House Judiciary Committee subpoenas ESG supporters (2023)
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The House Judiciary Committee last week subpoenaed certain organizations that support ESG to investigate whether the groups have violated antitrust laws, according to the committee. The first subpoena went to As You Sow, which the committee said did not respond to previous, voluntary requests for documents and information:
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The House Judiciary Committee has issued a subpoena to As You Sow—a nonprofit shareholder representative and climate action advocacy organization—and its CEO, Andrew Behar, seeking documents and instructing Behar to testify before the committee on December 1. The subpoena served to As You Sow alleged that “corporations are collectively adopting and imposing left-wing environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-related goals, and the Committee is concerned that As You Sow appears to facilitate collusion that may violate U.S. antitrust law.” … The committee’s requests … specified documents relating to: goals regarding climate change; how the groups arrived at those goals; communications related to shareholder proposals that promote decarbonization; communications with shareholder engagement service providers, such as As You Sow, on how to reduce emissions through shareholder actions; communications related to how asset managers can advance decarbonization; and how decarbonization goals impact consumers of “fossil fuels such as coal, gas, and oil.”[1] |
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The committee also subpoenaed the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ), alleging similar possible antitrust behavior:
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The Committee on the Judiciary is conducting oversight of the adequacy and enforcement of U.S. antitrust laws. Pursuant to the Rules of the House of Representatives, the Committee on the Judiciary has jurisdiction to conduct oversight of matters concerning the “[p]rotection of trade and commerce against unlawful restraints and monopolies” to inform potential legislative reforms, such as whether existing civil and criminal penalties and current antitrust law enforcement efforts are sufficient to deter anticompetitive collusion in the investment industry. Corporations are collectively adopting and imposing left-wing environmental, social, and governance (ESG)-related goals, and the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero (GFANZ) and its constituent alliances such as the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative (NZAM) appear to facilitate collusion that may violate U.S. antitrust law. To advance our oversight and inform potential legislation related to collusive ESG policies, the Committee must understand how and to what extent GFANZ and NZAM facilitate collusion to promote ESG-related goals. … GFANZ’s response without compulsory process has been inadequate. For example, to date, and despite your repeated assurances of GFANZ’s cooperation, GFANZ has produced just 795 documents, some of which contain excessive redactions. In addition, GFANZ appears to have taken no meaningful efforts to collect and produce responsive documents or communications from before 2022, which the Committee’s letter explicitly requested.[1] |
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See also
- Environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG)
- Economy and Society: Ballotpedia's ESG newsletter
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