By: The New York Times
Date: August 11, 2022
As primaries for a bitter midterm election begin, the political fight over environmental, social and governance investing continues in corporate America. And while several high-profile politicians have condemned the so-called E.S.G. approach — including two potential 2024 presidential candidates, Mike Pence and Gov. Ron DeSantis of Florida — its opponents are making little headway in the boardroom, the DealBook newsletter reports.
Morningstar tracked 43 anti-E.S.G. shareholder proposals in the first half of the year and found that on average they received only 7 percent support, compared with more than 30 percent across all proposals. Large money managers such as BlackRock, Vanguard and State Street have publicly committed to various E.S.G. efforts. While BlackRock said it would back fewer climate proposals this year, it would be harder for it to justify voting for blanket bans on E.S.G. initiatives.