Corporate Citizenship

No, you can’t stop a company at the border and ask them for a passport. A corporation’s citizenship doesn’t equate it with human citizenship (unless you’re a Supreme Court justice.)

Shareholders make the call on the social responsivities of a company. Corporate citizenship refers to the company’s ability to meet shareholders’ expectations on its responsibilities to society, the environment, and the broader economic system.

If you read a company’s annual report, you’ll probably learn about its goals to be a good “corporate citizen,” including its social impact goals and the process by which it plans to implement them. These will include the impact of its products and services, how its operations affect employee health and satisfaction and the environment, and the communities in which it operates and sells its products.

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