Consolidated Edison, Inc.

Rating Overview

Consolidated Edison, Inc. is High Risk.

Consolidated Edison 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. Consolidated Edison 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	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	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:

Consolidated Edison received a score of 35 on the 2025 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). However, the company has not publicly 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:

High

Rationale:

Consolidated Edison’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company will not donate to non-religious charities unless they embrace controversial sexual identity policies (1)(2). The company likely uses Benevity as its charitable giving platform. Benevity vets charities according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hate List, which includes mainstream libertarian, conservative, family, and religious advocacy organizations (3)(4)(5).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Consolidated Edison requires its employees to take unconscious bias training (1). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its supply chain. From its Vendor Code of Conduct, “Diversity in [a vendor’s] supplier base shall be encouraged by creating opportunities for minority owned, women owned, and small businesses to compete successfully for company business” (2). The company protects its employees against viewpoint discrimination (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:

Consolidated Edison’s CEO signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace (1)(2). The Company’s CEO, John McAvoy, is a member of the CEO Action for Racial Equity fellowship (3)(4). The Company is committed to net zero economy by 2050.

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Consolidated Edison’s HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company provides a benefits package for employees which includes some transgender medical benefits for covered employees and dependents, including children. This may include paid short-term leave, puberty blockers, cross-sex hormones, chest surgeries, genital surgeries, medical visits and lab monitoring, travel and lodging. By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company increases health care costs and risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (1)(2). The company is a member of the MCCA, indicating its focus on recruiting, retaining, and promoting employees based on race (3)(4). Consolidated Edison is a sponsor of Out in Tech, an LGBTQ-focused nonprofit that advances DEI-style inclusion initiatives that aim to increase LGBTQ+ representation in the technology industry through recruiting, workforce development and networking initiatives. The organization partners with corporations to advance LGBTQ+ inclusion initiatives and integrate LGBTQ+ representation goals into talent development and employee engagement strategies (5)(6)(7)(8). The company sponsored Brooklyn Pride 2023, WorldPride, Youth Pride, and the NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project (9)(10)(11).