Sage Group

Industries Accounting Payroll & HR Services
Location United Kingdom
(Along with 102 other companies)
Activism

Companies who use Benevity for charitable donations, who discriminates against mainstream advocacy organizations by using the SPLC's overly-broad "Hate List" to screen charities

CEO Action Pledge

Rating Overview

Risk Rating: Medium

Sage Group is Medium Risk.

Sage Group 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. Sage Group 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 High Risk
Employment Protection Medium 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:

Sage Group 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 (1). However, the company has not publicly terminated business relationships due to 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:

High

Rationale:

Sage Group likely uses Benevity as its charitable giving platform. Benevity vets charities according to the Southern Poverty Law Center’s Hate List, which includes mainstream libertarian, conservative, family, and religious advocacy organizations (1)(2)(3).

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Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Sage Group 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:

Sage Group’s CEO, Steve Hare, 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). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using its reputation to advance ideological causes or policies (3).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Sage Group partners with Stonewall, a European LGBTQ rights advocacy group (1). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Sage Group 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:

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