This Week in ESG and Impact Investing

Pursuing some accountability, a Black economist  has  filed a petition with the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) to require companies to report on Black Lives Matter (BLM) pledges. The request by William Michael Cunningham, who runs Washington, D.C.-based Creative Investment Research, says data from his firm shows 251 U.S. companies promised to battle systemic racism within their own organizations. All told, Cunningham claims those companies pledged $65 billion to boost their diversity and equity initiatives from May 2020 to May 2021. Yet, to date, Cunningham maintains that $500 million has been allocated toward such efforts. Compared to $500 million, Cunningham  estimates  the commitments by now should be $15 billion to $20 billion based largely on damages Black companies have suffered from the COVID-19 pandemic. He says his projections are tied to the companies having combined profits of $750 billion as of 2019. https://www.blackenterprise.com/black-economist-seeking-accounta

Given changes in the social and economic environment, it is clear to us that the proposed merger between US. Bancorp and Union Bank is in serious trouble and should not, for reasons described below, be approved. (See:  https://drive.google.com/file/d/1jWBxbggqJrhh3pLqBvrCNLJqelxpuWX1/view?usp=sharing ) As with majority of large bank merger proposals over the past thirty years, the lead entity, in this case, US Bank, has claimed the transaction will provide significant social benefits. The bank stated the merger would “provide benefits for both customers and the communities served by the combined organization through improved technology, products and customer choice.” A review of bank mergers over the past forty years shows that this is untrue. There is no objective, fully independent data to support this contention. In fact, inequality has risen over the intervening years. Many merger opponents cite Covid-19 and the significant racial and economic divisions the virus revealed as reason

Just 13 inches of damage in a pipeline near California severely harmed the local wildlife and ecosystem, in addition to costing millions of dollars to cleanup. Oil spills are some of the most visible and consequently environmental issues. The Deepwater Horizon oil spill is still imprinted in the collective American consciousness, and it also carried with it some of the most severe fines in American history, with BP paying more than $60 billion in fines. Yet, with World leaders meeting to discuss environmental issues at COP26, how much has truly changed? The recent oil spill in California, while significantly less impactful than the Deepwater Oil Spill, offers a look changes over the last decade has brought.  Southern California’s troubles first started with an October 1 report of sheen on the water. Due to difficulties in recognizing this sheen at night, it was not until the morning of October 2nd that the Coast Guard, an Orange County Sheriff, and a Coast Guard supporting aircraft inv