After the Capitol riot and a Republican push to pass restrictive voting laws that disproportionately affect racial minorities, investors want to know more about where a companys political donations end up. [The New York Times, 6/5/21], The New York Times: Investors Are On Alert For Companies That Take One Position And Make Donations That Support Another. Investors are on alert for companies that take one position and make donations that support another. [The New York Times, 6/5/21], Kroger Said It Encourages Associates To Vote And Provides Voter Registration/Ballot Applications In Stores. Kroger strives to reflect the communities we serve and foster a culture that empowers everyone to be their true self, inspires collaboration, and feeds the human spirit. Furthermore, in a 2021 survey by Howard University Digital Informers, a slim majority (51.5%) of respondents believe that Black Americans are targets of fake news. [The Brookings Institution. Kroger Did Not Join The Business For Voting Rights Coalition. Were led by CEOs who are interested in increasing voter participation and represent the following companies. [Time To Vote, Accessed, One of the most common reasons people give for not voting is that theyre too busy with the demands of work and life. In short, it would be the most significant federal expansion of voting rights in a generation. [The Hill, 9/3/21], Senate Republicans Voted To Block The Freedom To Vote Act, Which Would Have Restored Voting Rights To Formally Incarcerated Individuals, Ensured People With Disabilities Had The Same Access To Absentee Ballots As Other Voters, And Countered Long Lines And Related Discriminatory Practices., All Republican Members Of The Senate Voted To Block The Freedom To Vote Act. The results seemed to line up pretty well. [Business For Voting Rights, Accessed 3/21/22]. Protections for individuals with disabilities: The bill would address some of the biggest challenges to voting access that Americans with disabilities face. The final tally was 50 to 49 with GOP Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska voting with Democrats in favor. [CNN, 11/3/21], Politico: HR4 Would Restore Key Provisions Of The Voting Rights Act That Were Struck Down In 2013 By The Supreme Court. The reviews have been used to justify new voting laws and efforts to decertify the 2020 election. [The New York Times. Send an email to Kroger: The bill now moves to the Senate where it faces an uncertain fate as GOP resistance is growing. [CNN. At least 357 sitting Republican legislators in closely contested battleground states have used the power of their office to discredit or try to overturn the results of the 2020 presidential election, according to a review of legislative votes, records and official statements by The New York Times. 90, GA S.B. Be the first to know when corporations take actions that affect their scores, and get other newsworthy updates. As understanding grows about the risk and value creation opportunities that ESG presents, the demand for ESG disclosure has accelerated. [Govtrack, 1/13/22], In January 2022, All Republican Members Of The Senate Voted To Block The Freedom To Vote: John R. Lewis Act. Kroger Does Not Appear To Be Represented By An Executive At Time To Vote. Gov. Election and democracy experts say they see the rise of anti-democratic impulses in statehouses as a clear, new threat to the health of American democracy. Read our 2022 foundation report 84 and LA H.B. New Deloitte survey of 300 senior finance, legal and sustainability leaders shows companies are working toward more reliable and timely data, with investments in technology, controls design and implementation resources, and a robust, integrated strategy to meet the growing expectation for high quality ESG reporting information. [Deloitte. 84 And LA H.B. It passed the House, 220 to 210, last month as Republican lawmakers in several states advanced legislation that would impose new rules and restrictions on voting. [Bloomberg, 4/13/21], The Chamber Of Commerce Opposed The For The People Act, Making It A Key Vote, Saying It Would Consider Including Votes Related To This Bill In Our Annual How They Voted Scorecard. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce strongly opposes S. 1, disingenuously named the For the People Act of 2021. The Chamber will consider including votes related to this bill in our annual How They Voted scorecard. [Chamber of Commerce, 4/13/21]. These numbers are extraordinary: state legislatures enacted far more restrictive voting laws in 2021 than in any year since the Brennan Center began tracking voting legislation in 2011. Increasingly, theyre winning. As of December 2021, the Brennan Center reported that 19 states passed 34 restrictive laws in 2021. Kroger is a large U.S. grocery chain, second only to Wal-Mart in terms of grocery sales. The companies that hold themselves accountable to their stakeholders by increasing transparency will be more viable and valuable in the long term. [Deloitte. As documented by the Los Angeles Times, in the fall of 1988, Kroger announced a $3.77 billion restructuring plan involving substantial but unspecified bank loans, paying shareholders $48 in cash and securities per share, and allowing them to keep their stock. Campaign finance reform might be dead in Washington, but its making progress at the highest levels of corporate America. These numbers are extraordinary: state legislatures enacted far more restrictive voting laws in 2021 than in any year since the Brennan Center began tracking voting legislation in 2011. 