Five Connecticut Businesses, Led by UTC and XPO Logistics, Named Among Top 300 Most Responsible Companies

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United Technologies, at number 36, at XPO Logistics, at number 95, are the sole Connecticut-based companies to earn a slot among the top 100 on Newsweek’s latest annual list of “America’s Most Responsible Companies.”   A total of five Connecticut-based companies were included in the full list of 300 leading companies.

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XPO Logistics, Inc., a leading global provider of transportation and logistics solutions, has been described as the largest provider of last mile logistics for heavy goods in North America.  UTC serves international customers in the commercial aerospace, defense and building industries, with more than 240,000 employees and net sales of $66.5 billion worldwide.  An industry leader, UTC features well-known brands Collins Aerospace, Pratt & Whitney, Carrier, and Otis.

United Technologies, long a leading Connecticut-based corporation, announced plans in 2019 to move its corporate headquarters to Massachusetts, following a merger with Raytheon Co.  The company has indicated it plans to maintain a strong presence in Connecticut.

The “Most Responsible” survey evaluated 2,000 US public companies based on a combination of social, environmental and corporate governance scores. 

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XPO's corporate headquarters are located in Greenwich.  Its European headquarters are located in Lyon, France.  Among the company’s more than 1,500 worldwide locations are Bridgeport, Wallingford, Meriden and North Haven in Connecticut.  Founded in 1989, XPO Logistics now has more than 100,000 employees internationally.  The company headquarters moved to Connecticut from Michigan in 2012.

Troy Cooper, president of XPO Logistics, said, “We’re honored to be recognized as a culturally progressive company with a strong framework of corporate governance. These attributes go to the heart of our value system. We’ll continue to use our global platform to encourage good corporate citizenship.”  XPO ranked second in its industry category of Travel, Transport and Logistics in the Newsweek survey.

Newsweek, one of the nation’s oldest business publications, partnered with research firm Statista to determine the most responsible public companies for 2020 from a pool of 2,000 candidates. The organizations analyzed corporate information using key performance indicators and conducted an independent survey of US citizens. The resulting list reflects the 300 companies with the highest total scores.

“Our services and precision-engineered products deliver tangible value for our customers, shareowners and society,” said Chairman & CEO Greg Hayes. 

Also making the “Most Responsible” list from Connecticut were United Rentals (Stamford, #129), The Hartford (#177), and Xeorx (Norwalk, #179).

Massachusetts had 10 companies in the top 300; Rhode Island had 3; New Jersey had 9; New York had 32. 

“Companies, we all know, need to make a profit to prosper and survive. Making a buck, after all, is important to investors, employees and vendors,” Newsweek Global Editor-in-Chief noted in introducing the rankings. “But over the years, executives have come to realize that they need to do much more. That is, by giving back to the communities they operate in and standing up as good neighbors and citizens.”