Burger King opened its first restaurant in New Zealand in 1993. It now has 75 restaurants nationwide and over 1,800 employees.
Source: www.burgerking.co.nz/about-bk
Burger King Corporation – Founded in 1954, Burger King is the second largest fast food hamburger chain in the world.
Source: www.bk.com/about-bk
Burger King ranks fourth among US food chains in terms of US sales, behind McDonald’s, Starbucks, and Subway. It’s parent company is Restaurant Brands International (not to be confused with Restaurant Brands NZ – which operates the New Zealand franchises for KFC, Pizza Hut, Carl’s Jr. and Taco Bell).
Following the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine, a number of companies have faced growing pressure to halt operations in Russia, but have not yet done so. This included Burger King. On March 10, 2022, Burger King suspended all its operations in Russia. However, Burger King’s local Russian partner, operating 800 Burger King stores in Russia, refused to close the sites in spite of the Burger King’s demand to do so.
In March 2022, Burger King suspended all its corporate support, including operations, marketing, supply chain, investments and expansion in Russia in response to the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine. It halted its corporate support to the more than 800 fully franchised restaurant chains in Russia managed by a local master franchisee. However, the International Consortium of Investigative Journalism revealed that Burger King retained its stake in the Russian franchises through an offshore joint venture with the Russian state-owned VTB Bank and a Ukrainian investment firm linked to corrupt deals with Ukraine’s former pro-Russian leader.
Source: wikipedia.org/wiki/Burger_King
Woke Rating
We rate Burger King as moderately woke , due mainly to the policies of its parent company (Restaurant Brands International). This rating may not reflect the activities of each branch restaurant.
Woke Summary
- Gender Ideology & LGBTQ – Restaurant Brands International promotes Gender Ideology.
- Diversity Equity Inclusion (DEI) – Restaurant Brands International has DEI policies and targets as well as ESG metrics.
- Critical Race Theory – CRT is inherently part of Restaurant Brands International’s DEI agenda.
- Climate Change – Restaurant Brands International supports the Paris Agreement, is committed to Net-Zero, ESG and UN sustainability targets.
Woke Policies
Wokeness and virtue signalling distracts a company from its core business, which is to make a profit for shareholders while delivering excellent, affordable products and services to its customers. Businesses should not be distracted from this core purpose, otherwise there will be unnecessary costs which are ultimately passed onto consumers. Woke ideologies are typically unfriendly towards the traditional family unit.
Below are some woke policies and initiatives from Burger King (and its parent company Restaurant Brands International)…
Gender Ideology & LGBTQ+
Promotes Gender Ideology and provides LGBTQ training:
“Restaurant Brands International continues to strengthen LGBTQ workplace inclusion across the organization and achieved a score of 100% in the Corporate Equality Index (CEI) 2022 Report, for the third year in a row, recognizing the Best Places to Work for LGBTQ Equality.”
This includes… “Three LGBTQ internal training and education best practices”
Source: www.rbi.com/English/sustainability/diversity-and-inclusion/default.aspx
In 2021 Burger King launched the Ch’King sandwich to coincide with the start of LGBTQ Pride Month. The chain announced plans to donate 40 cents for every Ch’King sandwich sold through June 30 to the Human Rights Campaign, the largest LGBTQ advocacy group in the United States.
Source: www.huffpost.com/entry/burger-king-chking-sandwich-lgbtq-pride-campaign_n_60be3413e4b0134269b15b90
Diversity, Equity and Inclusion (DEI)
Has DEI policies and targets.
“In 2022, senior RBI leaders shared a mandate to ensure at least 50% of final round interview candidates for any role with RBI are demonstrably diverse. Since we established this performance objective in mid 2020, we interviewed more than 2,003 candidates for final round interviews globally and have surpassed our target each quarter. The outcome is that 64% of 2022 corporate hires through our new process have added to the diversity of our company.”
Source: www.rbi.com/English/sustainability/diversity-and-inclusion/default.aspx
EGS metrics and targets:
“Executive compensation was tied to ESG metrics in 2022 related to both diversity and responsible sourcing.”
Source: www.rbi.com/English/sustainability/sustainability-governance-stakeholder-engagement/default.aspx
Climate Change
Committed to Net-Zero, ESG and UN sustainability targets.
“We joined the United Nations Race to Zero campaign in 2021, setting our long-term target to achieve net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 at the latest. In the same year, we set targets to reduce absolute Scope 1 and 2 GHG emissions by 50% and reduce Scope 3 emissions intensity by 50% per metric tonne of food and per franchised restaurant, relative to a 2019 base year.”
Source: www.rbi.com/English/sustainability/planet/climate-action/default.aspx
“Executive compensation was tied to ESG metrics in 2022 related to both diversity and responsible sourcing.”
Source: www.rbi.com/English/sustainability/sustainability-governance-stakeholder-engagement/default.aspx
Positive Policies & Activities
Partnerships with Canteen and The New Zealand Breakers.
www.burgerking.co.nz/partnerships-sponsorship
Note – This page was updated as of 20th May 2024. Please contact us if you’ve discovered other relevant information about Burger King or other businesses pushing woke agendas. You should also contact us if you discover some positively woke-free businesses.