Dewberry - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Dewberry is Medium Risk.

Dewberry 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. Dewberry 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	Lower 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	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:

Medium

Rationale:

Dewberry integrates ESG into its business practices. From its 2023 CSR Report: “100% of our Tier 1 suppliers were asked to review and adhere to our Supplier Code of Conduct, which contains Environmental, Social, Economic, and Supply Chain criterion” (1). However, Dewberry has not canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (2).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Dewberry does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs. The company’s charitable giving focus areas are Community work, Environment, and STEM Education (1).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Dewberry appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its recruitment, hiring, and supply chain. From its About page: “Our actions include employee resource groups, pay equity analysis, unconscious bias training, and robust hiring and retention practices; and measuring our efforts against objectives for women and minority participation” (1). From its 2023 CSR Report: “We are committed to developing valuable relationships with businesses that are minority, woman, disadvantaged, veteran, and LGBTQIA+-owned” (2). The company offers unconscious bias training to its employees (3). Dewberry is an affirmative action employer: “We are an Equal Opportunity Employer that participates in an approved affirmative action program, which includes the policies, practices, and procedures that we are committed to in upholding our policy of nondiscrimination and affirmative action” (4). The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (5).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Dewberry supports DEI within its business practices, hosting a DEI Committee (1). The company supports ESG within its business practices. From its 2023 CSR Report: “We bring diverse expertise in responsible material sourcing and supply chain management, green infrastructure, carbon reduction strategies, net-zero design solutions, and innovative renewable energy projects while balancing long-term environmental, social, and economic outcomes” (2).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Dewberry “provided construction management services for the Black Lives Matter Plaza in Washington, D.C.” (1). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Dewberry 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:

N/A

Rationale:

Dewberry does not operate a PAC or report on its lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).