4 companies known for LGBTQ inclusion & ESG practices

As the world moves forward to break gender binary conventions, equities trading is also seeing a gradual shift from being a mere investment avenue to a responsible economic activity. Investors today are not only looking at the numbers or profits, but also at how the corporations achieve those figures.

With this growing awareness, many companies have stepped up to extend their policies for the lesbian, gay, bi(sexual), transgender, queer (LGBTQ) communities. Along with that, some enterprises have also improved their environmental, social and corporate governance (ESG) practices to become a responsible participant of the society.

Let’s have a closer look at some of these companies and their practices.

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Amazon Inc (NASDAQ: AMZN)

Amazon is one of the companies that has been given a 100 per cent rating for its LGBTQ community inclusion policies and practices in the Corporate Equality Index, 2021. The index is constituted by the Human Rights Campaign (HRC) Foundation.

The company has expressed its support for diversity and embraced the LGBTQ+ community’s rights on several occasions. One such occasion included an address by Beth Galetti, senior vice president of Amazon’s People Experience and Technology division, where she expressed support for the queer and the black community, as well as for the rights of immigrants.

The technology company, rated among the Fortune top 20 companies, also received an award for its inclusive business practices in the Equidad MX.

JP Morgan Chase & Co. (NYSE:JPM)

JP Morgan is considered by some as one of the most queer-friendly workplaces globally. The multinational investment and financial services firm was ranked among the best rated companies in the Corporate Equality Index 2021, the Equidad MX, and in the Equidad CL. These assessments study the participants’ operations in the US, Mexico and Chile, respectively.

The company has also been awarded with the LGBT+ Network Award in the 2021 Hong Kong LGBT+ Inclusion Index.

This award studies a company’s employee network, and its role in promoting the inclusion of LGBT+ community’s inclusion in the workplace. It also looks at the company’s engagement with the local queer employees in Hong Kong, and its commitment towards its inclusion.

The company said that it comprises an employee community that works across the globe, and advocates workplace equality and inclusion of LGBT employees.

Boralex Inc. (TSX:BLX)

Boralex is a utilities company in the electricity space. It develops, constructs and operates renewable energy facilities, including wind, hydropower, thermal, and solar energy sources.  It earns most of its revenues from its Canada, France and US operations, with wind and hydroelectric power generation bringing in the maximum profits.

The utilites company’s ESG compliant practices also contribute significantly to the total power production in Canada and France.

In its vision of 2025, the nearly C$ 4-billion market cap company aims to increase its assets and project portfolio in the solar energy space, and position itself as a key renewable energy player in the US.

Boralex also plans to expand its current customer base to be a direct supplier of electricity to industries which may be interested in improving their climate and societal practices.

One of its major plans is to integrate its corporate social responsibility (CSR) and ESG practices into its strategic directions for growth, the company said.

Thomson Reuters Corporation (TSX:TRI)

Thomson Reuters has been awarded a 100 percent rating for its LGBTQ+ inclusion practices and policies in Corporate Equality Index, 2021. The media conglomerate was awarded for its non-discriminative policies across business entities and support for an inclusive culture.

The company had received a similar rating in the 2020 assessment as well.

It was also recognized by Community Business, which constitutes the Hong Kong LGBT+ Inclusion Index every two years.

Rob Head, who is Thomson Reuters’ content proposition head across Asia, Australia, New Zealand, Middle East, Africa and Russia, was presented the LGBT+ Inclusion Champion Award in 2021. He devised policies to promote inclusion internally and led initiatives including the Thomson Reuters’ pride month global campaign.

The above constitutes a preliminary view and any interest in stocks should be evaluated further from investment point of view.