New Metric for Return on Investment for Social Good Unveiled by Harris Poll and Finn Partners: Wegmans Tops the List

ROCHESTER, NY, Nov 12, 2018 – The Harris Poll, in partnership with Finn Partners, unveiled the 2018 Societal Return on Investment (ROI) Index, a new index designed to measure a companys corporate reputation for social good.  Wegmans is ranked #1 on the Index with a score of 85 out of a possible 100.  It is the first-ever metric to score and rank 100 of the most-visible companies according to the public's perception of their impact on society.

The Societal ROI Index records perceptions of the 100 companies across three categories:

Visible Values
:  a companys accountability for its actions and whether or not it speaks out on social issues.

Civic Minds:
  how a company behaves toward the community where it operates and how fairly it rewards its employees.

Ethical Stewards:
  the quality of a companys leadership and its reputation for maintaining high ethical standards.

Its our belief that if you lead with your heart and do whats right, everything else will fall into place. says CEO Colleen Wegman. We are very lucky, and I am so grateful, to be part of a company where everyone works together to make a real difference.

The Societal ROI Index brings together elements of leadership, citizenship and real-world engagement to create a holistic assessment, with insights into perception across many demographics by age, gender, region, income and party affiliation. The model, which can be applied to any company, was developed to show the causal relationship between how a company performs in these areas and how they may influence business outcomes.

"In today's world, companies are finding themselves being judged against a new yardstick by investors, employees, policymakers and the public when it comes to social good," said Wendy Salomon, managing director of corporate reputation, The Harris Poll. "This new metric provides business leaders with an unprecedented read on what aspects of their social good performance might be most helpful or harmful to their growth," she added.

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About Wegmans
Wegmans Food Markets, Inc. is a 98-store supermarket chain with stores in New York, Pennsylvania, New Jersey, Virginia, Maryland, and Massachusetts. The family-owned company, recognized as an industry leader and innovator, celebrated its 100th anniversary in 2016. Wegmans has been named one of the 100 Best Companies to Work For by FORTUNE magazine for 21 consecutive years, ranking #2 in 2018.

Societal ROI Index Methodology
The Societal ROI survey was conducted online in English and took place among the general public, adults 18+. Respondents were randomly assigned to rate two of the companies with which they are "very" or "somewhat" familiar. After the first company rating was completed, the respondent was then asked to rate the second company. Each interview lasted approximately 20 minutes. This year's rating interviews took place online between December 11th and January 12th, 2018 among 25,800 U.S. adults to obtain an average of approximately 300 ratings per company. Data informing the 2018 scores were collected as part of Harris Poll's 2018 Reputation Quotient. The SROI model was then developed to show the causal relationship between how a company performs on selected attributes and common business outcomes.

About Harris Insights and Analytics 
The Harris Poll is one of the longest-running surveys in the U.S. tracking public opinion, motivations and social sentiment since 1963 that is now part of Harris Insights Analytics, a global consulting and market research firm that strives to reveal the authentic values of modern society to inspire leaders to create a better tomorrow. We work with clients in three primary areas; building twenty-first- century corporate reputation, crafting brand strategy and performance tracking, and earning organic media through public relations research. Our mission is to provide insights and advisory to help leaders make the best decisions possible. To learn more, please visit theharrispoll.com.

About Finn Partners, Inc. 
Founded in late 2011 on the core principles of innovation and collaborative partnership, Finn Partners has more than tripled in size in six years, becoming one of the fastest growing independent public relations agencies in the world. The full-service marketing and communications company's record setting pace is a result of organic growth and integrating new companies and new people into the Finn Partners world through a common philosophy. With more than 600 professionals, Finn Partners provides its clients with global access and capabilities in the U.S., Europe and Asia, in addition to PROI Worldwide. Headquartered in New York, Finn Partners' other offices are located in: Chicago, Detroit, Fort Lauderdale, Frankfurt, Jerusalem, London, Los Angeles, Munich, Nashville, Paris, Portland, San Francisco, Shanghai, Singapore and Washington D.C. Find us at finnpartners.com and follow us on Twitter and Instagram at @finnpartners.


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