Kraft Heinz

Jell-O
Illinois
Food Beverage and Tobacco

Corprate Bias Ratings

Risk Level:

Rating - Danger
High Risk

By complying with Human Rights Campaign's controversial demands, Kraft Heinz increases the risk of dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders. The company covers transgender-related medical costs for its employees and their children and provides specific sexual orientation and gender identity-based benefits. It also uses sex and gender ideology criteria in employee recruitment, vendor selection, marketing, and philanthropic support. Kraft Heinz forces employees to undergo multiple ideological trainings and uses its reputation, corporate funds, and political influence to support controversial sex and gender ideologies, organizations, and legislation. Kraft Heinz is part of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media. Kraft Heinz provides a benefits package for employees which covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion and transgender medical procedures for covered employees and dependents, including children. The company advocates for the Equality Act and opposes laws preventing public schools from teaching young children about gender and sexual identity. Kraft Heinz opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces. The company denounced various states’ legislative efforts to protect election integrity and security. For these reasons, Kraft Heinz receives a High 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

Kraft Heinz received a score of 100 on the 2023 Corporate Equality Index (CEI) from the Human Rights Campaign (HRC), a political stakeholder group. The company recruits employees based on sexual identity issues. The company discriminates against vendors that do not promote divisive sex and gender policies, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (1)(2). The company 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” (3)(4)(5). However, Kraft Heinz has not publicly fired customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs.

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Kraft Heinz HRC CEI rating indicates the company will not donate to non-religious charities unless they embrace controversial sexual identity policies (1)(2).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Kraft Heinz HRC 2023 CEI rating indicates the company forces employees to attend multiple, controversial trainings on gender identity, sexual orientation, transgender issues, and divisive racial ideology. The company provides gender transition guidelines for its employees and specific benefits guide with a comprehensive explanation of transgender services funded by the company (1)(2). Kraft Heinz does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy
Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Kraft Heinz is an advocate for the Equality Act (1). Kraft Heinz opposed the Florida Parental Rights in Education Act, which would prohibit teaching gender identity and sexual orientation to kids in K-3rd grade (2). The company has also advocated for LGBT causes through its social media accounts (3). Kraft Heinz opposed various state and local legislation intended to protect parental rights, girls’ sports, bathroom facilities, and gendered spaces (4). The company’s HRC 2023 CEI rating indicates the company agrees to allow a controversial stakeholder group focused on sexual identity issues to dictate marketing or advertising strategy (5)(6). By doing so, the company risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders. Kraft Heinz denounced various states’ legislative efforts to protect election integrity and security (7).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Kraft Heinz provides a benefits package for employees which covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion and transgender medical procedures for covered employees and dependents, including children (1)(2)(3). The company’s HRC 2023 CEI rating indicates the company covers transgender related costs for its employees and their children, including paid short-term leave, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, chest surgeries, genital surgeries, medical visits and lab monitoring, travel and lodging. Additionally, the company has pledged philanthropic support of at least one organization or event that promotes sex and gender ideology (4)(5). By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company increases health care costs and risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders. Kraft Heinz is a member of the Global Alliance for Responsible Media (6)(7)(8). The company has also pledged $1 million to the Black Lives Matter movement and related causes (9)(10). Kraft-Heinz sponsored the Brave Space Alliance, “the 1st Black-led, trans-led LGBTQ+ Center on the South Side of Chicago” (11).

Criteria

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

Risk Level
Rationale

Kraft Heinz HRC 2023 CEI rating indicates the company publicly advocated for controversial sex and gender ideology through local, state or federal legislation or initiatives (1)(2). By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders. Kraft Heinz has not used its political contributions for ideological purposes (3)(4)(5).

All links were last accessed and all information was updated on:
March 27, 2024

Company reports are intended for educational use only. Full Disclaimer

Voting History

Date
ESG Category
Proponent
Summary of ResolutionMgmt RecTotal Vote % in Favor
5/4/23GovernanceKenneth SteinerSimple Majority VoteAgainst19.10%
5/4/23EnvironmentalMercy Investment ServicesReport on Water Risk in Supply ChainAgainst7.80%
5/4/23SocialNational Center for Public Policy ResearchCivil Rights, Non-Discrimination and Returns to Merit AuditAgainst1.00%
5/5/22EnvironmentalN/A - UndisclosedReport on Metrics and Efforts to Reduce Water Related RiskAgainst6.55%
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