POLICY ANALYSIS

ANTI-ESG
Report Card
2024 Presidential Candidates

ANTI-ESG
Report Card
2024 Presidential Candidates
CONTENTS
Introduction .......................................................................................................3
Scorecard ............................................................................................................4
Ron DeSantis ....................................................................................................5
Mike Pence ........................................................................................................6
Donald Trump ................................................................................................. 7
Tim Scott ............................................................................................................8
Vivek Ramaswamy .......................................................................................9Doug Burgum ................................................................................................10
Nikki Haley ....................................................................................................... 11
Asa Hutchinson ............................................................................................. 12
Chris Christie .................................................................................................. 13
Robert F. Kennedy Jr. ...............................................................................14
Joe Biden ......................................................................................................... 15

INTRODUCTION
In an attempt to secure vast amounts of wealth and influence
over society, corporations, bankers, and investors, working
closely with key government officials, have launcheda unified effort to impose environmental, social, andgovernance (ESG) standards on most of the industrialized
global economy. (ESG standards are also often referred to as“sustainable investment” or “stakeholder capitalism.”)
According to a report by the prominent accounting firm
KPMG, thousands of companies around the world now
produce ESG reports. This includes an astounding 96 percentof the G250, “the 250 largest companies by revenue as
defined in the Fortune 500 ranking.”1
ESG standards are designed to create a “great reset of
capitalism” and to “revamp all aspects of our societies andeconomies, from education to social contracts and working
conditions.”2
ESG supporters plan to enact these radical changes byusing ESG schemes to alter how businesses and investments
are evaluated, so that instead of focusing on the quality ofgoods and services, profits, and other traditional economic
metrics, companies—including financial institutions—are
evaluated largely on their commitment to social justiceand environmental causes, and then assigned scores sothat companies can be compared, rewarded, or potentiallypunished.3
In January 2022, concerned lawmakers in dozens of states
introduced legislation aimed at combatting the threat posedby ESG. During the 2022 and 2023 legislative sessions,numerous states passed anti-ESG legislation, although nearly
all continue to allow various forms of ESG discrimination.4
Only Florida, with support from Gov. Ron DeSantis,
has taken a truly all-encompassing approach to the ESG
problem. In 2023, it banned banks from using many nonfinancial criteria when evaluating customers, a remarkableblow to the ESG movement.
The fight over ESG is far from over. It is highly likely thatthe fate of the ESG movement in America will be closely
correlated to the results of the 2024 election, which atpresent features numerous Republican candidates; Robert
F. Kennedy, Jr., an independent; and the sitting president,
Democrat Joe Biden.

1
2
3
4

This publication seeks to provide the public with a detailed,easy-to-understand guide to the ESG policies offered by allof the prominent presidential candidates still in the race. To
produce this report, a team of ESG experts at The Heartland
Institute, a national nonprofit think tank, conducted anin-depth investigation of all of the candidates, their paststatements on ESG, and their policy proposals related to
ESG. Throughout the research process, the team at The
Heartland Institute reached out to many of the presidential
campaigns, to verify all the findings presented in this report
are correct, and, when necessary, to ask for additional
information.
Candidates were then assigned letter grades, based on theirstatements, policies, and previous votes related to ESG.
High scores were given to candidates with the strongest
policies against the use of ESG by governments, pensions,and financial institutions. The lowest scores were given to
candidates who have openly supported the use of ESG, suchas President Biden.
Many readers will be surprised at some of the scorespresented in this report. Some might be tempted to thinkscores were influenced by bias or favoritism, but I can assure
you that is not the case. The team that worked on this reportholds diverse political, social, and religious views, and no one
who has labored on this project has worked or volunteered
for any of the candidates discussed herein, nor donated any
money to any of the relevant presidential campaigns.
ESG is one of the most important issues facing the country
today. We hope that this project will serve as a valuable asset
to the public, which has in recent years grown increasingly
more concerned about ESG and other social credit scoring
systems.
If you have questions about any of the information contained
within this report, including our methodology, you cancontact me directly at jhaskins@heartland.org.

