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ESG And The Republican Turn Against Business Interests

ESG And The Republican Turn Against Business Interests

Last updated on: July 12, 2023 at 4:09 am by Henry Karlson

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ESG And The Republican Turn Against Business Interests 2023-07-12T04:09:17-05:00 Henry Karlson

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As the world burns with the highest average temperatures ever recorded, Republicans continue to play interference in regards to what is needed to deal with climate change. Everyone should be working together to deal with the rising temperatures as everyone will find themselves adversely affected by climate change. We are responsible for what is happening to the earth. Morally, no sound argument can be made to justify ignoring our duty to protect the earth and all the life which lives on it. Sadly, Republicans are not interested in morality. They are not interested even when religious leaders continue to warn the world that climate change is real and that it will take people of all faiths, and of no faith, working together to protect the earth. They seem to have a psychotic approach to the world, one which says not only should we not be concerned with the earth and its future, but we should prevent businesses and investors from considering the impact of climate change on their investments. They want to force their own destructive ideology upon everyone, including businesses. They use, as justification, the claim that businesses should only be concerned about profit, and dealing with the environment would cut into those profits. By forcing businesses not to consider the impact of their actions, be it from the environment, or other similar concerns, telling them that they will face penalties if they dare do so, will ultimately hinder businesses from engaging all factors which will influence their profits in the future. Republicans want to push their agenda, which is why, as Ben Wershkul, writing for Yahoo!Finance (7-2-2023) indicates, House Republicans have targeted ESG as a major topic for them to address in July:

House Republicans plan to turn much of their focus this month to a divisive term in the corporate world: ESG.

What GOP leaders are promising is a concerted effort to roll back the years-long trend of investors and companies making environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) principles part of their decision-making mix.

ESG concerns are vital concerns for businesses to consider. They represent the way the environmental (E), social policies (S) and governance (G) affect businesses, positively and negatively, even as they show how business engagement of them affects the world around them. The two go together. Businesses and investors should be concerned about the way climate change can and will affect profits. For example, it should be clear that climate change will affect food production; businesses dealing with food supplies should be able to take that into consideration, but if they are forbidden to consider ESG impact, then they will find that they cannot. It appears that what Republicans want is for businesses to be concerned only for the short-term; they want no long-term investing strategies. But as anyone involved in business should know, being short-sighted will hurt the long-term bottom line. Those who say they are promoting the profits of investors by not allowing ESG concerns to be considered are either bad at business, or else, outright-lying, for it should be obvious that business profits will be adversely affected by climate change if they can’t prepare for it, but it can be an opportunity for profits if they can.

Why can so many Republicans fight against ESG concerns, if they know such concerns are integral to the welfare of businesses themselves? It seems that many Republicans want the world burn. Their nihilism is very apparent. But it is a religious nihilism, as it goes hand in hand with a dark variation of Christian eschatology. They want to bring the world to an end, and they think they can should do all they can to hasten that end. Thus, their agenda is no longer aligned with business because businesses, like everything else, need to come to an end. Others, who are not aligned with such an apocalyptic approach, nonetheless listen to and heed the sophistry being given to justify that agenda, believing that truly, allowing businesses to act with ethical integrity hurts the one interest businesses should have, which is profit. They do not understand that their agenda will only hurt, not help, businesses. Being ethical, following moral imperatives beyond profits, can and will help profit as well. This is why we find those do not care about the environmental impact on business sustainability joining in with those who have been led not to accept the reality of climate change come together and demand that businesses should not engage environmental or social concerns, saying if they do, they will violate anti-trust laws, as Steven T. Dennis reported on Bloomberg News (7-6-2023):

House Judiciary Chairman Jim Jordan and two other House Republicans fired off letters to financial industry giants including BlackRock Inc., Vanguard Group Inc. and State Street, contending that their efforts to combat climate change could violate antitrust law.

The lawmakers warned in the letters on Thursday that agreements to decarbonize their assets “and reduce emissions to zero” could have “potentially harmful effects on Americans’ freedom and economic well-being.”

It is ridiculous for the House Republicans to say that those who want to invest in businesses which are concerned about environmental and social concerns are losing their freedom. By denying investors, and their financial advisors, the freedom to engage those concerns, they are the ones limiting freedom. And, as environmental and social concerns have an economic impact, not being able to consider them will hinder, not help, the economic well-being of investors and the businesses they invest in. Indeed, there are many indications which show that those businesses and investors which embrace ESG concerns tend to be more financial secure than those which do not. This should not be surprising, as investors should consider all possible factors when making investments.

Of course, businesses should be concerned with profits, even if they should not solely be concerned about profits. And, when they take profits into consideration, that will justify their embrace of EGS consideration, as profits will be affected by ESG concerns. But businesses should be run ethically. They should not be concerned solely about profit. They should be concerned about the impact of their businesses. Businesses which cause undue, unjustified harm to the world should be stopped. Everyone, including those involved in businesses, should be concerned with the future of humanity.

