JOANN - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

JOANN is Medium Risk.

JOANN 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. JOANN 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	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:

JOANN integrates ESG into all of its business practices as they “launched our ESG Issue Prioritization Process that integrated

three related efforts: 1) a climate risk assessment, 2) a broader ESG materiality assessment, 3) an evaluation of our Scope 3 greenhouse gas emissions” (1). However, the company 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:

JOANN does not appear to 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:

JOANN appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its promotions promising to “help minorities advance” in its company (1). The company does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (2)(3).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

JOANN supports DEI within its business practices. JOANN hosts a Diversity & Inclusion Council, holds a monthly D&I educational series, and provides consistent correspondence regarding cultural observances of D&I. The company has also “provided resources, pronoun identifier options, and detailed guides for Team Members to assist with navigating conversations regarding D&I”. For its customers, JOANN created a Product Diversification Task Force to increase diversity in its marketing (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:

JOANN has supported the Akron Urban League, GLSEN, and the LGBT Community Center of Greater Cleveland (1)(2). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (3).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

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