Southern Glazer's Wine and Spirits

Rating Overview

Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits is Lower Risk.

Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits 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	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	Medium 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:

Lower

Rationale:

Southern Glazer’s has not publicly fired employees, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs. In 2017, a former employee claimed he was fired based on his sex. The company claims he was fired for an illegal preferential pricing scheme (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:

Southern Glazer’s 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:

Southern Glazers operates a supplier diversity program. “VIP [Vendor Inclusion Program] ensures all qualifying businesses, including those that identify as diverse, have an opportunity to engage in our sourcing and procurement activities.” (1). The company is an affirmative action employer. “Southern Glazer’s Wine and Spirits, an Affirmative Action/EEO employer” (2). Southern Glazer’s does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (3)(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:

Southern Glazers supports DEI within its business practices, employing a DEI Program Manager (1). The company supports DEI within its business practices, hosting a DEI Council (2). Southern Glazers supports DEI and ESG within its business practices. From its 2023 CSR Report: “Our Company’s unyielding commitment to community service, environmental sustainability, responsible
consumption, and diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) is the foundation of all that Southern Glazer’s does” (3). Southern Glazer’s regularly supports LGBTQ Pride and has hosted Virtual Workshops through PFLAG (4).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Southern Glazer’s has donated to the Ali Forney Center, an LGBTQ-related foundation, the center primarily focuses on providing housing to young LGBTQ adults facing homelessness (1)(2). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Southern Glazer’s 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:

Lower

Rationale:

Southern Glazer’s has not used its PAC donations for ideological purposes and has not reported on its lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).