Godiva - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Godiva is Medium Risk.

Godiva 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. Godiva 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	Medium Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

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

Godiva integrates ESG into its business practices. From its Responsible Cocoa Commitment: the company expects suppliers to “progressively reduce GHG emissions… In the event that the supplier does not want to engage in progress towards meeting our cocoa commitment GODIVA will review its relationship with that supplier and may cease the relationship” (1). However, the company has not publicly 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:

Godiva does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs. Its charitable giving focus area are “empowering women and female entrepreneurs around the world” (1)(2).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Godiva does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (1).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Godiva supports DEI within its business practices. From its Lady GODIVA Initiative page: “At GODIVA, we are dedicated to fostering a culture that champions diversity, equity and inclusion and promises to open people’s eyes to a more wonderful world” (1). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using its reputation to advance ideological causes or policies (2).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Godiva was a Bronze partner of PFLAG, an LGBTQ+ activist group that promotes books for children with sexually explicit and gender fluid content and advocates against laws that inform parents of their child’s gender dysphoria or prevent unapproved transgender medical treatments for minors (1)(2)(3). The company funded Young Women’s Trust, Womenpreneur, and the Canadian Women’s Foundation (4)(5)(6)(7). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (8).