ESG & Corporate Political Spending

ESG & Corporate Political Spending: Practical Actions For Business Leaders To Reduce Risk, Ensure Alignment & Support A Stable Economic Environment

Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) topics continue to drive discussion across corporate and investor communities, but often overlook one of the most critical drivers of impact: corporate political influence. Our research explores the impact of corporate political spending across ESG dimensions, current tools and data sources that support greater visibility into this spending, and leading practices for transparency and disclosure and recommends actions for business leaders, including:

• Provide transparency through direct contributions and public disclosures

• Align political contributions with corporate values

• Support a stable & healthy U.S. democracy

2020 Democracy Market Map

Using public data and a machine-learning approach, the Leadership Now Project mapped the “democracy market” to identify the scale and role of political actors — public charities, private foundations, political committees, and candidates — and the flow of funds among them. This effort sheds light on threats to democratic function and viable solutions for reform. Click below to review our initial findings.

American Democracy, American Racism

The fight for democracy and the fight for equality have long been intertwined in the United States. In the wake of George Floyd's murder and the ongoing racial injustices impacting communities of color, Leadership Now put together an analysis that lays out the critical linkages between systemic racism and the flaws in our democratic system. The analysis demonstrates the ways in which voter participation, electoral systems, campaign finance, and representation in politics are both products of, and contributors to, structural racism.