British Airways - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

British Airways is Medium Risk.

British Airways is Medium Risk. The company 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. The company 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	High Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	High Risk
Political Actions	No Data

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:

British Airways 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:

High

Rationale:

British Airways will not fund “Faith or Religious Groups” (1).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

British Airways appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its business structure through the establishment of gender and racial targets for its leadership composition. The company is seeking 40% women in leadership by 2025 and 14% ethnic minorities in leadership by 2030 (1). British Airways does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (2).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

British Airways signed the Race at Work Charter which focuses on race equality in the work place and enforced gender neutral greetings on its airlines (1)(2)(3). The company supported the LGBTQ community by having a full LGBTQ flight staff for one of its flights and offering pride-themed consumables (4). British Airways is committed to achieving carbon neutrality by 2050 (5). British Airways supports DEI within its business practices. From its 2021 Sustainability Report: “hrough our BA Better World programme, we aim to create a great place to work where everyone can thrive. Diversity, inclusion and mental health were particular focus areas in 2021” (6).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

British Airways partners with Stonewall which advocates for the LGBTQ community and highlights LGBTQ stories through its website (1). The company also sponsored the 2018 Brighton Pride Festival and hired a convicted pedophile drag queen for its advertising (2)(3). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (4).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

British Airways does not operate a PAC or engage in lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).