Kimberly-Clark Named Among Top Five of World's Best Corporate Citizens

Corporate Responsibility Magazine Cites Human Rights, Environment and Corporate Governance among K-C's Strengths

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Mar 05, 2010, 08:00 ET

DALLAS, March 5 /PRNewswire-FirstCall/ -- Kimberly-Clark Corporation (NYSE: KMB) was recently recognized as one of the "Best Corporate Citizens" by Corporate Responsibility Magazine, for the second consecutive year. K-C, which ranked ninth in the 2009 listing, improved its score with a ranking of five, making it the top-rated non-food consumer products company on the magazine's 2010 list. The magazine will publish its 11th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens list on March 9.

Kimberly-Clark increased its score in nearly every category of the report, ranking 11th in environment, 18th in human rights and tied for first in corporate governance. The magazine's "100 Best Corporate Citizens" list ranks companies in the Russell 1000 Index based on publicly available information in seven key categories: Environment, Climate Change, Human Rights, Philanthropy, Employee Relations, Finance and Governance.

"Our inclusion in this global best corporate citizens list is the result of the exceptional talent and collaboration of our more than 56,000 employees worldwide," said Suhas Apte, Vice President of Global Sustainability at Kimberly-Clark. "Being responsible stewards of the environment and positive contributors to our communities is an essential part of our culture at K-C. Receiving this recognition again with an improved rating this year is a testament to our continuous progress in the multiple facets of corporate responsibility."

The 100 Best Corporate Citizens list was first published in 1999 in Business Ethics Magazine, and has been managed by Corporate Responsibility Magazine (formerly CRO Magazine) since 2007. The list's open and transparent methodology is governed by a Methodology Committee of the Corporate Responsibility Officers Association (CROA).

"Company stakeholders from investors to customers to employees to regulators watch the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list closely, and are using it now more than ever to make important decisions," said Corporate Responsibility Magazine Publisher Jay Whitehead. "That is why we are seeing leading companies focusing in greater numbers on their public reporting and performance."

Recently, Kimberly-Clark was recognized for the second time by the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency as a 2010 Energy Star Partner of the Year, citing the Company's leadership in energy management. In addition, K-C has led the personal product category of the Dow Jones Sustainability World Index (DJSI) for the fifth year in a row. Only the top 10 percent of the world's largest 2500 companies qualifies for this list, which is based on an evaluation of the economic, environmental and social performance of these companies.

About Kimberly-Clark

Kimberly-Clark and its well known global brands are an indispensable part of life for people in more than 150 countries. Every day, 1.3 billion people - nearly a quarter of the world's population - trust K-C brands and the solutions they provide to enhance their health, hygiene and well-being. With brands such as Kleenex, Scott, Huggies, Pull-Ups, Kotex and Depend, Kimberly-Clark holds the No. 1 or No. 2 share position in more than 80 countries. To keep up with the latest K-C news and to learn more about the company's 138-year history of innovation, visit www.kimberly-clark.com.

About Corporate Responsibility Magazine

20,000-subscriber Corporate Responsibility Magazine (http://thecro.com/) is publisher of the 11th annual 100 Best Corporate Citizens List, among America's three most-important business rankings according to PR Week. Over 200 large capitalization corporations and institutions are members of the Corporate Responsibility Officers Association (www.CROAssociation.org), representing 1,200+ individuals dedicated to increasing professionalization of corporate responsibility standards and practices. CROA has a formal partnership with NYSE Euronext. Corporate Responsibility Officer Summits (www.crosummit.com) are recognized worldwide as the leading events for corporate responsibility practitioners. CR Magazine, thecro.com, CROA and CRO Summits are managed by SharedXpertise Media LLC, with offices in Edison NJ, Cambridge UK, Brussels BE, and Singapore.

SOURCE Kimberly-Clark Corporation