Private Sector, Public Good

Josh Zinner, CEO of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, considers the priorities for responsible investors under a second Trump Presidency.

Since its founding in 1971, members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) have come together to do the important work of holding corporations accountable for their impacts on people and the planet.

For those who come to ICCR through a lens of faith, our religious traditions share common messages about care for creation, care for the stranger, and support for the poor and vulnerable. The faith and values that bring all investors, religious or secular, to our collective work at ICCR are unifying – not dividing – and they are grounded in an intentional faith in the power of the private sector to act in support of the public good. Despite the obstacles, after over 50 years this faith has not waned, and we remain resolute in our work alongside an ever-expanding network of allies to press for greater corporate accountability for the environmental and societal impacts of business.

We are clear-eyed about the potential challenges we face with a second Trump Presidency, and we reaffirm our commitment to standing in solidarity with those communities – including women, people of colour, immigrants, LGBTQ people, low-wage workers, and others – whose rights are most at risk. ICCR also reaffirms its commitment to racial justice as a moral and ethical imperative.

Financial success and accountability

As fiduciaries, ICCR members are keenly interested in the long-term financial success of the companies we hold in our portfolios, yet we understand that companies’ financial success must be accompanied by accountability for any harmful societal impacts. Without enforceable accountability structures, companies may choose to place short-term profitability over all other considerations, which is both systemically dangerous and unsustainable over the long term. As shareholders with a vested interest in strong governance, we will continue to use our influence to press for robust risk management systems, increased transparency, and accountability via public disclosures and reporting, as well as meaningful regulatory guardrails.

Specifically, we recommit to work on the following issues of systemic importance to the health of our society, environment, economy, and democracy:

First, we will continue to advocate for our members’ rights to engage their portfolio companies and to file shareholder proposals utilising the 14a-8 process as a mechanism to raise concerns about environmental and social impacts to protect the long-term value of our investments.

Shareholder proposals and proxy voting are two key elements of shareholder democracy that together serve as cost-effective mechanisms for shareholders to monitor and hold corporate boards and management accountable and to spur needed governance reforms. Today, these accountability mechanisms are both more relevant and needed than ever. As investors concerned with the long-term health of our systems, we must work to preserve these important cornerstones of responsible corporate governance.

Second, despite the US Supreme Court’s overturning in June of the decades-old doctrine of Chevron deference, investors must continue to support strong regulatory guardrails to rein in corporate overreach that negatively impacts the public interest and creates broader systemic risks.

Voluntary corporate action to limit negative externalities is important but does not substitute for strong, mandatory rules that level the playing field for responsible corporate actors. Regardless, multinational corporations will need to comply with emerging legislation and regulations coming out of the EU regarding human rights and environmental due diligence.

Finally, shareholder engagements to address the climate crisis will remain a top priority because the economic and planetary risks, if left unaddressed, will only increase.

The clean energy transition is already well under way, with enabling policies increasingly in place around the world, and the costs of renewable energy alternatives falling dramatically. The Inflation Reduction Act includes US$369 billion in investments to tackle climate change, bringing America closer to cutting climate pollution in half from 2005 levels by 2030. The manufacturing investments in red states are popular job producers and are in the interests of the majority of companies and communities.

Systemic risks

This important work to clean up the environment and provide good jobs must not only continue but be accelerated. While intransigence and obstructive policies in the face of the inevitable shift may delay climate progress, the risks to business of a warming climate have become too real and significant to ignore. Climate change loads systemic risks into our financial markets that threaten the portfolios of all investors, including hard-working Americans saving for retirement.

ICCR will champion those companies with the foresight to adequately manage these risks and continue to press those that don’t. We want to underscore the importance of America’s ongoing participation in the Paris Climate Agreement and working with the global community to address this existential global threat. Given the toll climate change has taken on our planet, our economy and vulnerable communities around the world, climate inaction is simply not an option.

Investors’ efforts to foster more just and equitable workplaces and to restore dignity to workers – particularly low-wage workers who are struggling to stay afloat – will be critical. ICCR members will continue to advocate for protections for workers both here in the US and in global supply chains, such as the right to organise, a living wage, paid sick leave, and a safe and healthy workplace. These basic protections are integral to the long-term sustainability of companies, as well as to the health of communities and a vibrant economy.

We view a healthcare delivery system centered on people, not profit, as integral to a prosperous society and economy. We expect companies to adopt principles rooted in equity and justice and to safeguard the human right to health, which will improve the health and well-being of communities, especially communities that bear a disproportionate burden of disease. Key provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act including government negotiation of drug prices, a new cap on Medicare Part D cost sharing, and penalties for pharmaceutical manufacturers that raise prices faster than inflation, are historic measures that will begin to rein in the ever-escalating cost of healthcare in the US. Investors must work to ensure that we do not lose these hard-won gains, and must engage leading pharmaceutical and other healthcare companies on concerns related to access and affordability of healthcare, life-saving medicines and vaccines, and other health technologies.

We affirm our expectation that businesses will use their influence to buttress our democratic institutions, recognising that both the public and private sectors depend on a resilient constitutional democracy and a strong rule of law to provide the economic and legal certainty that facilitates long-term market stability and investment. Millions of corporate dollars flowed into this election cycle. For decades, investors have sounded alarms about the strains that corporate lobbying and political spending put on our democratic institutions. As investors, we must actively engage corporations to help ensure that their involvement in the political process through lobbying and election spending does not orient public policy towards short-term corporate profits at the expense of the long-term public interest.

Honing our focus

ICCR and its members will continue to work alongside our partners in the responsible investing community as well as the many NGO and civil society organisations that are advocating for impacted communities both at home and abroad. Together we will hone our focus, refine our strategies, and build our resilience to meet the challenges ahead.

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