176, MT H.B. We call on elected officials across the country to commit to bipartisan efforts to provide greater access to voting and encourage broad voter participation. [Business Roundtable. Accountable.US conducted Nexis and Google searches using Krogers name combined with the terms disinformation and each of the following: election, 2020, ballot, vote, and voting. Accountable.US also ran the same searches with the term misinformation. As of August 11, 2022, Kroger does not appear to have enabled the sharing of electoral misinformation/disinformation nor allowed its platform to be used to share electoral misinformation/disinformation since the 2020 election cycle. The U.S. Chamber of Commerce urged U.S. senators to reject a voting reform bill passed by the Democratic House and the powerful business lobby warned that it might highlight where they stand on the issue. Despite increased focus on ESG matters from stakeholders and the need to internally mobilize to create a robust ESG strategy and governance structure, less than a quarter (21% of survey respondents) currently have an ESG council or working group in place to drive strategic attention to ESG topics; however, more than half (57% of survey respondents) are actively working to establish one. POLITICAL SPENDING 1/1/2021-12/31/2021 State Date Recipient Party Office Sought or Description Amount Source AR 09/2021 Arkansas Grocery & Retail NP Wine in Stores Initiative $8,625 South Region-Delta The business landscape today has been transformed by environmental and social concerns. THE KROGER CO. Texas-based H-E-B, No. Because the NASA bill had already been considered by both chambers, it proceeded to debate with a simple majority instead of the usual 60 votes required to advance to debate. [Business Insider, 1/20/22], All Congressional Republicans, Except For Sen. Lisa Murkowski, Voted To Block The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act, Which Would Have Restored Key Provisions Of The Voting Rights Act That Were Struck Down In 2013 By The Supreme Court., All Republican Members Of The House Of Representatives Voted To Block The John R. Lewis Voting Rights Advancement Act of 2021. [Civic Alliance, Accessed 6/8/22], As of March 22, 2022, Krogers CEO Rodney McMullen Is Not A Member Of The Business Roundtable. The Senate was unable to move the For the People Act to the floor for a debate. Accountable.US conducted Nexis and Google searches using Krogers name combined with the terms disinformation and each of the following: election, 2020, ballot, vote, and voting. Accountable.US also ran the same searches with the term misinformation. As of August 11, 2022, Kroger does not appear to have enabled the sharing of electoral misinformation/disinformation nor allowed its platform to be used to share electoral misinformation/disinformation since the 2020 election cycle. "It's time to blow up that board and start over," said Senate Floor Leader Damon Thayer about KET . [United States House of Representatives, 8/24/21], In October 2021, All Republican Members Of The Senate Voted To Block The Freedom To Vote Act. The grocery retailer said it is pausing PAC donations "while we review our PAC-giving philosophy, and we plan to resume contributions once this assessment is completed,". 167, MT H.B. CINCINNATI, March 2, 2023/PRNewswire/ -- The Kroger Co. (NYSE: KR) today reported its fourth quarter and fiscal year 2022 results, provided 2023 guidance and updated investors on how Leading with Fresh and Accelerating with Digitalcontinues to position Kroger for long-term sustainable growth. In addition, The Kroger Foundation and the UPS Foundation are each donating $25,000 to the Volunteers for America, for a total of $50,000. 7 on the list, has committed $10 million to rebuilding efforts and advancing social justice. Business Roundtable members believe state laws must safeguard and guarantee the right to vote. [Business Roundtable, 3/31/21], Business Roundtable CEOs: Paid Time Off And Flexibility For Voting Are Best Practices. [Business Roundtable, 7/21/20], The Business Roundtable Released A Statement Saying The Strength Of Our Democracy Depends On The Integrity And Fairness Of Our Nations Elections, Welcoming Efforts To Address Barriers To Voting At The State Level. In January 2021, 147 Members Of Congress Objected To Certifying The 2020 Presidential Election. It would prevent voting laws that unevenly burden voters of color. All proceeds must be 100% for charitable contributions that serve the communities around Kroger. Cincinnati-based Kroger employs . It said Oath Keepers was an IRS-approved non-profit organization and was . Political parties should be funded from the public purse, and there should be no private donations above $1000, said the Liberal Party's state president, Michael Kroger. The companies made a commitment to ensure that their employees had a work schedule that allowed them time to vote in that years midterm elections. [Time To Vote, Accessed, This movement is a non-partisan effort that demonstrates the power of what the business community can achieve when it works to address the most significant issues of our time. [] The legislation would make it significantly easier to vote, limit gerrymandering of congressional districts, require third-party groups to reveal secret donors and reform an election watchdog, among other changes.