Conservative Organizations

Conservative Principles  

In January 2024, a group of conservative organizations, including the National Taxpayers Union, Taxpayer Protection Alliance, R Street, Centerline Liberties, American Conservation Coalition, C3 Solutions, American Action Forum, and the Conservative Energy Network, released a set of principles that “can drive economic growth, innovation, and environmental progress.” Two of the principles include: 

• Protect pensions and investments from politicization. Do not ban nor mandate certain types of investment decisions that are outside the realm of maximizing return on investments by individuals or entities in the free market. 

• Keep the government out of boardrooms and reject politically motivated efforts to steer government business away from or towards certain companies based on narrow political agendas. 

Studies and White Papers  

• In September 2024, Centerline Liberties released a report entitled, “ESG: Politics Over Policy and Unintended Consequences.” The paper examines the history surrounding the rise of anti-ESG legislation, the different types of legislation that has been introduced in the states and in Congress, and the unintended consequences of such laws. James Dozier, the President of Centerline Liberties, commented, “The consequences of unnecessary partisanship is clear: instead of fostering a balanced, pragmatic approach to ESG, we are witnessing a pendulum swing that creates regulatory confusion and economic uncertainty. At Centerline Liberties, we believe the solution lies in depoliticizing ESG policymaking and fostering a collaborative approach across the aisle to prioritize policies that are flexible, evidence based and grounded in the realities of our diverse economy. Only then can we create a sustainable future that balances economic growth with social responsibility. Extreme partisanship in ESG policy making serves no one,” 

• In the University of Pennsylvania Journal of Law and Public Affairs, Richard Painter of the University of Minnesota Law School, makes the argument that conservatives should support some forms of ESG. Entitled, “The Conservative Case for ESG,” Painter says, “This Article concludes that conservatives in Congress should support corporate purpose and fiduciary duty provisions similar to those in the Accountable Capitalism Act. The Accountable Capitalism led by Sens. Elizabeth Warren (D-MA) embodies several objectives, but a central focus of the bill is to clearly state a corporate purpose of “general public benefit” for America’s largest corporations, require those corporations to get a federal charter, and impose a federal standard of conduct for directors and officers parallel to the fiduciary duties those directors and officers have under state law ”embodies several objectives, but a central focus of the bill is to clearly state a corporate purpose of “general public benefit” for America’s largest corporations, require those corporations to get a federal charter, and impose a federal standard of conduct for directors and officers parallel to the fiduciary duties those directors and officers have under state law.” 

Statements and Polling  

• In a poll released from the National Taxpayers Union, they found that 60 percent of Republicans “believe governments should contract with companies based on their reputation, cost, and quality, regardless of their internal practices or unrelated business decisions.” Mostly, the poll found “nearly two-thirds of voters say state government officials should not refuse to do business with companies that support progressive policies on issues like climate change and diversity.” 

• In a piece published in Newsweek by Assistant Professor of Business Law at Georgia College and State University Nicholas Creel, he says, “One cannot fully evaluate the long-term prospects of a company without ESG data any more than you could predict a person's future health if you were to willfully ignore readily available information that would reveal their blood pressure or cholesterol levels.” 

• In 2023, economist James Broughel wrote a piece entitled “Republicans Are Making A Mistake By Waging A War On ESG Investing.” In his piece, Broughel makes the case that, “most conservatives would not want to see companies blocked from acting on their beliefs, because they recognize that companies should have the freedom to make decisions based on their own values even when those values are controversial.”