In response to the news that Pernod Ricard has recommenced exports of Beefeater gin to Russia, The Moral Rating Agency (MRA) has released a damning statement.
The agency’s founder Mark Dixon feels that it is “as disgusting as it is ironic to return to Russia while others are still getting out”.
Pernod Ricard is the first group the company has tracked “swimming against the moral tide”.
While the alcohol company’s statement stated that it still condemns the invasion of Ukraine by Russia, the MRA notes that sales of Beefeater will be supporting the Russian economy that “pays for the murder of Ukrainians”.
“What does Pernod Richard think has changed since it stopped exports after the invasion that could possibly justify it going back?” Dixon asked. “It doesn’t cost a company anything to condemn a country with words. Actions speak louder than words, especially when the actions are the antithesis of the words.”
The Moral Rating Agency itself was set up to ‘get Russia out of Ukraine’ and exposes and credits corporations through moral ratings. It also keeps an ‘Indelible Ledger’ of a company’s actions so any later corrective actions do not ‘wipe the slate clean’.
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Pernod Ricard was recently forced to reverse its decision to restart exports of Absolut vodka in the face of backlash in Sweden.
“As soon as Swedish people started boycotting Absolut, Pernod promptly cancelled the plan, revealing that Pernod cares more about lost profits in the West than its employees in Russia,” MRA founder Mark Dixon added. “Employee care was nothing other than ‘moralwashing’. The company is also acting hypocritically. Pernod Ricard needs to answer why it’s ok to supply Beefeater gin but not Absolut vodka to Russia.”
The agency also believes that CEO Alexandre Ricard should be stripped of his French ‘Knighthood of the Legion d’Honneur’.
“His grandfather, who founded the business, would never have sold his soul for money,” Dixon said. “The MRA is therefore awarding Alexandre Ricard one of its ‘Legion Déshonneur’ medals ‘for services to the Russian economy that pays for the invasion of Ukraine’.”