“Keep your life free from love of money, and be content with what you have; for he has said, ‘I will never fail you nor forsake you’” (Heb. 13:5 RSV). Those who are concerned only for profit, that is, only for money, will have no concern for the evil they do. This is why the love of money is said to be the root of many evils (cf. 1 Tim. 6:10). When Republicans promote profits over ethics, Christians should be concerned. Republicans show that they put money over all things, including religious beliefs and values. Indeed, they are telling Christians they cannot engage ethical considerations, including environmental and social concerns, with their investments; that is, their policies stand against religious liberty.

The legacy of the profit motive, the ideology that says profit is more important than any other thing, is one of the reasons why we see so much destruction of the environment in the world today. So many businesses were not concerned about the long-term impact of their actions. Many of their directors did not believe they would face the consequences of their actions, and so, even if they believed that those consequences would happen in the future, they didn’t care. This has changed. Many now see how such a short-sighted approach will come back to hurt them, that they will be affected by their choices. This is because we are experiencing the effects of climate change. We must deal with it now. Everyone, including those running businesses, will feel the harsh reality of climate change if they don’t do anything to fix the problem. Self-interest, in this case, will suggest us to do what is ethical. Sadly, many politicians, like the House Republicans, do not care; they have come to hold an ideological opposition to such ethical concerns, and seem to be willing to let the world burn instead of admit they are wrong. Once again, they stand in the way of the very businesses they say they are interested in promoting. Their interest lies no longer with pure profit, but their ideology. Religions, then, are being forced to comply, as their adherents are told they cannot expect businesses to engage ethical concerns, which, once again, shows that their words in regard religious liberty are mere words. Their words and actions run contrary to each other. It is important to expose them for what they are, and the dangers they pose the world. It is important for us to recognize businesses, even those interested in profits, must address ESG concerns. Businesses must be held to ethical standards beyond ones which say the only concerns of businesses are profits. We should never have allowed the profit motive to be separated from ethical considerations. Thankfully, many recognize this now, even if they do so because they see they have to fight to save the world so that we can have a future on it. Everyone must use their power and influence to fight against those who stand in the way of the common good. Thankfully, more and more businesses, and investors, are realizing what Pope Francis said in Laudato si’ (¶36):

Caring for ecosystems demands far-sightedness, since no one looking for quick and easy profit is truly interested in their preservation. But the cost of the damage caused by such selfish lack of concern is much greater than the economic benefits to be obtained. Where certain species are destroyed or seriously harmed, the values involved are incalculable. We can be silent witnesses to terrible injustices if we think that we can obtain significant benefits by making the rest of humanity, present and future, pay the extremely high costs of environmental deterioration.

We see the impact of climate change all around us. We continue to see a rise in average global temperatures. It is reckless to demand businesses, which are affected by climate change, to ignore environmental concerns (even as it is reckless to tell them not to engage other moral considerations, such as those dealing with social concerns and governance, as they likewise have an impact on the viability of business interests).

Christians need to speak up with the rest of humanity, promoting environmental and social concerns that positively help the world. They should be concerned about ethics, and what happens when ethical concerns are not only ignored by businesses, but when businesses are forced to ignore them. Republicans want to force their dangerous, reckless ideology upon businesses, punishing them if they show any concern for the common good. They want to take control of businesses, using them to reflect their ideology. That is the way of fascism, not the way of responsible, ethical nations. It is certainly not what Christians should ever support again. Why, then, are so many Christians ignoring the ethical violations and impositions of Republicans? Some, it seems, want the world to burn. They really want to bring it to end. Others, however, seem to blindly follow the Republican rhetoric, saying anti-ESG laws promote profits. In either case, their response shows how far they have diverted from the values of the Christian faith. Christians are called to protect the earth, not destroy it. And Christians certainly are not to promote the love of money. What Jesus said can and should be told to those who have fallen for the profit motive: “Do not lay up for yourselves treasures on earth, where moth and rust consume and where thieves break in and steal, but lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust consumes and where thieves do not break in and steal. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Matt. 6:19-21 RSV). Christianity, when it ignores this, has certainly lost its way. As we see many Christians engaging this diversion from the faith, all the while trying to doing so in the name of Christ, and being accepted as if they are, is it any wonder why the rest of the world has little to no interest in what Christians have to say?

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N.B.: While I read comments to moderate them, I rarely respond to them. If I don’t respond to your comment directly, don’t assume I am unthankful for it. I appreciate it. But I want readers to feel free to ask questions, and hopefully, dialogue with each other. I have shared what I wanted to say, though some responses will get a brief reply by me, or, if I find it interesting and something I can engage fully, as the foundation for another post. I have had many posts inspired or improved upon thanks to my readers.

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