RCI's Guide to Politicized Capitalism: Policing the Unwoke

Part of RealClearInvestigations' Guide 
to Politicized Capitalism 
(Home page and overview here)

 
On This Page: Pushing Woke Priorities on Others
(See also: Challenging Woke Capital)

Federal Agencies

• Securities and Exchange Commission: Its ESG-related regulatory pushes include proposed climate disclosure rules and changes to proxy voting guidance. The disclosure rules – backed, according to the SEC, by “investors with trillions of dollars of assets under management,” are modeled in part on the influential work of the Task Force for Climate Disclosure. It would force companies to grapple with the unpredictable impact of climate change by disclosing reams of new information to investors, at significant cost. The proxy guidance aims to make it easier for shareholders to issue activist resolutions “with a broad societal impact.” The SEC’s emphasis coincided with a record number of ESG resolutions in 2022.
• Department of Labor: A proposed rule would allow retirement plan fiduciaries to weigh “any factor in the evaluation of an investment or investment course of action that … is material to the risk-return analysis,” as opposed to merely “pecuniary” factors. The old standard had been perceived by some to be anti-ESG. Critics say this rule could compel retirement plan sponsors to steer employee savings – unbeknownst to them – into higher-expense and therefore potentially lower-yielding ESG 401(k)s, and to vote pro-ESG on proxies.
• Federal Reserve: As fed governor Lael Brainerd noted in a 2021 address, the Federal Reserve participates in a number of organizations dedicated to grappling with climate change. It recently announced a program whereby six of the nation’s largest banks will “participate in a pilot climate scenario analysis exercise designed to enhance the ability of supervisors and firms to measure and manage climate-related financial risks.”
• Department of Treasury: In 2021 it released its climate action plan, vowing to work “with other federal agencies, foreign governments, and international financial institutions to stimulate global action on addressing climate change, environmental justice, and working to prevent climate change-created economic and financial crises.”

Big Tech Is Watching Too

Big Tech platforms respond to pressure, from within their companies and without, to purge antithetical views.

• Stop Hate for Profit: During the summer of 2020, it encouraged a wide range of companies to pause spending on Facebook and Instagram advertisements given the “the prevalence of hate, racism, and misinformation on their platforms.” Here is a list of participating businesses.
• Social media companies led by Facebook, Twitter, and Google/YouTube: On their own and at times seemingly at the urging of federal officials, activists, or journalists – they have flagged, censored, and de-platformed those who dissent on a variety of issues that could be seen as conflicting with the “S” – social – focus of ESG. There has been extensive censorship of content on COVID-19, election integrity, and gender ideology.
• Amazon has removed books from its store in the same vein.
• Big Tech companies such as Apple and Google have booted social media platforms from their app stores whose users are said to promote views that violate their terms of service.
• Banks and other financial service providers such as PayPal have de-banked or been accused of de-banking consumers expressing views challenging the “S” in ESG.

Beyond the "Big Three": 
Pro-ESG Asset Managers

• As You Sow bills itself as “the nation’s leading shareholder advocacy nonprofit, with a 30-year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility and advancing values-aligned investing.” In the 2022 proxy season it engaged with 156 companies on 196 issues, predominately focusing on climate change; diversity, equity, and inclusion; and racial justice. Its engagements culminated in some 99 shareholder resolutions.
• Ceres seeks to “transform the economy to build a just and sustainable future" through its “powerful networks and global collaborations of investors, companies and nonprofits.” It is backed by more than 220 institutional investors – including the “Big Three” asset managers, New York State, and CalPERS – with over $60 trillion under management, and allied with like-minded global green coalitions. Ceres network members proffered most of the greenhouse gas emissions-related shareholder proposals during the 2022 proxy season.
• Pension funds such as New York State’s and California’s CalPERS and CalSTRS.
• Investment managers such as Domini Impact, Boston Trust Walden, Trillium Asset Management, and Engine No. 1.