Justin Haskins
Director, Socialism Research Center
The Heartland Institute

Richard Threlfall et al., The Time Has Come: The KPMG Survey of Sustainability Reporting 2020, KPMG, December 2020, https://assets.
kpmg/content/dam/kpmg/xx/pdf/2020/11/the-time-has-come.pdf
Klaus Schwab, “Now Is the Time for a ‘Great Reset,’” World Economic Forum, weforum.org, June 3, 2020, https://www.weforum.org/
agenda/2020/06/now-is-the-time-for-a-great-reset
See the Business Roundtable’s new “purpose of a corporation,” at Business Roundtable, “Statement on the Purpose of a Corporation,”businessroundtable.org, July 2021, https://opportunity.businessroundtable.org/ourcommitment
See “Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) Scores,” heartland.org, The Heartland Institute, last accessed October 5, 2023,
https://heartland.org/esg

3

ANTI-ESG Report Card
2024 Presidential Candidates

Ron DeSantis

A+

Mike Pence

A

Donald TrumpATim ScottA-

Vivek Ramaswamy

B

Doug Burgum

B-

Nikki HaleyC+

Asa Hutchinson

C

Chris Christie

C-

Robert F. Kennedy Jr.

D

Joe Biden

F
4

RON
DESANTIS
Florida Governor“[ESG is] an attempt by elites to impose ideology throughbusiness institutions, financial institutions, and our economy
writ large. … They want to use economic power to impose thisagenda on our society.”
PHOTO COURTESY:GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR

Notable Actions•

DeSantis leads allianceof 18 states issuing jointstatement against ESG•

DeSantis signs
comprehensive anti-ESG
bill into law in Florida•

Presidential campaign
website lists fighting
ESG amongst the top
five priorities

Anti-ESG Score

A+

Gov. Ron DeSantis has emerged as a prominent figure in thefight against ESG. In 2023, he signed into law in Florida themost comprehensive anti-ESG legislation yet, demonstrating his
commitment to combating this influential movement. This legislation,commonly referred to as H.B. 3, aims to address concerns related
to the use of ESG to enforce policies and agendas without using thelegislative process.
H.B. 3 imposes restrictions on the use of ESG related to government
contracts, funds, and pensions. Most importantly, H.B. 3 also prevents
many financial institutions in the state from considering many nonfinancial criteria when determining whether a customer is eligible forgoods or services — a concept called “fair access.”
Recognizing the importance of a unified approach, Gov. DeSantis also
has led an alliance of 18 states against ESG. This collaborative effort
showcases his determination to build a coalition of like-minded state
officials to challenge the influence of ESG principles on governanceand policymaking.
Gov. DeSantis has repeatedly demonstrated a deep understanding of
the threat posed by ESG. For example, in his 2023 book The Courage to
Be Free, he emphasized the need to “cripple the ESG movement.”
DeSantis has made his opposition to ESG a central theme in his2024 presidential campaign. Highlighting its significance, he listed“waging war” on ESG among the top five priorities on his presidential
campaign website.
With that said, DeSantis could improve his anti-ESG policies by
including fair access requirements for insurance companies, which
would ban insurers from using ESG when approving or denying accessto their products and services.
5

MIKE
PENCE
Former Vice President“[ESG] empowers an unelected cabal of bureaucrats… to ratecompanies based on their adherence to left-wing values.”

PHOTO COURTESY:GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR

Notable Actions•

Has written and spoken
heavily against ESG in avariety of mediums•

Issued a rule thatwould have protected
Americans’ andcodified fair access tofinancial services for all
individuals•

Featured ESG on
campaign website

Anti-ESG Score

A

Former Vice President Mike Pence has been outspoken in his
criticism of ESG.
In an op-ed written for The Wall Street Journal, Pence statedthat ESG “empowers an unelected cabal of bureaucrats… to ratecompanies based on their adherence to left-wing values.” The Los
Angeles Times quoted Pence as stating that President Biden andgovernment regulators are “weaponizing the financial system[through] capricious new ESG regulations that allow left-wingradicals to destroy American energy producers from within.”Pence’s rhetoric is on point, and his actions back it up. Under the
Trump-Pence administration, the Department of Labor issued arule that would have protected American retirees from having theirsavings used to further ESG objectives, and the Trump-Pence-era
Office of the Comptroller of the Currency (OCC) issued a rulethat codified fair access to financial services, a move that would
have prevented large banks from using ESG to discriminate against
customers and potential customers.
Unfortunately, both rules were scrapped by the Biden
administration almost immediately upon Biden’s ascension to
the White House in 2021. However, the language in the OCC’s
proposed rule has since provided the basis for anti-ESG fair accesslegislation at the state and federal levels, with the most prominent
example being Florida, which passed a comprehensive ESG law
earlier in 2023.
Pence’s campaign website includes discussion of ESG in the context
of expanding U.S. energy production, stating “distortive ESG
rules are designed to limit investment in fossil fuels and must be
repealed. The government will never expand domestic energy
development as well as the private sector.”
We scored Pence slightly below Gov. Ron DeSantis, because
although Pence has been a major opponent of ESG, he has notmade fair access legislation a key part of his 2024 presidential
campaign.
6

