Molson Coors pumps the brakes on DEI practices

Molson-Coors is the latest addition to a growing list of companies transforming 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 become complex and subject to outside factors.” [the company’s] control.”

However, the brewer has indicated that it will continue to ensure that its suppliers reflect the company's diverse customer base.

“We are ensuring that our executive compensation is tied to business performance and will no longer include stretch targets around representation starting next year,” the company’s executives wrote in the memo.

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

Molson Coors will rebrand its Employee Resource Groups as Business Resource Groups, while apparently retaining the groups’ existing function, and will stop participating in voluntary “best of” third-party U.S. company rankings, including the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index, which ranks companies based on measures of corporate equality for LGBTQ+ individuals. The brewer had previously scored a perfect 100.

“This does not impact the benefits we offer our employees, nor does it change or diminish our commitment to creating a strong culture where all our employees know they are welcome in our bar,” the company said.

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

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

Molson Coors' decision comes after a number of retailers took a step back in their DEI efforts last summer.

National retailer Tractor delivery started the trend when it cut ties with LGBTQ+ advocacy group Human Rights Campaign and scrapped previous DEI goals like increasing the number of employees of color in management positions. Companies like Harley Davidson And Lowe's followed. Recently, ford Executives highlighted plans to drastically reduce supplier diversity quotas and sever the company's relationship with the HRC benchmark.

Corporate DEI practices gained renewed attention after the killing of George Floyd and the Black Lives Matter protests of 2020, but have struggled following the Supreme Court’s decision to strike down affirmative action on campuses. While the rollback of affirmative action applies to academic institutions and has no legal implications for corporate initiatives, companies are concerned that growing anti-DEI sentiment will spill over into corporate America.