Justin Sullivan/Getty Images
Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella.
- Billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones cofounded the nonprofit Just Capital in 2013 to measure what Americans want from corporations, and which of these corporations are contributing to a "more just" society.
- Just issues an annual ranking of the world's largest corporations based on how they are creating long-term value in the United States through strong relationships with employees, customers, and society at large.
- This year's ranking lists companies like Microsoft, Intel, and Procter & Gamble at the top.
- This article is part of Business Insider's ongoing series on Better Capitalism.
Billionaire investor Paul Tudor Jones recognized years ago that corporate social responsibility could be more than a buzzword.
In a 2015 TED Talk, he explained: "Now, over the past 50 years, we as a society have come to view our companies and corporations in a very narrow, almost monomaniacal fashion with regard to how we value them, and we have put so much emphasis on profits, on short-term quarterly earnings and share prices, at the exclusion of all else. It's like we've ripped the humanity out of our companies."
A couple years before that presentation, he cofounded Just Capital, a nonprofit that surveys Americans about their expectations of and wishes for big corporations, and then extensively analyzes companies in the Russell 1000, the largest 1,000 companies listed in the United States. It also created an ETF with Goldman Sachs that tracks the 100 companies it ranks highest.
A bonus just for you: Click here to claim 30 days of access to Business Insider PRIME
It recently released its third annual ranking of companies operating in a "just" manner, this year in partnership with Forbes, and Microsoft topped the list.
This year Just surveyed more than 9,000 Americans and found that, in order from most to least important, the stakeholders they care most about when considering companies to support or work for are: workers, customers, products, environment, jobs, communities, and leadership and shareholders.
While some companies in the top 15 faced controversies over the last year, from employee protests at Google (the primary subsidiary of Alphabet) to mass layoffs at General Motors, Just CEO Martin Whittaker said that each company's history was considered over a five-year period running through mid-2018, and that his firm monitors the progress of any negative development and how companies respond to them.
This year's top 100 companies may represent a wide variety of industries, as Whittaker noted, but the top 15 are tech heavy. We've highlighted some key developments that Just found notable in each company.
Get the latest Microsoft stock price here.