DONALDTRUMP
45th President of the United States“These poorly performing woke financial scams are radical left
garbage that would never be funded on their own and certainly
never be funded on their own merits.”

PHOTO COURTESY:GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR

Notable Actions•••

Issued a rule attempting
to Americans’ retirement
accounts from funding
ESG causes
Issued a rule attempting
to codify fair access tofinancial services for all
individuals
Committed to working
with Congress andusing the power of thepresidency to combat
ESG, if re-elected

Anti-ESG Score

A

Former President Donald Trump has been one of the anti-ESG
movement’s greatest champions, in both words and actions.
For instance, Trump has made numerous statements warning against
ESG, including: “These poorly performing woke financial scams areradical left garbage that would never be funded on their own and certainly
never be funded on their own merits,” and “The entire ESG scheme isdesigned to funnel your retirement money to the maniacs on the radical
left.”
Trumpeting his own accomplishments, he has also exhorted, “We MUST
protect Americans from Radical Leftist ESG investments—I did it once,
and it’s time to do it again as I set the example for Republicans across theCountry to follow my lead in fighting ESG!”
Trump’s comments in the latter quote about “[doing] it once” is likely areference to two significant anti-ESG policies his administration enacted in
the waning days of his presidency. Under Trump, the Department of Labor
issued a rule that would have protected American retirees from having theirsavings used to further ESG objectives, and the Office of the Comptrollerof the Currency (OCC) issued a rule that would have codified fair access tofinancial services, preventing individuals from being discriminated against
based upon their political orientation and speech.
Unfortunately, both rules were scrapped by the Biden administration
almost immediately upon Biden’s ascension to the White House in 2021.
However, the language within the OCC’s proposed rule has served as thebasis for anti-ESG fair access legislation within states that have fought backagainst ESG, with the most prominent example being Florida, which passed acomprehensive ESG law earlier in 2023.
Trump remains fully dedicated to eradicating ESG and has promised,“When I’m in the White House I will sign an executive order and, with
Congress’ support, a law to keep politics away from America’s retirement
accounts forever. I will demand that funds invest your money to help you,not them.”That said, Trump’s campaign has not focused on ESG as heavily as othercampaigns, such as those of Gov. Ron DeSantis and entrepreneur Vivek
Ramaswamy, and based on our investigation of his campaign platform,
Trump has not made fair access legislation an official part of his day-one
agenda.
7

TIM
SCOTT
U.S. Senator (R-SC)“Any such efforts to advance the E.U.’s ESG agenda overthe interests of the U.S. and American companies would…
materially and unnecessarily harm our nation’s oil and gas sector,
agriculture sector, and our preeminent capital markets.”
PHOTO COURTESY:GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR

Notable Actions•

Participated in multiple
anti-ESG bills at thefederal level•

Sent letter to the
Department of Labor
protesting its pro-ESG
rule•

Sent letter to the
Department of theTreasury and the SEC
rebuking their pro-ESG
policies

