Bechtel Corporation

Industries Capital Goods
Activism

Companies who signed the Business Roundtable 2019 Stakeholder Capitalism statement

Business Roundtable

Rating Overview

Risk Rating: Medium

Bechtel Corporation is Medium Risk.

Bechtel Group 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. Bechtel 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 Lower Risk
Employment Protection Medium 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:

Medium

Rationale:

Bechtel promotes divisive sex and gender policies. Its Code of Business Ethics requires international vendors to include sexual orientation in their nondiscrimination policy (1). However, the company has not canceled customers, suppliers, or vendors based on 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:

Lower

Rationale:

Bechtel 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:

Medium

Rationale:

Bechtel 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:

High

Rationale:

Bechtel’s CEO Brendan P. Bechtel is a member of the Business Roundtable and signed the Business Roundtable’s 2019 Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation, which promotes stakeholder capitalism over traditional obligations to shareholders (1)(2). The company supports DEI within its business practices, hosting a DEI Committee (3).

Criteria:

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

Risk Level:

Medium

Rationale:

Bechtel Group is a copper sponsor of Out & Equal (1). Otherwise, there are no publicly known cases of the company using 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:

Lower

Rationale:

Bechtel Group has not used its PAC donations for ideological purposes and does not report on its lobbying at this time (1)(2)(3).