What Others Are Saying

How would you rate Verizon on its performance as a good corporate citizen? (% total better than other companies)

Do you know of any specific issues on which Verizon focuses its corporate responsibility efforts or charitable giving?

“They really make an effort to have a diversified work force. They participate in community activities and community groups like Chambers of Commerce—Verizon’s always represented. I don’t see that breadth of coverage by most of the other companies.”

Gaining the Outside Perspective

For the third consecutive year, we engaged Penn Schoen & Berland (PSB), an independent research organization based in Washington, D.C., to poll our stakeholders on our reputation and our performance as a corporate citizen and to capture their views on our social, education and environmental activities.

PSB conducted 4,578 online interviews in the U.S. between October 22 and November 30, 2010. These interviews included members of the general population, business decision-makers, opinion leaders and Verizon employees.

Key Research Findings

Verizon has a good reputation across all audiences (72% favorable overall) which is in line with other well-respected companies.
Verizon earns especially high marks for high standards of quality, reliability and customer service.
Verizon outscores others in the telecommunications and technology industry on being a “company of the future” (66% of general population agrees).
When it comes to good corporate citizenship, 44% of the general population believes that Verizon does a better job than most companies. Employees have the most positive rating of the stakeholder audiences (64%), with a quarter saying it does an “excellent” job.
Stakeholders believe Verizon is a good corporate citizen primarily because it “provides products and services that benefit society” (39% agree) and that it “works hard for customers” (35%).
Employees are more inclined to acknowledge the breadth of Verizon’s citizenship activities. Among employees who said Verizon performs better than other companies as a good corporate citizen, 28% attributed the good standing to its contributions to charities and social causes and 16% cited its ethical make-up.
Opinion formers who believe Verizon’s performance is better than other companies cite its involvement in many corporate responsibility areas.
Audiences agree that companies should focus on helping social, environmental or economic issues — like Thinkfinity and HopeLine — and being active in local communities.
However, only 5% of the general population is aware of the specific issues on which Verizon focuses its corporate responsibility resources, with over a quarter (28%) unsure.

If you said Verizon was a good corporate citizen, would you say this is primarily because it...	General Public	Verizon Employees
Provides products and services that benefit society	39%	27%
Works hard for customers	35%	12%
Is involved in the community	7%	10%
Contributes to charities and social causes	5%	28%
Is an ethical company	5%	16%
Is environmentally responsible	4%	3%
Other	1%	4%
Don’t know	4%	1%

Fact:

Verizon was among the first companies to provide accessibility technology, opening our first Center for Customers with Disabilities in 1992.

Related Info

Ethical Standards

Doing More

HopeLine

HopeLine gives consumers an environmentally sound way to dispose of the cell phones they no longer use, while providing a simple way to make a difference in the lives of domestic violence victims.

Through HopeLine, consumers and businesses can donate cell phones, batteries and accessories purchased from any vendor at Verizon Wireless stores and sponsored events across the country. The phones are recycled or refurbished, with the proceeds donated nearly 600 domestic violence agencies and organizations.

In 2010, Verizon gave nearly 25,000 refurbished wireless phones to domestic violence agencies for use by victims to communicate with family, friends, shelter support staff and employers to help them rebuild their lives.