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Electronic Arts

OVERALL

Owned
USA
Rating
Praises, some criticism

Video games

One of the world's largest video games companies. Founded in 1982 by ex-Apple employee Trip Hawkins.

Electronic Arts Inc   USA     website      facebook   twitter

> About the Ratings

Company Assessment

PRAISE CRITICISM INFORMATION
Electronic Arts Inc
Social 100% on Corporate Equality Index
This company is listed as having best practice on a report card on lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender equality in corporate America.
Source: Human Rights Campaign (2021)
Business Ethics 57.8/125 at JUST Capital
JUST Capital polls Americans every year to identify the issues that matter most in defining just business behaviour. For their 2023 rankings JUST Capital asked a representative sample of 3,002 Americans to compare 20 different business Issues on a head-to-head basis, producing a reliable hierarchy of Issues ranked in order of priority. Issues are organised under the headings Workers, Customers, Communities, the Environment, or Shareholders & Governance. JUST Capital then define metrics that map to those issues and track and analyse the largest, publicly traded U.S. companies. This analysis powers their rankings, in which this company ranked 219th of 951 companies, and 3rd of 18 Household & Leisure Goods companies.
Source: JUST Capital (2023)
Business Ethics 22/100 S&P Global ESG Score
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 22/100 in the Interactive Media Services & Home Entertainment category of the S&P Global Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices (last updated 23 Sep 2022). The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2022)
Business Ethics Excessive CEO pay
As You Sow's 2022 report, 'The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs', reveals the 100 most overpaid CEOs from USA's 500 largest public companies (as determined by the S&P 500 list). This company's CEO, Andrew Wilson came in at number 16 on the list, having been paid US$39,165,820 in 2021. According to the report, "Most CEOs have come to be grossly overpaid, and that overpayment is harmful to the companies, the shareholders, the customers, the other employees, the economy, and society as a whole."
Source: (2022)
Social Poor working conditions
In 2020 Kotaku reported that the development process for Electronic Arts' Anthem game was fraught with indecision and mismanagement. This resulted in many workers suffering depression, anxiety and mental breakdowns, with many employees leaving the company. The final year of development involved lengthy overtime and lots of exhaustion, only to create a game panned by fans and critics.
Source: Kotaku (2020)
Social Underpaying employees
In 2006 this company paid out US$30 million to settle two class action lawsuits. EA paid $15.6 million to settle a class-action lawsuit by computer graphic artists seeking overtime compensation. Then EA settled another lawsuit, paying US$14.9 million to programmers at various levels.
Source: news article (2006)
Business Ethics CEO Pay Ratio of 218:1
In 2019 the median pay for a worker at this company was US$97,986. The CEO was paid 218 times this amount. Exorbitant CEO pay is a major contributor to rising inequality. CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay, not because they are increasing productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills. The economy would suffer no harm if CEOs were paid less (or taxed more). In contrast, the CEO-to-typical-worker compensation ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965 and 58-to-1 in 1989.
Source: AFL-CIO (2020)
Business Ethics 20.4% in Newsweek Green Rankings 2016
This company received a score of 20.4/100 in the Newsweek Green Rankings 2016, which ranks the world's largest publicly traded companies on eight indicators covering energy, greenhouse gases, water, waste, fines and penalties, linking executive pay to sustainability targets, board-level committee oversight of environmental issues and third-party audits. Ranking methodology by Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.
Source: Newsweek (2016)
Business Ethics Loot box lawsuit
While EA denies its loot boxes are a form of gambling, Belgium and Holland have banned the paid loot box system, and the company faces a lawsuit in France over the practice. EA made almost $1 billion in 3 months from microtransactions alone in late 2019.
Source: news article (2020)
Business Ethics Environmental claims
This company has environmental claims on its website including in the area of environmental sustainability by reduction of their carbon footprint with digital products, supply chain management and green office initiatives.
Source: company website (2020)
Business Ethics Fair Play Alliance member
This company is a member of the Fair Play Alliance, a global coalition of gaming professionals and companies committed to developing quality games. They provide a forum for gaming professionals and companies to work together to develop and share best practices in encouraging healthy communities and awesome player interactions in online gaming. They envision a world where games are free of harassment, discrimination, and abuse, and where players can express themselves through play.
Source: Fair Play Alliance (2020)
Social Modern Slavery statement
California, the UK and Australia have all enacted legislation requiring companies operating within their borders to disclose their efforts to eradicate modern slavery from their operations and supply chains. Follow the link to see this company's disclosure statement.
Source: company website (2020)
Information Criticism of EA - Wikipedia
Criticism of EA includes studio acquisitions and closures, treatment of employees, game quality, sports licensing and exclusivity and loot boxes.
Source: Wikipedia (2020)

> About the Icons

Company Details

Type Public company
Revenue 5.15 billion USD (2018)
Employees 9,300 (2018)

Contact Details

Address Redwood City, California, USA
Website www.ea.com

Products / Brands

Electronic Arts
Anthem Action-Adventure Games
Apex Legends Multiplayer Games
Battlefield Action Games
Battlefield Multiplayer Games
Bejeweled Mobile Games
Burnout Racing Games
Command & Conquer Strategy Games
Dead Space Action Games
Dragon Age Role-playing Games
EA Sports Sports Games
FIFA Sports Games
Madden NFL Sports Games
Mass Effect Action-Adventure Games
Mirror's Edge Action Games
Mirror's Edge Platform Games
NBA Live Sports Games
Need For Speed Racing Games
NHL Sports Games
Peggle Mobile Games
Plants vs Zombies Mobile Games
Plants vs Zombies Action Games
Plants vs Zombies Strategy Games
Skate Sports Games
Star Wars: Battlefront Action Games
Star Wars: Battlefront Multiplayer Games
The Sims Other Video Games
Titanfall Action-Adventure Games
Titanfall Multiplayer Games


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