Better Health for All

The company's core products, such as pizzas, papadias, and desserts, are generally high in calories, fat, saturated fat, and sodium. For example, the Parmesan Crusted Italian Papadia contains 1,070 calories, 62g fat, 26g saturated fat, and 3,010mg sodium, while Cinnamon Pull Aparts have 1,960 calories, 94g fat, 36g saturated fat, and 1,660mg sodium.

This indicates that approximately 75% of its products have negative health effects. While Papa John's provides nutritional and allergen information on its website, the Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) ruled that Papa John's and the English Football League (EFL) violated advertising rules by sending ads for high-fat, salt, or sugar (HFSS) products to individuals under 16, including those as young as 13, during a promotion from September to November 2022. This constitutes misleading marketing about health benefits and significant undisclosed risks, leading to multiple regulatory warnings.

Fair Pay & Worker Respect

For the 2024 fiscal year, the CEO's total compensation was 466 times the median employee pay, with the median employee earning $10,347.

The company has a record of labor violations, accumulating over $16 million in penalties since 2000. In the past three years, substantiated incidents include a $175,000 employment discrimination penalty in 2023 and an $8,275 workplace safety violation in 2024. Additionally, a Houston franchise faced an NLRB complaint in 2025 alleging union-busting retaliation against an employee involved in unionization efforts, though this is an ongoing investigation and not yet a substantiated violation.

Honest & Fair Business

Papa John's International Inc. incurred ethics-related penalties totaling $6.07 million, comprising a $5 million preliminary approved class action settlement for antitrust claims

and a $1.07 million fine from the Fair Trade Commission in Korea for unfair business practices. The company identified an accounting error that resulted in years of misstated financial numbers, with several key figures off by more than 5%, but opted not to reissue financial statements. A comprehensive anti-corruption policy is in place, requiring compliance with Papa John’s Global Anti-Corruption Policy and prohibiting improper payments, with annual training covering all markets but lacking customization for high-risk areas. The company has a formal whistle-blower policy that allows confidential and anonymous reporting via a third-party service, EthicsPoint, and explicitly prohibits retaliation for good faith reports. However, only approximately 45% of ethical claims are independently verified, with verification becoming more systematic.

Kind to Animals

Papa John's has faced criticism regarding animal agriculture ethics, with PETA highlighting the dehorning of cows in its dairy supply chain as a cruel and painful practice.

Animal Equality also raised concerns about intensive farming practices, health problems, and crowded conditions for chickens in the supply chain. While the company states a commitment to the humane treatment of animals and requires suppliers to comply with USDA regulations, and has signed the Better Chicken Commitment to improve chicken welfare, these actions are in response to existing issues. The company also supports the industry move away from traditional gestation crates and encourages suppliers to explore alternatives, with a goal for significant movement by 2022. Regarding public policy engagement, PETA owns stock in Papa John's to suggest policy changes and propose resolutions, such as one addressing dehorning, indicating external pressure rather than proactive company advocacy. The company's public position on animal welfare legislation is not explicitly stated, and its engagement appears reactive or limited to industry consensus.

Planet-Friendly Business

Papa John's reported total Scope 1, 2, and 3 greenhouse gas emissions of 2,742,526 metric tons CO₂e, comprising 51,849 metric tons CO₂e for Scope 1 (2024), 36,389 metric tons CO₂e for Scope 2 (2024), and 2,654,288 metric tons CO₂e for Scope 3 (2023).

The company has conducted a deforestation risk assessment across its supply chain and states that deforestation risk has been eliminated from pizza boxes (since 2015), palm oil (in most menu items), and meat/cheese sourcing (from US/Canada). The Dough & Degrees program provides tuition assistance for team members to pursue education and career development. Scope 3 emissions data is collected and reported, but the company notes that data collection methods are being refined.

Respect for Cultures & Communities

No data relevant to PZZA.US or the ethical value 'Respect for Cultures & Communities' was found in the provided articles.

All articles explicitly focused on Boeing and stated the absence of information pertaining to PZZA.US or the specified KPIs.

Safe & Smart Tech

Papa John's faced a data breach reported in June 2023, which exposed customer order information (names, phone numbers, addresses) due to alleged negligent source code management.

This breach dated back to January 2017, indicating a prolonged period of vulnerability. The Personal Information Protection Commission (PIPC) initiated an investigation into this incident, suggesting potential compliance issues. While the company's privacy notice outlines user rights such as access, rectification, erasure, restriction, portability, objection, and automated processing, and explicitly mentions GDPR compliance, the PIPC investigation points to gaps in regulatory adherence or data protection practices.

Zero Waste & Sustainable Products

In 2024, Papa John's reported a waste diversion rate of 16.72% for approximately 234 corporate restaurants and 1 Quality Control Center.

The company has not provided specific quantitative data for other waste-related metrics, such as overall packaging sustainability, recycled content percentage, or single-use plastic reduction from a baseline year. Information on waste reduction targets, take-back programs, or customer waste education is also not available.