Waste Management
Public Statements Risk
Waste Management is a low-profile company. The CEO, James Fish Jr., is only active on LinkedIn and Twitter. His posts mainly consist of company achievements; but he does mention sustainability and environmental achievements. Outside of these posts, the company and Fish do not comment on political affiliations through public statements or social media.

Political Contributions Risk
Waste Management contributes with a moderate Republican skew with most of its contributions coming from the company PAC. The contribution level is high, but when benchmarked to the more consumer oriented organizations in the Industrials sector, it doesn't stand out. Waste Management contributes with less partisanship and in smaller amounts than its industry competitors Rollins and Republic Services. The size and partisanship of contributions raise their risk but their sector caps it.

Political Dichotomy Risk
Waste Management has locations throughout both the U.S. and Canada, with the majority of locations in the Southern U.S., which can imply a right-leaning consumer base on average. While the company and its executives have made considerable donations to both the Republican and Democratic parties, they have also mentioned their sustainability efforts and the importance of LGBTQ+ acceptance throughout their annual 10K and their various social media platforms. There is very little capacity for customers to boycott the company due to a lack of substitues. Thus, while political dichotomy is a slight risk, capacity to act on it is severely limited.

Associational Risk
Wayne Huizenga, founder of Waste Management, was a major contributor to Republican causes and has also given gifts to the controversial Supreme Court Justice Clarence Thomas. Having passed away, his political activities likely do not pose risks. Additionally, an employee PAC for WM contributed money to the fund of Republican Senator Eric Nesbitt who was under scrutiny in 2022 for stalling the passing of new Michigan legislation to modernization their waste management and recycling systems. Further, the company has made contributions to controversial figure Donald Trump.

Brand Visibility Risk
Nobody really wants to think about where their trash goes, and despite people paying more attention to sustainability, they generally don't think about their utilities outside of when bills are due. Additionally, there are generally few options for switching away from a trash company.
