High ethical standard and a commitment to improving the quality of life have been cornerstones in Johnson & Johnson´s development right from the start. The Company also recognizes it's responsibilities to its customers, employees, shareholders and the local communities in which it works
Commitment to environmental matters is a prime concern at Johnson & Johnson.
The Company was recently listed at the top of a worldwide survey of leading manufacturers for its dedication to environmental awareness in its products and packaging
General Robert Wood Johnson, who guided Johnson & Johnson from a small, family-owned business to a worldwide enterprise, had a very perceptive view of a corporation´s responsibilities beyond manufacturing and marketing products. He repeatedly demonstrated his great concern for management´s obligations to its employees. Like his father and uncle, who headed the Company before him, he also held strong convictions about the link between product quality and the continuing success of Johnson & Johnson.
In 1935, in the depths of the Great Depression, Johnson began to expand his views to include the responsibilities that he felt business had to society. In a pamphlet he sent to the nation's leading businessmen – entitled "Try Reality", – Johnson called for reforms in wages, hours and taxation. He also asked businessmen to embrace what he called "a new industrial philosophy."
There was little response to Johnson's appeal, but eight years later, in 1943, he used the same four responsibilities – to customers, employees, management and stockholders – as the cornerstones of the Credo he wrote and implemented at Johnson & Johnson.
It became a day-to-day management philosophy that he presided over zealously. Later Johnson added a fifth responsibility to the community, and the Credo became widely acclaimed for its innovative approach to business management. At the time, business had not yet dealt broadly with the concept of social responsibility, though this would become a key issue in the years to come. While Johnson´s Credo was not the first of its kind, it became one of the best known and the model for many others.
