Jun. 01, 2021
Dear SEC Rule Comments, The Securities and Exchange Commission should require that corporate managers be more transparent with shareholders regarding their long-term plans. When I think about where to invest my money, I want to know which companies are serious about a just, green future. It is the SEC’s job to keep corporations from hiding their contribution to the climate crisis and environmental destruction or from lying to the public about their role. Corporations also need to be honest about what they’re doing to stop climate change and how they are planning for a future affected by an accelerating climate crisis. It truly is time. The warming of our planet is not just something we all have to bear in silence accepting whatever the corporations do. We have a right to a planet that is fit for our children, grand children and beyond to live. That means acting now on behalf of everyone even if it means shareholders temporarily take a hit as corporations stop their headlong rush into disaster. Managers should also be expected to disclose to shareholders if their company is playing in politics. A company could face significant risk if it says one thing about its climate commitments in public, but in the background, it lobbies to upend efforts to address the climate crisis or to support and donate to candidates who are trying to work against mitigating global warming. Beyond climate-related issues, companies should also have to be clear about other material issues like whether their hiring practices genuinely aim to increase diversity and representation on their board, in what countries they pay taxes, how they treat their workforce, and what their human rights impacts are. It's time for their secrets to come out in the open too. Shareholders and the public have a right to be informed of these sorts of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors, and we call upon the SEC to require clear, standardized, and trustworthy information on these topics from all companies. Thank you for considering my comment. Sincerely, Ruth Sheets