After years of criticizing progressives for shareholder activism focused on social justice and environmental concerns, right-wing groups and ideologues are embracing the same strategy themselves.
Climate
ALEC to SFOF Pipeline Unearthed
One in every four members of the State Financial Officers Foundation (SFOF)—the group of Republican state treasurers, auditors, and other financial officers on the frontlines of the campaign against “woke capitalism”—has been a member of the American Legislative Exchange Council, the Center for Media and Democracy has found.
Utah State Treasurer Compares ESG Policies to Nazism at Heartland’s Climate Misinformation Fest
In his keynote address at The Heartland Institute’s International Conference on Climate Change, Utah Treasurer Marlo Oaks—a longtime investment banker prior to being appointed state treasurer in 2021—proclaimed key similarities between Hitler’s drive to create a uniform Aryan society and the desire of “global elites” to implement uniform investment practices.
Center for Media and Democracy Launches New Website Exposing Right-Wing Group of Anti-ESG State Financial Officers
The Center for Media and Democracy (CMD) is launching a new website, SFOFExposed.org, to expose the State Financial Officers Foundation’s role in legitimizing the latest front in the Right’s culture wars.
Fossil Fuel Producers Urge ALEC to Help “Preserve [Their] Freedom”
An oil and gas industry group recently urged the board of directors of the American Legislative Exchange Council—the right-wing corporate bill mill—to reconsider adopting a model policy that would blacklist companies that limit their business with fossil fuels
Koch Funds BlackRock Bashing…While Profiting from Joint Investments
Koch Industries and its funding vehicles funnel millions to groups that are decrying “woke capitalism” and attacking the investment giant BlackRock for its leading role in ESG investing. Yet that hasn’t stopped the company’s subsidiaries from partnering with BlackRock to invest in technology startups.
Koch Industries Still Rides the Tax Subsidy Gravy Train
Koch Industries reaps the benefits of more than $38 million in local and state tax rebates, tax reductions, and grants in 2021 and 2022.
Documents show how a pipeline company paid Minnesota millions to police protests
From riot gear to PR to Dairy Queen, records show every expense Enbridge reimbursed after the Line 3 protests.
Koch Industries Hedges Its Bets With Solar
Over the past two years, Koch Industries and its astroturf political arm, Americans for Prosperity, have spent millions lobbying Congress to kill President Biden’s agenda, with the Inflation Reduction Act and its stalled predecessor, Build Back Better, among its top targets.
Weighing a Rematch Against Manchin, West Virginia AG Derides ESG Wokeness
West Virginia’s Attorney General Patrick Morrisey (R), a leading critic of investing that incorporates environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, is considering a U.S. Senate rematch against incumbent Senator Joe Manchin (D) in 2024.