Shiseido - 1792 Exchange

Rating Overview

Shiseido is Medium Risk.

Shiseido 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. Shiseido 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	Medium 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:

Medium

Rationale:

Shiseido integrates ESG into its business practices tying ESG metrics to its director and officer’s long-term incentives (1). Shiseido promotes divisive sex and gender policies. Its Supplier Code of Conduct requires international vendors and subcontractors to include sexual orientation and gender identity in their nondiscrimination policy (2). Shiseido also vets its vendors based on their commitment to ” protect the environment and address social issues” (3)(4). However, Shiseido has not canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on political views or religious beliefs (5)

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Shiseido’s charitable giving guidelines require that organizations abide by its nondiscrimination policy, including on the basis of sexual orientation and gender identity, thereby excluding some religious charities (1). Shiseido’s charitable giving focus areas are “social, environmental, and disaster relief” (2)(3).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Shiseido offers unconscious bias training to its employees. The company requires its HR employees to take LGBTQ understanding training (1). Shiseido developed the SEE, SAY, DO Program to help people “learn unconscious biases and stereotypes” (2)(3). Shiseido does not provide viewpoint protections for its employees (4)(5).

Corporate Governance and Public Policy

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Shiseido supports DEI within its business practices, employing a DEI Committee (1). Shiseido participated in Rainbow Festa 2023 which promotes LGBTQ allyship and has participated in the Tokyo Rainbow Pride Parade six times. Shiseido supports the Business 4 Marriage Equality Campaign which advocates for same-sex marriage in Japan (2)(3). Shiseido supports DEI within its business practices. From its 2023 Sustainability Report: “We are committed to realizing Shiseido’s corporate mission…by prioritizing diversity, equity, and inclusion (DE&I) as our key business strategy ” (4). Shiseido supports DEI within its business practices, employing a DEI Lab to “demonstrate and utilize the connection between the success of diverse talent and corporate growth” (5).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

High

Rationale:

Shiseido provides a benefits package for employees that covers travel/lodging costs for an abortion (1)(2). The company was a Champion Tier corporate sponsor of the Trevor Project, an organization that advocates for controversial sex and gender ideology, including “gender transition” drugs and surgeries for minors, through legislation, litigation, advertising, and PR campaigns. The organization also hosts online chatrooms that allow adults to communicate with minors as young as 13 about sexually explicit topics. Adults in these chatrooms have encouraged minors to adopt transgender identities and withhold this information from their parents (3)(4)(5)(6)(7). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of Shiseido using corporate funds to advance ideological causes, organizations, or policies (8).