Bloomin' Brands, Inc. - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Bloomin’ Brands, Inc. is Medium Risk.

Bloomin’ Brands often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company implements race and identity-based policies that replace merit, excellence, and integrity with preferential treatment and outcomes. Blooming’ Brands occasionally embraces corporate initiatives that redirect its central focus from business goals to partisan policies and divisive issues at times. This approach fails to safeguard free exercise, free speech, and free enterprise.

Rating Criteria

Corporate Weaponization Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Cancellations	Lower Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Lower Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	Medium Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	Lower Risk

Corporate Governance and Public Policy ⓘ

Rating Criteria Detail

Criteria Risk Level Rationale

Corporate Weaponization

Criteria:

Has canceled 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:

Lower

Rationale:

Bloomin’ Brands has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (1).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Bloomin’ Brands does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs (1)(2).

Criteria:

Employment policies fail to protect against viewpoint or other discrimination and/or are ideological in nature.

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Bloomin’ Brands prioritizes diversity over merit in its hiring and leadership composition. It engages “with national organizations and local communities to increase our pipeline of racially diverse talent” (1). The company “Integrate[s] DE&I training and education into daily operations, ongoing team meetings, and new Team Member onboarding”. It also offers a Conscious Inclusion Learning Series for its employees through online modules (2). Bloomin’ Brands company does not provide viewpoint protection for its employees (3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

Uses corporate reputation to support causes, organizations, or policies hostile to freedom of expression.

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Bloomin’ Brands supports DEI within its business practices. The company offers bi-monthly, company-wide conversations focused on race, gender, and sexual orientation (1). The company is committed to achieving net-zero carbon emissions by 2050 (2).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Bloomin’ Brands supports the National Urban League. It also supports Diversity Labs and its Mansfield certification (1). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Bloomin’ Brands using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (2).

Criteria:

Uses corporate political actions and/or financial contributions for ideological, non-business purposes.

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Bloomin’ Brands has not used its PAC donations for ideological purposes and has not reported on its lobbying (1)(2)(3).