Deere In The Headlights
Following sustained pressure from conservative activists, Tractor Supply Co. gutted its DEI and ESG programs a few weeks ago, announcing they would:
- No longer submit data to the Human Rights Campaign (the national benchmarking tool on corporate policies, practices and benefits pertinent to lgbtq employees)
- Refocus our Team Member Engagement Groups on mentoring, networking and supporting the business (i.e. get rid of Employee Resource Groups)
- Further focus on rural America priorities including ag education, animal welfare, veteran causes and being a good neighbor and stop sponsoring nonbusiness activities like pride festivals and voting campaigns
- Eliminate DEI roles and retire our current DEI goals while still ensuring a respectful environment
- Withdraw our carbon emission goals and focus on our land and water conservation efforts
Previously a dedicated DEI page highlighted their commitments and boasted of their achievements.
And they had a comprehensive stewardship site, including a page laying out specific goals and targets, including for DEI:
Now, all of those pages redirect to just a static image of a storefront:
Not surprisingly, Tractor Supply is getting backlash from stakeholders who are not happy:
- A farm-supply chain vowed to cut DEI roles amid pressure. Outcry followed. (Washington Post)
- Tractor Supply warned climate change and a lack of diversity would hurt business. Now it’s ignoring those risks (CNN)
- Tractor Supply may have thought it solved a big problem. Now it has a few more. (Retail Dive)
Now, the same conservative activist who successfully kicked off the campaign against Tractor Supply Co. has a new target:
Deere similarly has specific goals and targets around emissions reductions and increasing representation of women and people of color.
So far, conservative activists and organizations have been throwing a lot of stuff against the wall, whether through these PR campaigns or lawsuits, but not much has been sticking. Nearly all companies have stuck to their guns and recommitted to their policies, programs, and targets.
It will be interesting to see how they balance the risk of alienating their core customers if this campaign gains traction with needs and wants of other stakeholders like investors and employees.