This week, highlights in responsible investing include the New Hampshire General Court killing the state’s final remaining anti-responsible investing bill, Exxon shareholders embroiled in a lawsuit with the gas giant for pushing responsible investing measures demanding the court throw out the case, and the governor of Texas continuing to spread misinformation about ESG.
Governor Greg Abbot was caught in a hypocritical lie for spreading false information about responsible investing after raking in campaign cash from greedy CEOs and wealthy donors.
From UAF’s fact check: Governor Abbott’s attacks on responsible investing have made the state less business friendly. Since 2021 when Governor Abbott signed legislation banning public contracts with businesses that engage in responsible investing, the state has been dubbed “bad for business.”
Investors fought back against Exxon suing its own shareholders for pushing responsible investing, asking a court to throw out the lawsuit.
From Bloomberg Law: Arjuna Capital said in its court filing that the lawsuit isn’t necessary because the proposal has been withdrawn, and both Arjuna and Follow This “have agreed not to resubmit the proposal or present it at any future Exxon shareholder meeting. In refusing to dismiss the case following the withdrawal, Exxon has laid bare its true intention—to challenge how the SEC interprets and applies its own proxy proposal rules, without actually confronting the SEC itself,” the filing said.
Finally, anti-responsible investing legislation is finally dead in New Hampshire, after a Senate committee voted down the only remaining anti-ESG law in the statehouse.
From UAF’s statement on the responsible investing victory: Today’s vote shows that being against responsible investing is being on the losing side. Self-interested politicians across the country and their wealthy CEO donors are pushing these extreme measures in order to line their own pockets at the expense of the economy and working families. We applaud the New Hampshire Senate Committee for doing the right thing by unanimously opposing this bill, and look forward to the full Senate to kill this bill once and for all in the coming days.
Read more:
- Rhetoric vs. Reality: Texas Governor Greg Abbott Distorts Facts on Responsible Investing (ESG) Following Millions in Campaign Cash From Greedy CEOs
- ICYMI: Investors Ask Court to Throw Out Exxon Lawsuit Against Its Own Shareholders
- STATEMENT: New Hampshire Anti-Responsible Investing Senate Bill Dies In Committee
