About

For decades, the largest U.S. institutional investors and Fortune 500 companies have integrated all material financial risks – from extreme weather to inflation to labor shortages -- and business opportunities, including the benefits of clean energy investments and innovative solutions, into decision-making. These decisions are based on prudent risk management and financial analysis to ensure long-term profitability, competitiveness, and value. Investors and companies remain firmly committed to responsible business strategies because it is critical to their performance. Climate-related risks are estimated to cost the world’s economy $178 trillion by 2070 if left unchecked, posing significant risks to investment portfolios, business operations, and supply chains. When acted on, they present enormous business opportunities in the economic transition to a clean energy future. 

However, some elected officials and special interests are working to ban investors, insurers, utility providers, and financial institutions from considering climate risk and other material issues in decision-making. They are also attempting to change the way investors and companies communicate through the long-standing shareholder proposal process – a critical component of America's free market system that helps businesses address relevant financial issues. In the last few years, the fossil fuel industry and other special interests in Congress and statehouses have waged a relentless politically driven campaign designed to undermine and interfere with responsible business practices. Lawmakers have introduced hundreds of bills to use government power to ban investors and companies from considering all financial information in decision-making. They’ve also introduced bills to undermine shareholder engagement with companies they own – harming the rights of investors to raise concerns or suggestions directly with companies through shareholder proposals.

The good news is that many restrictive measures have failed or stalled due to private and public sector pushbacks over the economic impacts of such policies.  Hundreds of private and public sector leaders have mobilized to send a unified message to policymakers: protect the freedom to invest and operate responsibly.   

In March 2023, Ceres launched the Freedom to Invest initiative to support investors and companies in protecting their long-standing rights to invest, operate and engage responsibly, ensuring long-term value and a more stable, resilient economy. The initiative is at the forefront of defeating state and federal legislation that seeks to ban responsible business practices, where investors and companies consider all financial risks and opportunities in decision-making. Freedom to Invest has rallied leaders from across the business world to remind policymakers that building profitable businesses and investment portfolios demands an analysis of all material financial factors, and the economy is stronger and more resilient if they are free to make their own decisions.