Legrand - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Legrand is Medium Risk.

Legrand 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. 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	Medium Risk
Funding	Medium 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:

Legrand integrates ESG into its business practices. From its Supplier Code of Conduct: “Legrand will give preference to suppliers and partners with a policy that targets controlling and reducing their energy consumption, emissions of greenhouse gases, noise, dust and volatile chemical emissions” (1). The company promotes divisive sex and gender policies. Its Supplier Code of Conduct requires international vendors to include sexual orientation in their nondiscrimination policy (2). However, the company has not 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:

Legrand does not discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs. The Legrand Foundation’s charitable giving focus areas are loss of independence, electricity poverty, education, and employment (1).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Legrand appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its recruitment. From its LGBT+ Charter: “Ensure increased awareness, training and support on the issue of equal treatment of LGBT+ people for leaders and employees involved in the processes of recruitment, training, personnel evaluation and career management” (1). The company appears to prioritize diversity over merit in its business structure through the establishment of gender targets for its leadership composition. The company is seeking to “Achieve a level of 30% of management positions filled by women” (2). Legrand protects its employees against viewpoint discrimination (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:

Legrand North & Central America’s former CEO, John Selldorff, 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). Legrand implemented a formal Supplier Diversity program with the help of the CEO Action for Diversity and Inclusion organization (3)(4)(5). The company is committed to net zero carbon emissions by 2050 (6). The company supports DEI within its business practices. From its Diversity at Legrand page: “Legrand is making great progress in the area of diversity, equity, and inclusion and we remain committed to adopting programs, policies, and practices that will illuminate new ways to enhance our commitment to be an equitable, just, and fair corporate citizen” (7). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using its reputation to advance ideological causes or policies (8).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Legrand is a sponsor of San Diego Pride (1). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Legrand using its corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (2).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

Legrand does not operate a PAC at this time or engage in lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).