Inspire Brands - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Inspire Brands is Medium Risk.

Inspire Brands 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. Inspire Brands 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	Medium 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:

Inspire Brands subsidiaries’, Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins, HRC 2021 CEI rating indicates 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). Inspire Brands has begun to implement ESG into all of its business practices (2). Inspire Brands’ subsidiary, Dunkin’, 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 (3). However, Inspire Brands has not 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:

Medium

Rationale:

Inspire Brands subsidiaries’, Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins, HRC 2021 CEI rating indicates the company will not donate to non-religious charities unless they embrace controversial sexual identity policies (1). Inspire Brands’s employee matching guidelines require that organizations abide by its nondiscrimination policy, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, thereby excluding some religious charities (2). The company’s charitable giving focus areas are childhood hunger, youth leadership, and career readiness (3).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Inspire Brands requires its employees to take unconscious bias training (1). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its recruitment and hiring. From its Good Citizens Report: “To facilitate a broader candidate pool, we are engaging recruitment firms that specialize in diversity hiring as well as
partnering with organizations and learning institutions to ensure greater access to
diverse candidates” (2). The company’s subsidiary, Dunkin’, appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its supply chain. From its 2018 Sustainability Report: “At Dunkin’ Brands we remain committed to increasing the diversity of our supplier-base
and our system spend with diverse suppliers
and broadening our partnerships with key
affiliations” (3). The company does not provide viewpoint protections 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:

Inspire Brands subsidiaries’, Dunkin’ and Baskin-Robbins, HRC 2021 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). Dunkin’ launched a line of Pride-themed merchandise (2). Inspire Brands supports DEI within its business practices. From its Good Citizens Report: “Creating an inclusive and
diverse environment is fundamental
to our culture”(3). Inspire Brands supports ESG within its business practices. From its 2022 Good Citizens Report: “Under the direction of Inspire’s internal Impact committee consisting of senior
leaders and subject matter experts, the final list of material topics and prioritization
rankings were vetted to ensure material topics identified were both material to
Inspire and appropriately categorized.” This list was divided into the categories of “Environmental”, “Social”, and “Governance” (4).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Dunkin’ created Pride Month gift cards that allow customers to donate to LGBTQ organizations when purchasing the Pride Month gift card (1). Dunkin’ Brands Foundation donated $30,000 to LGBTQ organizations, though the organizations are primarily focused on providing services such as food, education, and housing to at-risk youth (2). Inspire Brands is a Gold Sponsor of Atlanta Pride 2026 (3). Inspire Brands donated $45,000 to the Urban League of Greater Oklahoma City (4)(5)(6).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Inspire Brands and Dunkin’ have not used its PAC donations or lobbying for ideological purposes (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6).