General Mills

Annie's, Betty Crocker, Bisquick, Blue Buffalo, Bugles, Cheerios, Chex, Cinnamon Toast Crunch, Cocoa Puffs, Cookie Crisp, Dunkaroos, EPIC, Fiber One, Golden Grahams, Good Measure, Green Giant, Haagen-Dazs, Larabar, Liberte, Lucky Charms, Muir Glen, Nature Valley, Old El Paso, Oui, Pillsbury, Progresso, Reese's Puffs, Total, Totino's, Trix, Wheaties, Yoki, Yoplait
Minnesota
Food Beverage and Tobacco

Corprate Bias Ratings

Risk Level:

Rating - Caution
Medium Risk

General Mills vets vendors according to LGBTQ policies, is part of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, and does not provide its employees with protections against viewpoint discrimination. The company not publicly terminated business relationships based on views or beliefs. The company covers the cost of "medically necessary transition-related care" for its employees and their children. The company regularly uses its corporate reputation to promote ideological causes. General Mills advocates for and funds LGBTQ causes and organizations. General Mills is committed to carbon neutrality by 2040. It has also weaponized its PAC against Republican election objectors. However, it does not discriminate against religious organizations in its charitable giving. For these reasons, General Mills 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

General Mills is a member of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media, which aims to demonetize advertisements and suppress content that “vilifies” individuals based on sexual orientation and gender identity, discusses “debated social issues in a negative or partisan context” or spreads “hate speech” (1)(2)(3). The company received a score of 100 on the Corporate Equality Index from the Human Rights Campaign. Among other requirements, this means General Mills has pledged to vet vendors based on LGBTQ policies (4). However, the company has not publicly terminated business relationships due to religious beliefs or political views.

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

General Mills’ charitable giving prioritizes food security and education. The company does not discriminate in its giving based on a charity’s religious affiliation (1). According to the most recently available tax filing, General Mills does donate to religious, charitable organizations achieving its charitable goals (2).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

General Mills 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

General Mills has signed open letters supporting the Equality Act and transgender participation in women’s and girls’ sports (1)(2). General Mills signed an open letter opposing a Florida bill that would prevent teaching gender identity and sexual orientation in schools to kids in K-3rd grade (3). Following Elon Musk’s acquisition of Twitter, General Mills paused its advertising on the platform (4). The company is a Ceres Network Member, committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2040 (5)(6). General Mills has supported LGBT causes through blog posts on its website (7).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

General Mills is a member of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media and a corporate partner of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (1)(2)(3)(4). The company has a perfect score on the HRC’s 2022 Corporate Equality Index. This score indicates the company covers the cost of “medically necessary transition-related care” for its employees and their children (5)(6).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

General Mills does not use its PAC for ideological purposes (1)(2).

All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
September 21, 2023

Company reports are intended for educational use only. Full Disclaimer

Voting History

Date
ESG Category
Proponent
Summary of ResolutionMgmt RecTotal Vote % in Favor
9/27/22EnvironmentalGreen Century Capital ManagementReport on Absolute Plastic Packaging Use ReductionAgainst56.49%
9/27/22GovernanceKenneth SteinerRequire Independent Board ChairAgainst41.75%
Generate Reports
Clear
Toast