In the midst of the health emergency situation that we are experiencing as a result of the crisis caused by Covid-19, Merco, a benchmark Business Monitor of Corporate Reputation in the economic, financial and social sphere, has prepared an exceptional ranking in which a total of 2,017 citizens and 257 experts have evaluated the performance of large companies operating in Spain in relation to their commitment and social responsibility during the pandemic.

Two surveys (one for experts and the other for the general population) that aim to recognize the social excellence of companies and their responsibility to the country in the face of the current emergency. Which companies are doing well as a social agent to make this pandemic less harsh? Which ones are standing out more for their responsibility in this complicated situation?

On this occasion, Merco has taken into account the opinions of business area professors, consumer associations, economic information journalists, NGOs, financial analysts, union representatives, Social Media Managers and the general population, to prepare this ranking in which Inditex is consolidated as the company that has best responded to the crisis, followed in the global ranking by Mercadona (2nd), Seat (3rd), Santander (4th), Iberdrola (5th), El Corte Inglés (6th), CaixaBank (7th) ), Grupo Social Once (8th), Naturgy (9th), Telefónica (10th), Amazon (11th), Carrefour (12th), BBVA (13th), Mapfre (14th), Bankinter (15th), Mutua Madrileña (16th), Repsol (17th), Google (18th), Grupo Quirónsalud (19th) and Microsoft (20th).

All these companies have in common social excellence, widespread recognition and their desire to advance without neglecting society, with outstanding actions such as commitment to their clients (especially with freelancers and people with less purchasing power in the case of banks, for example, or health), the way in which they have cared for their workers, the donations made to alleviate the effects of the pandemic and the making available to the general interest of their resources, their logistics network or their knowledge. The attitude and commitment of its managers has also been taken into account, who, in most cases, have reduced their salaries; the purchase and donation of medical supplies, such as masks, protective medical equipment or respirators; as well as its contribution to bringing these products to Spain through brokers.

'Leaderships that did not exist before have been configured'

In the words of José María San Segundo, director of the study, the role of the media has been decisive when it comes to highlighting the work of many of the companies that appear in the top positions of the Merco ranking, “configuring leaderships that previously did not they existed”.

The corporate social responsibility of many companies, 'has advanced more in a few months than in years.' There has been a very important boost in a very short time and the companies that have known how to play their tricks have suffered a very important positive impact on their reputation.

And with regard to telework imposed by the needs derived from the state of alarm and the health crisis, a great change will also take place, since, according to José María San Segundo, 'it has come to stay.' An important leap compared to its evolution in recent years that has become 'a source of pride for companies' and a value with respect to its new relationship with workers.