Digital Realty - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Digital Realty is Medium Risk.

Digital Realty is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. Digital Realty 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	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	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:

Medium

Rationale:

Digital Realty integrates ESG into its business practices. From its 2023 ESG Report: “we formalized our supplier ESG engagement program. This program ensures that our suppliers adhere to our high standards for environmental and social responsibility, amplifying the impact of our sustainability initiatives across our value chain” (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, Digital Realty 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:

Lower

Rationale:

Digital Realty does not 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:

Digital Realty offers unconscious bias and DEI training to its employees (1)(2). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its supply chain. From its Supplier Diversity page: “Supplier diversity involves deliberately including diverse suppliers in bid opportunities to enhance their representation in sourced spend. This approach can effectively boost ROI and promote supply chain inclusion” (3). Digital Realty does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (4)(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:

Digital Realty’s CEO, Andrew P. Power, 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). The company supports DEI within its business practices. From its 2023 ESG Report: “In 2023, we launched a new careers site
which better promotes our culture, Diversity,
Equity and Inclusion (DEI) commitment,
sustainability and development
opportunities to our candidates” (3). Digital Realty supports ESG within its business practices. From its 2023 ESG Report: “Effective management of sustainability and ESG
topics is core to Digital Realty’s management
of material totpics” (4). The company is a member of the Business Ambition for 1.5°C Campaign, which aims to mainstream corporate climate action (5)(6).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Digital Realty is a corporate partner of the National LGBT Chamber of Commerce (1). In 2023, the company donated to Black Minds Matter and SAGE USA (Advocacy for LGBTQ+ Elders) (2)(3)(4). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Digital Realty using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (5).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

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