Stanley Black & Decker - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Stanley Black & Decker is Lower Risk.

Stanley Black & Decker (SBD) is Medium Risk. The company often yields to political activism in shaping corporate governance, potentially alienating consumers, dividing employees, and harming shareholders. The company elevates merit, excellence, and integrity ahead of race and identity-based policies. SBD 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	High Risk
Employment Protection	Medium Risk

Corporate Weaponization ⓘ

Corporate Governance and Public Policy Risk Levels
Criteria	Risk Level
Advocacy Bias	Medium Risk
Funding	Lower Risk
Political Actions	Medium 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:

Stanley Black & Decker has not publicly canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (1).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Stanley Black & Decker 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).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Stanley Black & Decker had a history of divisive employment policies. However, in September 2024, the company pledged to shift its corporate policies and practices back toward neutral. The company pledged to end divisive employee resource groups, end all divisive trainings, abolish its DEI department, and stop discriminating based on race and sex in its supply chain (1). It does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (2).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Stanley Black & Decker had a history of using its reputation to support divisive causes, organizations, and policies and scored a 100 out of 100 on the Human Rights Campaign’s 2023-2024 Corporate Equality Index. However, in September 2024, the company pledged to shift its corporate policies and practices back toward neutral and pledged to stop submitting data to the HRC (1)(2)(3). CEO Donald Allan Jr. is a member of the Business Roundtable, and Former CEO James M. Loree signed its 2019 Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism over traditional obligations to shareholders (4)(5).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Lower

Rationale:

Stanley Black & Decker had a history of funding divisive causes, organizations, and policies. However, in September 2024, the company pledged to shift its corporate policies and practices back toward neutral. The company pledged to stop sponsoring nonbusiness activities (1)(2)(3)(4)(5)(6).