Heartland, along with the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) and 77 institutional investors and civil society organizations, urged members of both houses of Congress to oppose a coordinated and well-funded campaign aimed at blocking investors from using environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors as a framework for reducing long-term risk.

[W]e are living in extraordinarily challenging times that require bold and forward-looking solutions as the existential and systemic threats we face, such as the climate crisis, will have serious consequences for economic growth both now and in the future. Ensuring that these impacts can be properly considered in investment decision-making by fiduciaries and addressed by companies, not only safeguards the financial security of pension beneficiaries, but also reduces overall market risk and strengthens our economy, our infrastructure, and our communities. Actions that would constrain investors in the pursuit of ESG investing are antithetical to the public interest and to foundational free market concepts. Given the risks that these anti-ESG attacks represent, we ask for your leadership in forcefully speaking out against, and opposing, any anti-ESG legislation or regulation at both the state and federal levels to ensure that institutional investors retain the freedom to make prudent and thoughtful long-term investment choices for their beneficiaries.