Boehringer Ingelheim

Germany
Pharmaceuticals Biotechnology and Life Sciences

Risk Level:

Rating - Caution
Medium Risk

Summary:

Boehringer Ingelheim fired a small number of employees after they allegedly refused to comply with the company's vaccine mandate. The company pledges to vet suppliers for their LGBT protections and does not protect employees from viewpoint discrimination. Boehringer Ingelheim corporately supports the Equality Act while opposing Florida's Parental Rights in Education Law. The company does not fund ideological causes, however. For these reasons, Boehringer Ingelheim receives a "Medium Risk" rating.

Criteria
Risk Level
Rationale
Corporate Weaponization
Criteria

Has denied service to customers, suppliers, or vendors due to their political views or religious beliefs OR corporately boycotts, divests, or sanctions regions, people groups, or industries.

Risk Level
Rationale

Boehringer Ingelheim has received a score of 100 from the Human Rights Campaign’s (HRC) Corporate Equality Index, indicating that it vets suppliers according to its LGBTQ policies (1). Boehringer Ingelheim has not terminated business relationships due to religious or political views. However, Boehringer fired a group of employees in Missouri for not abiding by the company’s self-imposed vaccine mandate for U.S. employees (2). This brought protests (3). The company offered no testing alternative, but it did offer medical and religious exemptions (4). The workers were unionized and fought the mandate alongside the union (5). They even offered to pay for their own testing out of pocket.

Criteria

Charitable giving (including employee matching programs) policies or practices discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or religious beliefs.

Risk Level
Rationale

Boehringer Ingelheim’s primary charitable goals are “to improve access to healthcare, and to enhance STEM education, with a focus on the underserved” (1)(2). It does not discriminate against faith-based charities.

Criteria

Employment policies fail to protect against discrimination based on political affiliation/views and/or religion.

Risk Level
Rationale

Boehringer Ingelheim does not protect its employees from viewpoint discrimination (1).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy
Criteria

Uses corporate reputation to support ideological causes and/or organizations hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level
Rationale

Boehringer Ingelheim has signed open letters supporting the Equality Act and transgender participation in female sports (1)(2). The company also signed an open letter opposing the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which prohibits teaching gender identity and sexual orientation in schools to children in K-3rd grade (3). Boehringer developed “U.S. Workplace Gender Transition Guidelines,” including hormone replacement therapy, psychological therapy, and gender-affirming surgical procedures that it developed directly in coordination with the HRC (4)(5). The company has updated protocols to include transgender individuals in their clinical trials as well (6).

Criteria

Uses corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level
Rationale

Boehringer Ingelheim’s foundation does not donate to ideological groups or partisan causes hostile to freedom of expression (1).

Criteria

Uses corporate political contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level
Rationale

Boehringer Ingelheim has not used its PAC for ideological purposes (1).

All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
March 24, 2023

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