Republicans’ crusade against sustainable investing strategies isn't resonating with voters — not even Republican ones. Penn State’s Center for the Business of Sustainability and communications firm ROKK Solutions partnered to survey 1,261 registered voters on ESG . They found that voters feel that companies should generally be able to conduct business and take ESG risks into account without government interference. “The public tends to side with companies rather than legislators in the war on wokeism,” the report found. “Consensus sentiment among these voters centered on the notion that companies should be able to exercise their discretion regarding how they use their own funds and if companies wanted to invest in ESG initiatives that benefited society they should be allowed to freely do so without government interference.” The report comes at a key moment in the battle over ESG. The wave of attacks from red states is only expected to grow as Republicans prepare to take over the House — and as the anti-ESG movement gets an influx of cash . Sixty-three percent of respondents — majorities in both parties — said the government should not set limits on ESG investments, albeit for different reasons. Democrats expressed the view that ESG investment is good for society, while Republicans were more likely to view the government setting limits as excessive interference with the free market. Republicans — presumably the GOP's target audience — were, surprisingly, even likelier than Democrats to oppose government curbs on ESG investing. Seventy percent of Republicans opposed government interference, compared to 57 percent of Democrats. How far ESG should go is up for some debate, however. Overall, 49 percent of respondents said companies should have leeway to invest in ESG initiatives even if it hurts shareholder value in the short term; 57 percent of Democrats said companies should have this flexibility, with 57 percent of Republicans opposed. There was a generational divide on that point: Half of younger Republicans said companies should have leeway to make ESG investments even if it harmed shareholder value.
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