Ginny Cleaveland, Deputy Press Secretary, Fossil-Free Finance, Sierra Club, ginny.cleaveland@sierraclub.org, 415-508-8498 (Pacific Time)
WASHINGTON, DC — Today, Representatives Juan Vargas (D-CA) and Sean Casten (D-IL) announced the launch of a new Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus, which will serve as a resource on sustainable investing, the use of environmental, social and governance criteria (ESG) and the relevance of the practice to congressional policy. According to US SIF, the Caucus will seek to:
- Educate members of Congress about the market-driven benefits of sustainable investment and inform policy making that provides investor protections and market transparency.
- Hold regularly scheduled events, briefings, and discussions with investors, fund managers, companies, and regulators.
- Support the ability of federal agencies to advance proposals, rules and regulations that recognize the importance of utilizing ESG criteria in the investment process.
In response to the announcement, Ben Cushing, Campaign Director with the Sierra Club’s Fossil-Free Finance campaign, issued the following statement:
“The Sierra Club applauds Reps. Vargas and Casten for establishing and leading the Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus. As more and more investors acknowledge the risks climate change poses to our economy and seek to incorporate sustainable investing practices into their portfolios, this Caucus will not only help investors have the information they need to make investment decisions to protect their hard-earned money, it will also help financial regulators better implement the necessary tools and policies to adequately protect the economy from climate-related financial risks. With sustainable finance facing bad faith attacks from big polluters and their political allies, the Sustainable Investment Caucus is critical to advancing the message that climate change is a systemic risk to our economy, and encouraging solutions for everyday investors, institutional money managers, and federal agencies alike.”
BACKGROUND
In December 2022, Cushing published an op-ed in Sierra Magazine on how the Right-Wing Attack on Sustainable Finance Is the Latest Form of Climate Denial.
About the Sierra Club
The Sierra Club is America’s largest and most influential grassroots environmental organization, with millions of members and supporters. In addition to protecting every person's right to get outdoors and access the healing power of nature, the Sierra Club works to promote clean energy, safeguard the health of our communities, protect wildlife, and preserve our remaining wild places through grassroots activism, public education, lobbying, and legal action. For more information, visit www.sierraclub.org.