Anti-ESG Score

A-

Sen. Tim Scott has been vocal in his opposition to ESG and has
thrown his support behind numerous bills aimed at combating its
pernicious influence.
Scott has stated via his Twitter account, “We CANNOT let woke ESG
policies get in the way of affordable energy for every American. Let’s
stop the war on commonsense,” and “Any such efforts to advancethe E.U.’s ESG agenda over the interests of the U.S. and Americancompanies would be an alarming development and a significant
deviation from historical practices. Furthermore, shifting to an E.U.style climate regulatory regime in the U.S. would materially andunnecessarily harm our nation’s oil and gas sector, agriculture sector,
and our preeminent capital markets.”
Scott has also cosponsored and/or participated in multiple anti-ESG
legislative efforts, though each of these has failed due to insufficient
support in the Senate or a presidential veto. For instance, in 2021,
Scott co-sponsored legislation that would have codified fair accessto financial services at the national level, building on the Trumpadministration’s Fair Access OCC rule. Additionally, Scott has sent
a letter to the Department of Labor urging the withdrawal of a
proposal that would allow managers of private retirement plans topromote ESG factors.
In June 2023, Scott—as Ranking Member of the Senate Committee on
Banking, Housing, and Urban Affairs—sent letters to the Departmentof the Treasury and the Securities and Exchange Commission,
rebuking the agencies for “circumventing America’s elected
representatives by purportedly coordinating with the E.U. to advancethe international application of European climate-related disclosure
policies, as well as human rights and social justice initiatives.”
Overall, Scott has been one of Congress’ most ardent anti-ESG
advocates, but because his 2024 campaign has been conspicuously
silent on the issue, we chose not to award him the highest possible
grade in our report.
8

VIVEK
RAMASWAMY
American Entrepreneur“What makes the ESG issue so complex is that progressives
who were once hostile to capitalism are now using it as a tool toaccomplish through ‘the market’ what they couldn’t do throughlawmaking.”
PHOTO COURTESY:GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR

Notable Actions

Vivek Ramaswamy has made fighting against ESG and the Great Reset
one of the most important aspects of his 2024 presidential campaign.
He has even launched his own asset management company dedicatedto offering non-ESG investment products, Strive Asset Management.
Ramaswamy has also written multiple books that discuss problematicelements of ESG, including Capitalist Punishment: How Wall Street Is
Using Your Money to Create a Country You Didn’t Vote For (2023).

•

Started his own antiESG asset managementcompany•

Has written multiple
popular books about
the problems associatedwith ESG•

Committed to fighting
ESG from day one of his
potential presidency

His rhetoric surrounding ESG is accurate and convincing. In Woke, Inc.,for example, Ramaswamy wrote, “What makes the ESG issue so complex
is that progressives who were once hostile to capitalism are now using it asa tool to accomplish through ‘the market’ what they couldn’t do throughlawmaking.”

Anti-ESG Score

Because Ramaswamy has never held public office, he has not yet had
the chance to enact any anti-ESG policies. However, the best available
evidence suggests that Ramaswamy would put ESG in his sights on
day one of his presidency. On his campaign website, he makes multiplereferences to ESG and ESG-related topics, and many of his 25 key policy
positions are geared specifically towards ESG, such as “Rescind Biden’srule for retirement funds, get politics out of corporate America andcapital markets,” and “Drill, frack & burn coal: abandon the climate cult &unshackle nuclear energy.”

B

Ramaswamy has been a frequent contributor to a variety of different
media outlets, including Fox News, and he has written numerous op-eds
in high-profile publications, such as The Wall Street Journal, elucidating
the perils of ESG.

Despite Ramaswamy’s anti-ESG platform, however, we chose not to givehim an “A” grade. The primary reason Ramaswamy did not perform
as well as some of the other candidates in this report is because we did
not find any evidence that Ramaswamy supports stopping financial
institutions and insurance companies from using ESG to discriminate
against their customers. Policies designed to stop ESG financial
discrimination are the gold standard, and have received support fromPresident Donald Trump and Ron DeSantis, among other candidates.
Because Ramaswamy has not yet backed that approach, we could not givehim a top mark in our report.
9

DOUG
BURGUM
North Dakota Governor“BlackRock’s head of iShares Americas predicts that by 2030,
ESG investing could become a $1 trillion category. If we’re tocontinue growing our economy, we need to be able to tap intothat capital.”
PHOTO COURTESY:NORTH DAKOTA NATIONALGUARD/FLICKR

Notable Actions••

Signed on to policy
statement with 18 other
Republican governors
committing to using thepower of his office tofight ESG
Approved legislationthat restricts using state
funds to advance ESG
objectives

