Noodles & Company - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Noodles & Company is Medium Risk.

Noodles & 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. Noodles & 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	Lower 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	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:

Lower

Rationale:

Noodles & Company has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or beliefs (1).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Noodles & Company does not appear to discriminate against charitable organizations based on views or beliefs. It “supports Noodles & Company team members by providing cash grants to assist in handling financial challenges brought on by catastrophic events or emergency hardships” (1).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Noodles & Company requires employees to take unconscious bias training (1). However, 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:

High

Rationale:

Noodles & Company’s former CEO, Dave Boennighausen, signed the CEO Action for Diversity & Inclusion pledge, which includes a commitment to promote DEI through bias education training in the workplace (1)(2). Noodles & Company advocated for “gender-neutral” bathrooms across the US. and employs an Inclusion and Diversity Officer (3).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Noodles & Company is a Copper sponsor of Out & Equal and has donated to Out and Equal through its food sales (1)(2). The company is a sponsor of Lansing Pride 2026 (3).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

N/A

Rationale:

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