ESG Center Roundtables

Publication: Avoiding the Tragedy of the Commons: How to Improve the Political Environment for US Business

Background

Corporate political activity continues to be under intense scrutiny by employees, the media, and investors, senior management, and even boards of directors. But this scrutiny comes with an opportunity for companies to reevaluate their corporate and PAC contributions and lobbying and look ahead to an environment where companies do not need to apologize for their activities.

The Roundtable on August 1^st is the latest of a series of roundtables on corporate political activity. In November 2020, held a session to discuss the state of play of corporate political activity, which was followed by a survey that led to the Under a Microscope: A New Era of Scrutiny for Corporate Political Activity report published in March 2021. In December 2021, we held another roundtable to discuss how companies adjusted their political activity following the events of January 6^th and a series of other shocks to the system during the year.  Accompanied by another survey, this roundtable resulted in the Corporate Political Activity: Addressing Rising Risk in the 2022 Midterm Election Year, published May 2022.

This Roundtable took a longer-term view, focusing on what corporate political activity could – and should – look like in the next three to five years. Close to 100 executvies convened to discuss:

• What the environment is likely to look like
• The future of PACs
• The future of corporate contributions
• The future of lobbying and public stances

 

For more information

If you would like to recieve the summary of key takeaways this session or if you any questions about the program please contact the ESG Center at ESGCenter@conference-board.org.

Sponsorship

This Working Group is generously sponsored by Altria, Prudential Financial, Sempra, and Steptoe & Johnson.