Anti-ESG Score

B-

North Dakota Gov. Doug Burgum has been relatively quiet about
ESG, and in some cases, he has supported ESG-adjacent initiatives.
For instance, in 2017, Burgum created North Dakota’s Departmentof Environmental Quality, and in 2019, Burgum signed into law
legislation that provided tax incentives for hydrocarbon companies
to reduce emissions.
Most troubling, in 2021, Burgum stated in an interview with
agriculture magazine Future Farmer that his goal was to makeNorth Dakota carbon-neutral by 2030. In a particularly revealing
quote from the same interview, Burgum stated, “BlackRock’s headof iShares Americas predicts that by 2030, ESG investing could
become a $1 trillion category. If we’re to continue growing our
economy, we need to be able to tap into that capital.” That seems tosuggest Burgum believes policy should be crafted to comply withBlackrock’s agenda.
Though many of Burgum’s past actions seem questionable, at best,
he also seems to have recently adopted some important anti-ESG
policy positions while serving as governor. For example, in March
2023, he signed on to a policy statement with 18 other Republican
governors—an effort led by Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis—that
pledged to adopt stringent state-level efforts to fight ESG.
Specifically, the statement outlines policies based around protecting
taxpayers from ESG influences and protecting citizens from ESG
discrimination in the financial sector.
Burgum has also approved multiple pieces of legislation that combat
ESG by prohibiting public entities from considering ESG criteria ininvestment decisions and from making proxy votes based on ESG
factors.
Because Burgum’s record remains mixed, we opted to award him agrade of “B-.”10NIKKI
HALEY
Former South Carolina Governor“Let’s call ESG what it really is: corporate socialism. What weneed is capitalism and not businesses caving to the left. Whenthey do, everybody loses.”

PHOTO COURTESY:GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR

Notable Actions•

Helped pull the UnitedStates out of the Paris
Climate Accords•

Has opposed efforts to
reduce greenhouse gas
emissions•

Responded to The
Heartland Institute’s
query regarding her
position on ESG

Anti-ESG Score

C+

Former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley has perhaps been the least
vocal of the major 2024 GOP candidates when it comes to ESG.
Haley has made statements about boosting domestic oil production,
deregulating the fossil-fuel industry, and rolling back the Biden
administration’s green energy subsidies. And as governor of South
Carolina, Haley generally opposed efforts to reduce emissions,though she has been a staunch supporter of carbon-capture
technology.
Haley was also instrumental in pulling the United States out of theParis Climate Accords. She served as the Trump administration’s
ambassador to the United Nations at the time the decision was
issued. Further, according to The New York Times, Haley has
promised that she would “withdraw from the Paris Agreement
again, lift the Biden administration’s restrictions on oil and gas
production, eliminate subsidies for renewable energy, and cancel
proposed regulations on power plants and vehicle emissions.”
While these policies are certainly heavily linked to ESG, Haley has
made very few public comments about ESG, and we were not able
to secure a specific ESG policy proposal from the Haley campaign,despite having discussed the issue with more than one campaign
representative. At present, her campaign website has no references
to ESG.
When The Heartland Institute reached out to the Haley campaign
team to ascertain Haley’s policy position on ESG, the campaign did
not provide us with a policy proposal, but it did issue a statementfrom Haley: “Let’s call ESG what it really is: corporate socialism.
What we need is capitalism and not businesses caving to the left.
When they do, everybody loses.”
Because the Haley campaign has not yet developed a detailed plan
to fight back against ESG, we provided Haley with a grade of “C+”in our report.
11

ASA
HUTCHINSON
Former Arkansas Governor“Whenever you look at the ruling that [the Biden
administration] has done that requires businesses to put
a priority on ESG, which are the social leftist policies thatdrive our businesses and our schools, that needs to change
immediately.”
PHOTO COURTESY:GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR

Notable Actions•

Signed a pledge to sue
the federal government
if it mandated emissions
reductions•

