Fortune Brands Home and Security

Rating Overview

Fortune Brands Home and Security is Medium Risk.

Fortune Brands Home & Security 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. Fortune Brands Home & Security 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	High 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:

Fortune Brands received a score of 45 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, indicating it prioritizes sexual issues over merit (1)(2). Fortune Brands Home & Security promotes divisive sex and gender policies. Its Supplier Code of Conduct requires international vendors to include sexual orientation and gender in their nondiscrimination policy (3). However, Fortune Brands Home & Security has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (4).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Fortune Brands Home & Security does not discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs. The company’s charitable giving focus areas are “Affordable Housing & Skilled Trades, the Environment, Diversity, Equity & Inclusion (DEI), and the local causes and organizations that matter to our associates” (1)(2).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Fortune Brands’ HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company provides gender transition guidelines for its employees and a specific benefits guide with a comprehensive explanation of transgender services funded by the company (1)(2). Fortune Brands Home & Security does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (3). The company provides unconscious bias training for its employees (4).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Fortune Brands’ HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company agrees to allow a controversial stakeholder group focused on sexual identity issues to dictate marketing or advertising strategy. By doing so, the company risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (1)(2). Fortune Brands Home & Security attended LGBTQ Pride Marches, hosted Drag Bingos, and LGBTQ Pride Alliance Meetings (3). The company’s CEO, Nicholas Fink, signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace (4)(5). Fortune Brands also launched an Inclusive Culture Council in 2019 (6).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Fortune Brands’ HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company has pledged philanthropic support of at least one organization or event that promotes sex and gender ideology. 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). Fortune Brands Home & Security sponsored Pride festivals in Cleveland, Ohio; Waukegan, Illinois; and Jasper, Indiana (3).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Fortune Brands’ HRC 2025 CEI rating indicates the company publicly advocated for controversial sex and gender ideology through local, state or federal legislation or initiatives. By allowing a political stakeholder group to dictate operations, the company risks dividing employees, alienating customers and harming shareholders (1)(2). Fortune Brands Home & Security does not operate a PAC or report on its lobbying at this time (3)(4)(5).