Molson Coors halts DEI practices

Molson Coors is the latest addition to a growing list of companies that are rolling back their diversity, equity and inclusion policies.

In an internal memo sent Wednesday and obtained by CNBC, Molson Coors executives said the company will eliminate supplier diversity quotas, adding that they can be “complicated and influenced by external factors.” [the company’s] control.”

But the brewer has said it will continue to ensure its suppliers are representative of the company's diverse consumer base.

“We are ensuring that our executive incentives are tied to business performance and do not include aspirational performance targets beginning next year,” company executives wrote in the memo.

Molson Coors also said it is developing “the next evolution” of its corporate trainings, which will focus on key business objectives rather than its previous DEI-based training programs in which the company said all current U.S. employees have already participated.

Molson Coors will rename its Employee Resource Groups to Business Resource Groups, though it will apparently retain the groups’ existing function, and will stop participating in any voluntary third-party “best companies” rankings in the U.S., which includes the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index that ranks companies based on corporate equality measures for LGBTQ+ people. The brewer had previously earned a perfect score of 100 points.

“This will not impact the benefits we provide to our employees, nor will it change or diminish our commitment to fostering a strong culture where each of our employees knows they are welcome in our bar,” the company said.

The company will also ensure that all corporate charitable giving programs focus on supporting “core business objectives,” such as alcohol responsibility, disaster relief initiatives and promoting access to higher education. Molson Coors has raised more than $700,000 domestically for LGBTQ+-focused organizations through its “Tap Into Change” program since 2011 and has sponsored Pride festivals.

While conservative activist Robby Starbuck called the moves preemptive changes in response to his recent investigation into the company's DEI practices, Molson Coors executives told CNBC that the decision “has been in the works since March” and is not in response to Starbuck's demands.

Molson Coors’ decision comes after a wave of retailers over the summer took a step back from their DEI efforts.

Rural retailer Supply of tractors The trend started when it cut ties with LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign and withdrew previous DEI goals like increasing the number of employees of color at the management level. Companies like Harley-Davidson and Lowe's He followed suit. More recently, Ford Executives outlined plans to cut supplier diversity quotas and sever the company's relationship with HRC metrics.

Corporate DEI practices received renewed interest in the wake of the murder of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, but have struggled following the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn affirmative action at universities. While the overturn of affirmative action concerns academic institutions and has no legal bearing on corporate initiatives, companies are concerned that rising anti-DEI sentiment will trickle down into corporate America.