In its ‘Courage Index’ released Thursday, the Moral Rating Agency rates the responses from 122 companies that had a presence in Russia at the time the Ukraine invasion on Feb. 24, 2022.
The Agency also lauded Microsoft’s statement, released on March 4, 2022. “Like the rest of the world, we are horrified, angered and saddened by the images and news coming from the war in Ukraine and condemn this unjustified, unprovoked and unlawful invasion by Russia,” the tech giant said. Companies opt to denounce Russia for two reasons, according to Moral Rating Agency Founder Mark Dixon. “Some put morality above money,” he said, in a statement. “Others think they won’t be going back to Russia while Putin remains in power and decide to profit from the moral kudos of speaking up.”“We don’t care if a company denounces Russia out of moral outrage or the commercial benefit of looking moral,” he added. “The important thing is that Russia should be universally considered a pariah.
Earlier this year Boeing assets in Russia were identified by the Moral Rating Agency as possible Kremlin targets. In its research, the Moral Rating Agency pointed to “Boeing subsidiaries, R&D facilities and joint ventures,” as at risk of expropriation.Following Russia’s Ukraine invasion, Boeing suspended its operations in Moscow, as well as parts and maintenance support for Russian airlines. The Seattle Times reports that Boeing’s Moscow Design Center employs more than 1,000 engineers.
Asia-based companies made up the overwhelming majority of companies categorized as ‘silent’ by the Agency.