MASHINIi

Potbelly Corporation.

PBPB.US | Restaurants and mobile food service activities

Potbelly Corporation is a neighborhood sandwich concept that has been feeding customers’ smiles with warm, toasty sandwiches, signature salads, hand-dipped shakes and other fresh menu items, served by engaging people in an inviting atmosphere. Potbelly operates shops in the United States. The compan...Show More

Ethical Profile

Mixed.

Potbelly Corporation's environmental performance has drawn scrutiny, with a DitchCarbon score of 20, reportedly lower than 91% of the Hospitality industry average. Critics also point to many menu items having high sodium content, despite some customizable and vegetarian options. The company's business model for 'Fair Pay & Worker Respect' faces a medium inherent conflict due to reliance on hourly, often lower-paid, service workers. Potbelly utilizes animal products, creating ethical considerations, but public information on specific animal welfare initiatives is limited. The company does maintain a confidential ethics hotline, as required by SEC rulings.

Value Scores

Better Health for All-40
-100100
Fair Money & Economic Opportunity0
-100100
Fair Pay & Worker Respect0
-100100
Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing0
-100100
Honest & Fair Business-40
-100100
Kind to Animals0
-100100
No War, No Weapons0
-100100
Planet-Friendly Business-70
-100100
Respect for Cultures & Communities0
-100100
Safe & Smart Tech0
-100100
Zero Waste & Sustainable Products0
-100100

Better Health for All

-40

Potbelly Corporation offers a variety of menu items, including vegetarian, half-sized, and 'skinny' options, allowing for customization to meet various dietary needs.

1
However, many items are noted for their high sodium content, and some sandwiches and shakes contain high calorie counts, such as the Mama's Meatball sandwich at 910 calories and the Oreo Shake at 770 calories.
2
The company has worked to reduce added trans fat to the legal limit.
3
Potbelly acknowledges potential allergic reactions and recommends checking its interactive menu for allergen information.
4
Detailed nutritional information for various menu items, including calories, fat, protein, carbohydrates, sodium, and sugar, is provided.
5

Fair Money & Economic Opportunity

0

Potbelly Corporation operates in the restaurant industry. The provided articles and company description indicate that it does not offer lending, deposit, or other financial services to consumers. Therefore, the KPIs for 'Fair Money & Economic Opportunity,' which are designed to assess financial institutions, are not applicable to this company, and no relevant evidence was found to score any KPI.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

0

No evidence available to assess Potbelly Corporation on Fair Pay & Worker Respect.

Fair Trade & Ethical Sourcing

0

The provided articles, consisting of financial reports (Q2 2024, Q4 2024, FY2024), a 2024 10-K summary, and a Supplier Code of Conduct, do not contain any specific, quantitative data points for any of the ethical sourcing KPIs. Information regarding fair trade certifications, supplier audit frequency, forced or child labor incidents, supply chain traceability, remediation speed, ethical clause coverage, high-risk materials spend, or supplier diversity spend is explicitly stated as not mentioned or not found across all provided sources.

1

Honest & Fair Business

-40

Potbelly Corporation provides a confidential and anonymous hotline, along with a secure web form, for reporting financial and ethics concerns.

1
This is a requirement stemming from the SEC's final ruling regarding Audit Committees.
2
However, the available information does not provide evidence of independent investigation processes for these reports.

Kind to Animals

0

No evidence available to assess Potbelly Corporation on Kind to Animals.

No War, No Weapons

0

No specific data related to military contracting, arms sales, or peacebuilding initiatives for Potbelly Corporation was found in the provided article.

1
The article focuses on general ESG performance metrics such as reducing tobacco use, child and maternal health, zero hunger, and humane treatment of animals, which are not relevant to the 'No War, No Weapons' value.
2

Planet-Friendly Business

-70

Potbelly Corporation does not have publicly available carbon emissions data or reduction targets.

1
The company does not report specific reduction targets or commitments through initiatives such as the Science Based Targets initiative (SBTi).
2
Additionally, Potbelly Corporation has not publicly committed to specific 2030 or 2050 climate goals.
3
While the company implements shop recycling programs, uses energy-efficient lighting, and utilizes earth-friendly cleaning supplies, no quantitative data is provided for these efforts.
4

Respect for Cultures & Communities

0

The company's operations are explicitly stated as not applicable to Free, Prior and Informed Consent (FPIC) processes.

1
Similarly, the company is not involved in projects that require cultural site protection.
2

Safe & Smart Tech

0

No specific, concrete evidence was found in the provided articles regarding Potbelly Corporation's performance across any of the 'Safe & Smart Tech' KPIs. Article 1 pertains to Denny's, not Potbelly.

1
Articles 0 and 2 discuss Potbelly's digital sales, app redesign, and the implementation of an AI-powered location engine (Flybuy) for order updates and messaging,
2
but do not provide data on data breaches, cybersecurity investment, privacy certifications, security training, encryption, AI ethics, audits, transparency, data use, user controls, authentication, vulnerability management, bug bounties, privacy by design, security testing, data minimization, regulatory compliance, algorithmic harm remediation, or digital rights advocacy for Potbelly.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

0

No evidence available to assess Potbelly Corporation on Zero Waste & Sustainable Products.

Own Potbelly Corporation?

Upload your portfolio and see how all your holdings score across 11 ethical dimensions.

Audit My Portfolio

AI-generated analysis based on publicly available data. Not financial advice. Ratings are expressions of opinion derived from automated models and may contain inaccuracies. See our Risk Disclosure for full details.