Live from Penn Club in New York City

So here we are today at the Penn Club in New York City in anticipation of finding out which companies made the CRO Magazine's 2009 100 Best Corporate Citizens List®. The list will be announced by Jay Whitehead, CRO Magazine Publisher, at the press conference which is about to start.

Over 25 corporate responsibility executives from 100 Best Corporate Citizens List® firms have gathered here. Before the start of the press conference, I talked to several corporate responsibility executives and here are some of their thoughts:

Paula Luff, Hess Corporation: "The trend in the last 10-20 years has been for companies to understand that CSR is increasingly becoming part of business. The CRO Magazine List will encourage companies to continue their good work and communicate it."

Robert F. Draeger, P.E., Bristol-Myers Squibb: "I think recognition of our company's CSR efforts will encourage other companies to become better corporate citizens. CRO Magazine has been putting this list together for the last 10 years and today we are seeing major companies on it."

Cam C. Hoang, General Mills:"A little competition never hurts. We are constantly engaged in these issues and we hope other companies expand their focus as well."

Stan Litow, IBM: "We recognize that because of its scale and size, IBM is a company that is looked to by other companies worldwide. We are delighted by the CRO Magazine's recognition. It is clear evidence of the link between business performance and CSR. We look forward to work with the private as well as non profit sector to improve performance across the board."

Alberto Canal, Verizon: "We are engaged in CSR efforts because we think it's both right and good business. Also, it is a good way to reinforce a positive message for our employees."

Richard Crespin, CRO Association: "Today's event is significant particularly in these difficult times. We are proud to bring this new level of transperancy."

The press conference has just begun. Jay Whitehead, the CRO Magazine Publisher, is introducing the company and PR representatives from MS&L.