CRO top 100 companies. According to the CRO, over the past nine years, companies on the 100 Best Corporate Citizens List® have out-paced the remainder of Russell 1000 companies by an average of 26 percent (3-year total return).

"This is yet another indication sustainability issues impact enterprise value," said Sam Pierce, CEO of IW Financial. "We're excited about playing a role in helping our clients understand and assess that relationship."

About IW Financial
IW Financial is a leading provider of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) research, consulting and portfolio management solutions for asset management firms, managed accounts sponsors, institutional investors, plan sponsors, and investment advisors.
 
With its unique combination of investment industry expertise, unbiased research, and technology solutions, IW Financial helps industry professionals capitalize on growing investor demand by incorporating ESG factors into investment platforms, products, and portfolios, adding value to the money management process while strengthening client relationships.
 
For more information on IW Financial visit www.iwfinancial.com.

Mike MacMillan
MacMillan Communications
212-473-4442
info@macmillancom.com