Republican State Attorneys General Blast Two Companies For Their ESG Practices

A combination of Republican International Shareholder Services was accused by the state attorney general of violating federal and state laws through their commitments in the area of corporate governance, also known under the name “Eco-Social Governance Movement”, by Glass Lewis. ESG.

These two companies make up a “duopoly” Each shareholder is committed to encouraging net zero implementation by providing proxy voting recommendations. carbon emissions Goals, according to a letter signed by 21 attorneys-general and provided to The Daily Wire The document also noted that proxy advisor recommendations had been made. “must be free from false or misleading material information” Federal law was amended to include many additional states “have prohibitions on unfair or deceptive trade practices.”

“Your duties include acting with reasonable diligence and without conflicts of interest. These agreements also typically require that you consider only one goal: the economic value of the investments,” The officials wrote. “The publicly available statements and actions of ISS and Glass Lewis in the performance of their duties as proxy advisors raise serious questions about whether both have violated their statutory and contractual duties.”

ISS announced that it will “generally vote against” Directors on boards who fail to reduce greenhouse gas emissions are called out by Glass Lewis, who bases proxy voting recommendations on the company’s pursuit of this goal. “net zero emissions goals,” According to the letter. Both parties have made public their desire to push “racial, ethnic, or sex-based diversity under arbitrary quotas.”

“Because these firms have a duopoly in the proxy advisory market, they exercise enormous influence in advancing the ESG movement,” In a statement to The Daily Wire, Attorney General Sean Reyes stated that. “A proxy advisor must prioritize the economic value of their clients’ investments. Unfortunately, it appears these two companies are prioritizing political activism.”

Campaign from the Attorney General follows Republican state treasurers divesting BlackRock, an asset manager and a prominent proponent for the ESG movement, has received $12 billion in capital over the past 12 months. According to the ESG investment philosophy, companies have more responsibility than maximising profits for shareholders. They must also make an impact on climate, diversity, or other social issues.

Glass Lewis and ISS were contacted by the letter asking for information about how executive compensation was handled. “determine ‘appropriate’ emissions reduction targets for each company and the financial basis for your determination” “any analysis you conducted to determine that insurance companies’ discrimination based on race and sex would not violate the law.”

Republican officials have contended that ESG presents a threat to their states’ ability to fundraise on the bond market as entities seeking access to capital markets see downgrades linked to cultural matters unrelated to financial health. Beyond discouraging investments into the oil and gas sectors, ESG activists pushed stockholders for companies such as Walmart and Lowe’s to consider abortion-related proposals ahead of the Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade.

Lawyers also claim that prominent asset management firms have contributed to record energy prices by causing undue hesitation in fossil fuel investments.

A motion filed by several attorneys general with the Federal Energy Regulatory Commission sought to prevent Vanguard from buying shares in publicly traded utilities out of a concern that the company’s climate efforts would raise prices and decrease grid reliability. The firm responded By acquiescing to the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative. vow To move portfolio companies closer towards eliminating net carbon emissions.

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