Bunge Limited - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Bunge Limited is Medium Risk.

Bunge 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. Bunge 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	Medium Risk
Discriminatory Philanthropy	Medium Risk
Employment Protection	High Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	High Risk
Funding	Medium 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:

Medium

Rationale:

Bunge integrates ESG into its business practices. From its 2024 Annual Report: “We integrate ESG factors into nearly every area of our business, from how we evaluate new growth markets, plan and develop our strategic goals, compensate our employees and operate our facilities, to how we engage with our customers, suppliers, employees, communities, shareholders and other stakeholders” (1). The company promotes divisive sex and gender policies. Its Supplier Code of Conduct requires international vendors to include sexual orientation and gender identity in their nondiscrimination policy (2). However, Bunge has not canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (3).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Bunge requires “organizations whose missions or activities align with the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)” to be eligible for charitable giving (1)(2). Therefore, it is likely that religious organizations would not be eligible for charitable giving.

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Bunge appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its recruitment, hiring, and supply chain. From its 2022 Annual Report: “We continue to focus on diversity of external hires to meet our overall workforce composition targets, using tools and partnerships to enable a diverse and competitive candidate pool” (1). Also, from its 2022 Global Sustainability Report, “We have systems in place to track our supplier diversity and Bunge is a founding member of the Together We Grow consortium, a public-private coalition between agriculture and food companies, universities, nonprofits and the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) to focus on addressing diversity and inclusion within the agriculture and food sectors in the United States” (2). Bunge does not provide viewpoint protections 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:

High

Rationale:

Bunge’s CEO Greg Heckman signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace, strategize on DEI programs/initiatives with other signatories, and engage boards of directors when developing and evaluating DEI strategies (1)(2). Bunge supports DEI within its business practices, employing a DEI Director (3). Bunge supports ESG within its business practices. From its 2022 Golbal Sustainability Report: “Our continuous ESG efforts and the acceleration of our commitments led to strong recognition from external groups as well” (4).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Bunge provides a benefits package for employees that covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion and transgender medical procedures for covered employees and dependents, including children (1). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Bunge 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:

Bunge has not used its PAC donations or lobbying for ideological purposes (1)(2)(3).