Committed to revitalize
domestic energy
production•

Loosely promised torein in ESG

Anti-ESG Score

C

Former Arkansas Gov. Asa Hutchinson has had relatively little
to say about ESG. And on one of the few occasions in which hehas addressed the issue, he seemed relatively ambivalent about its
insidious influence.
In an interview on ABC’s This Week, Hutchinson declared, “I
think we as conservatives need to stop and say, ‘Is this the role ofgovernment, to tell business what to do?’ Because that’s the tool of theleft. The left wants to say, ‘Government needs to step in and tell you
you’ve got to invest in ESG, you’ve got to invest in—in green energy.’
Well, I don’t like government telling them what they should do on theleft, and I don’t think we ought to use the same tool on the right.”
The primary purpose of government is to protect the fundamental
rights and freedoms of its citizens, which ESG inherently erodes.
Hutchinson’s point of view is, simply put, naïve and short-sighted;
government must enact policies to prevent ESG from being
weaponized against the American people.
However, to Hutchinson’s credit, he has also expressed vague support
for implementing anti-ESG policies if he were elected. In an interview
with an Iowa television news station, Hutchinson stated: “Whenever
you look at the ruling that [the Biden administration] has done that
requires businesses to put a priority on ESG, which are the social
leftist policies that drive our businesses and our schools, that needs tochange immediately.”
One can also infer from Hutchinson’s statements and actions
regarding climate policy that he would be a champion of increasing
domestic energy production, which would necessitate being antiESG, at least on issues related to the “E.” For instance, Hutchinson has
said he will “end the war on fossil fuels,” that he would lift restrictions
on pipelines, drilling, and nuclear power, and he has promised towithdraw from the Paris Agreement. As governor, he also pledged
to sue the federal government if the Biden administration mandated
emissions reductions.
12

CHRISCHRISTIE
Former New Jersey Governor“I think [ESG is] a backdoor way of trying to impose an agenda. I
have no problem with someone trying to impose an agenda—just
do it through the front door. Win elections.”

PHOTO COURTESY:GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR

Notable Actions•

Enunciated strong
anti-ESG comments in
Leader’s Edge interview•

Enacted pro-ESG
policies as governor of
New Jersey•

Made loose comments
regarding increasing
domestic fossil fuelproduction

Anti-ESG Score

C-

Former New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie has been conspicuously silent
when it comes to ESG. His rhetoric on ESG has seemingly been confined
to only one source: a Q&A with magazine Leader’s Edge, published
October 2022.
To his credit, Christie had some pointed criticisms of ESG, stating, “I think
there’s a lot of people who will repel against this type of overreach withcorporate responsibility reporting and ESG. … I think it’s a backdoor wayof trying to impose an agenda. I have no problem with someone trying toimpose an agenda—just do it through the front door. Win elections.”
In the same interview, he stated, “Using the SEC to require ESG? What thehell’s the SEC got to do with that? They’re supposed to be regulating the
trading of securities and the issuance of securities. What’s ESG have to dowith that? I think these are big governmental overreaches, which, as theAmerican people absorb it, they’re going to repel, because we’re still, in theend, a freedom-cherishing people.”
However, when one considers the energy policies that Christie enacted
as governor of New Jersey, it’s reasonable to infer he might be supportiveof certain ESG measures. According to The New York Times, Christie“announced a moratorium on new coal-plant permits, filed a successful
petition with the E.P.A. to demand reduced pollution from a coal plant along
the Pennsylvania border and signed offshore wind power legislation.”
Christie has also stated, “When you have over 90 percent of the world’s
scientists who have studied this stating that climate change is occurringand that humans play a contributing role, it’s time to defer to the experts.”
With that said, Christie has confusingly recently been vocal in his support
for boosting domestic fossil-fuel production. In a 2022 interview on
ABC’s This Week, Christie enunciated strong support for increasing oil
production. In a 2023 campaign stop in Columbia, South Carolina, he said
that oil and gas production will need to remain priorities “until we arewilling to do more nuclear, and until solar and wind is greater developed.”
Though Christie has made some encouraging comments about ESG and
has recently advocated for policies that run counter to ESG, his campaign
website contains no mention of ESG. Christie has also neglected to provide
any plans about how he plans to deal with the problems presented by ESG
and out-of-control financial institutions.
13ROBERT F.
KENNEDY JR.
Democratic Challenger“Climate change is being used to control us through fear.
Freedom and free markets are a much better way to stop
pollution.”

