John Deere recognized as one of the 50 most community-minded companies

For the second consecutive year, John Deere has been named an honoree of The Civic 50, which recognizes the 50 most community-minded companies in the United States each year according to an annual survey. The award is administered by Points of Light, the nonprofit dedicated to accelerating people-powered change.

Now in its eleventh year, The Civic 50 is a national standard for corporate citizenship and showcases how leading companies are moving social impact, civic engagement and community to the core of their business. The Civic 50 honorees are companies with annual U.S. revenues of at least $1 billion and are selected based on four aspects of their corporate citizenship and social impact programs:

• Investment of resources and volunteerism;
• Integration across business functions;
• Institutionalization through policies and systems; and
• Impact measurement.

“Points of Light and its Civic 50 initiative are inspirational and aspirational,” says Nate Clark, John Deere’s global director of corporate responsibility and president of the John Deere Foundation. “Through Points of Light, we learn how some of the world’s most respected businesses fuel their success by committing to purpose and service. At the same time, we gain an understanding of how much more we can accomplish if we work together for common good.”

In 2022, John Deere announced community investments totaling $55.5 million, a 30-percent increase over the prior year. This involved notable investments in its pursuit of ending hunger including over $3 million to food banks and for emergency hunger assistance, representing the equivalent of more than 13 million meals, and nearly $5 million to serve 3.8 million farmers globally to increase their food security, incomes, and resilience to conflict and climate change. Last year, Deere employees logged 174,518 hours of volunteerism and personally donated $5 million.

“Companies play a critical role in creating thriving, participatory communities,” says Diane Quest, interim president and CEO, Points of Light. “Companies like John Deere set a model for others, showing how to best use employee talent, business assets and integration to create meaningful impact, and we’re thrilled to uplift and celebrate their work as an honoree of The Civic 50 2023.”

The full list of Civic 50 2023 honorees can be viewed here. Points of Light will host a special webinar on June 27 (1 p.m. ET) featuring insights, trends and benchmarking data from the 2023 Civic 50 honorees.