Coherent named to best corporate citizens list

February 15--For the third consecutive year, Coherent Inc. has been named to CRO Magazine's "100 Best Corporate Citizens."

Now in its 8th year, the 100 Best Corporate Citizens list was first developed by Business Ethics magazine, which was incorporated last year into The CRO, a premier membership organization for Corporate Responsibility Officers. The closely watched survey has gained national recognition as an indicator of best practices in the area of social responsibility.

The 100 Best Corporate Citizens list puts a numerical rating on service to these various stakeholders. Environmental, social, and governance ratings are drawn from SOCRATES, the online social research database created by KLD Research & Analytics Inc. in Boston, an independent research firm serving investment management professionals.

The universe of companies considerred for the list encompasses U.S. firms in the Russell 1000, the S&P 500, and KLD's Domini 400 Social Index. These firms are ranked on their performance in eight stakeholder categories: shareholders, community, governance, diversity, employees, environment, human rights, and product. Social scores use KLD's assessment of "strengths" and "concerns" demonstrated in each category. The shareholder score is based on three-year average total return (stock appreciation plus dividends) through year-end 2006.