PHOTO COURTESY:GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR

Notable Actions•

Spent his career
attacking the fossil fuelindustry and promoting
green energy policies•

Campaign website
strongly favors ESG-like
solutions•Campaign rhetoricsuggests a shift against
woke corporate climate
activism

Anti-ESG Score

D

Robert F. Kennedy, Jr., has spent most of his career as an environmental
lawyer and a major advocate for renewable energy policies. He has longsupported the transition away from fossil fuels, including filing lawsuits
against major oil extractors and coal mining companies, and he led acampaign to impose a ban on fracking for natural gas in New York State.
He has also been generally against using nuclear or hydroelectric power as
an energy source.
Kennedy’s campaign website supports similar policies, including shifting
agricultural subsidies to encourage regenerative practices, incentivizing thetransition of industry to zero-waste cycles and clean energy sources, forging
agreements with other countries to implement these policies throughout the
global supply chain, and restricting mining, logging, and oil drilling, among
other climate policies. None of these policies are compatible with a freemarket, and all of them typically fall under the ESG umbrella.
Confusingly, however, Kennedy has recently been particularly scathingin his criticism of woke climate activism by corporations, which often
manifests itself through ESG policies. In a recent interview, Kennedy
stated, “Climate issues and pollution issues are being exploited by, youknow, the World Economic Forum and Bill Gates and all of these big
mega-billionaires. They’ve given climate chaos a bad name because
people now see that it’s just another crisis that’s being used to strip-mine
the wealth of the poor and to enrich billionaires. … the most importantsolution for environmental issues [is] not top-down controls [but] freemarket capitalism. … What we have in this country now is not free market
capitalism, it’s corporate crony capitalism.”
Later in the same interview, Kennedy called corporate climate campaigns
a “cushy kind of socialism for the rich and a brutal, barbaric, mercilesscapitalism for the poor.”
Kennedy has also tweeted, “Climate change is being used to control us
through fear. Freedom and free markets are a much better way to stop
pollution. … You show me a polluter, I’ll show you a fat cat using politicalclout to escape the discipline of the free market.”Despite Kennedy’s denunciation of many pro-ESG institutions, including
powerful groups like Blackrock, there are no other indicators that he would
be an opponent of ESG, if elected president. If anything, his language
suggests he could issue policies that help the ESG movement grow.
14

JOE BIDEN
46th President of the United States“It’s way past time to put an end to the era of shareholder
capitalism—the idea that the only responsibility a corporation
has is to its shareholders. That’s simply not true and it’s anabsolute farce.”

President Joe Biden has been one of ESG’s greatest allies in the U.S.
government.

PHOTO COURTESY:GAGE SKIDMORE/FLICKR

Notable Actions•••

Directed the SEC, OCC,
and DOL to facilitate ESG
objectives
Established Made in
America office, forcing
government to buy fromcompanies pursuing
progressive agendas
Vetoed bipartisan congressional legislation thatwould have forced fiduciaries to safeguard American retirees’ accounts byfocusing purely on material investment factors

Anti-ESG Score

F

In his 2020 campaign against former President Donald Trump, Bidenstated, “It’s way past time to put an end to the era of shareholder
capitalism—the idea that the only responsibility a corporation has is to
its shareholders. That’s simply not true and it’s an absolute farce.” His
subsequent policies served to entrench that perspective.
Biden has directed multiple federal agencies and departments to facilitate
ESG and green energy policies throughout, including the Securities
and Exchange Commission (SEC), the Office of the Comptroller of theCurrency (OCC), and the Department of Labor (DOL).
Biden nominated Gary Gensler to helm the SEC, which has since
proposed major pro-ESG rules, including highly intrusive climate
disclosure rules. Within weeks of becoming president, Biden’s OCC
rescinded Trump’s Fair Access rule, which was designed to stop financial
institutions from using ESG and other non-financial criteria when
determining customers’ eligibility for products and services. Additionally,
Biden’s DOL issued a rule allowing retirement plan fiduciaries to invest
retirees’ funds into ESG funds.
Moreover, Biden signed an executive order establishing the Made in
America Office, which mandates the federal government buy from
U.S. businesses that pursue progressive goals such as social justiceand emissions reductions, something that can only occur if the WhiteHouse utilizes some form of ESG when determining who would be an
appropriate business partner with the federal government. According
to the White House, this executive order is “deeply intertwined with the
President’s commitment to invest in American manufacturing, including
clean energy and critical supply chains, grow good-paying, union jobs,
and advance racial equity.”More recently, in 2023, Biden vetoed a bipartisan congressional effort torescind the aforementioned DOL rule, thus requiring fiduciaries to only
consider material factors in investment decisions. It was the first veto ofBiden’s presidency.
Though Biden’s 2024 campaign website contains no explicit references to
ESG, his track record thus far indicates he will continue to push the ESG
agenda using every means at his disposal, if he is re-elected.
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