The Corporate Citizenship Project Launches to Offer Unbiased, Transparent Corporate Governance Reports; Will Challenge Existing Proxy Advisors' Focus and Effectiveness on 'ESG' Matters

The think-tank will offer reports, analysis, and recommendations on public companies and large private enterprises and challenge the effectiveness of existing players on matters of Environmental, Social, Governance ("ESG")

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Corporate Citizenship Project

Mar 10, 2022, 10:45 ET

DES MOINES, Iowa, March 10, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- The Corporate Citizenship Project is launching operations today with the goal of offering objective reports and analysis on governance issues in corporate America. The Corporate Citizenship Project believes that investors deserve better given that existing proxy advisors have failed on the following counts:

Opaque Pricing Model and Conflicts of Interest
Existing proxy advisors have an opaque pricing model leaving investors uncertain whose interests are actually being represented: the company paying for so-called 'ESG certifications' or the investors who rely on the proxy advisory firm for objective analysis. Companies with all-white management teams with records of lawsuits on matters from sexual harassment to toxic dumps have been honored with high ESG marks. Do these companies pay the proxy advisors for consideration? If so, The Corporate Citizenship Project believes this amounts to a conflict of interest. It is important that proxy advisors transparently disclose the exact process by which ESG ratings are calculated to avoid the perception of any conflict of interest

ESG Focus as it Stands Risks US National Security
Proxy advisory firms' focus on Environmental, Social, Governance ('ESG') policies has harmed US National Security by punishing domestic oil producers thereby increasing our dependence on foreign oil including from autocratic countries such as Russia, Saudi Arabia, Venezuela, and Iran. Foreign oil companies owned by wealthy kleptocrats do not abide by ESG standards--- therefore the only impact of ESG policies is to hurt US energy jobs, reduce domestic energy production, and reduce the leverage the United States has in negotiations with foreign leaders. In the view of The Corporate Citizenship Project, the oil price shocks caused by the Russian invasion of Ukraine are an illustration that the US should not be so quick to curtail domestic oil production especially as recent reports from The New York Times show US diplomats engaged in negotiations with hostile regimes in Venezuela and Iran to provide much needed oil supplies which is disturbing given these regimes have a long reputation of funding anti-American activities. While The Corporate Citizenship Project supports moving to 100% renewable energy over time, we know that we would prefer in the interim to produce oil in the US rather than rely on dangerous foreign actors.

Proxy Advisors Fail to Live Up to Their Own Standards
While proxy advisors push companies to accept mandatory racial quotas, they generally have mostly white or all white management teams themselves and at their parent companies. How can proxy advisors who fail to put single person of color to an executive role have a role in scolding companies for lack of diversity?

Ghadah Salahuddin, a long-time Public Affairs executive, has been announced as the CEO of The Corporate Citizenship Project and said in a statement that she looks forward to providing investors an alternative to existing proxy advisors.

Ms. Salahuddin made the following comment on the launch:
"Pension funds, investment firms, and retail investors deserve objective analysis that has their interests in mind. It is never in the interests of investors to put so-called ESG policies over what is best for a company's success or our nation's security. If the leading promoters of ESG cannot live up to their own standards then we need to re-think ESG itself and opt for 'Corporate Citizenship' instead. Corporate Citizenship means companies play a role in making their communities and our country a better place---not through arbitrary and selectively enforced rules forced upon them by unelected outsiders---but instead through their own initiative and based on their own needs and resources. The Corporate Citizenship Project will provide companies and investors an alternative for evaluating and commenting on corporate governance issues that puts investors and country first."

Over the coming weeks, The Corporate Citizenship Project plans to meet with pension fund executives, investment firms, retail-investor groups, and others to push for a new way of corporate engagement.

About The Corporate Citizenship Project
The Corporate Citizenship Project is a think-tank with the goal of offering objective reports and analysis on governance issues in corporate America.

Contact
Ghadah Salahudin
[email protected]
515-259-6929
www.CorporateCitizenshipProject.com

SOURCE Corporate Citizenship Project