US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment announced the launch of the Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus. The Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus will be a resource about sustainable investing, the use of environmental, social and governance criteria (ESG) and the relevance of the practice to congressional policy. The Caucus will be led by Representatives Juan Vargas (D-CA) and Sean Casten (D-IL).

Today, with @RepCasten and other colleagues, I announced the launch of the Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus, which will help promote sensible policies that provide investor protections and market transparency. For more info: https://t.co/Q1R23XWtLn pic.twitter.com/NzmZQo41xu

— Rep. Juan Vargas (@RepJuanVargas) January 25, 2023

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.

Sustainable investing is a widely adopted strategy, utilized by retail investors and the largest institutional investors alike. The US SIF Foundation’s 2022 Report on US Sustainable Investing Trends identified $8.4 trillion in total US sustainable investment assets at the beginning of 2022, representing 13 percent of the total US assets under professional management.

Quotes from Caucus sponsors

Representative Juan Vargas:

“I’m proud to join with my colleague Rep. Casten to launch the Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus. Sustainable investment has increased tremendously as investors in my district and across the country consider environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors in their investment decisions.

“ESG impacts the health and vibrancy of our communities, workplaces, and ecosystem. As our economy continues to grow, we must work together with the SEC to ensure that investors, asset managers, and market advocates receive the disclosures needed to make profitable and ethical decisions in our capital markets.”

Representative Sean Casten:

“Given the significant growth of assets under management in funds that prioritize ESG factors, Congress has a duty to craft policies that provide investor protections and transparency of information to market participants. I’m excited to partner with Rep. Vargas to bring together Members of Congress and experts to progress past the distortion of facts and have robust, open-minded discussions about sustainable investing.”

US SIF CEO Lisa Woll:

“We are delighted to have been involved in the development and launch of the Caucus. Multiple federal agencies already issue regulations or engage in activities that recognize the relevance of sustainable investment to federal policy, including to retirement plans, climate policy and company and investor disclosure requirements.

“Today’s launch takes place in the midst of a highly politicized environment in which there have been uninformed critiques of the field by some state and national officials. To be clear, sustainable investment is in the mainstream of finance because investors that don’t account for the environmental, social and governance practices and policies of the companies they invest in are not adequately assessing risk and missing an opportunity to both make better investments and to contribute to a more sustainable economy.

“With today’s launch, Congress will be better resourced to understand the demand for and market relevance of sustainable investing as well as its relevance to policy. We look forward to working with members of the Caucus and deeply appreciate the leadership of Co-Chairs Vargas and Casten.”

I’m thrilled to be a founding member of the Sustainable Investment Caucus.

As the former Treasurer of Rhode Island, I know that investors deserve the freedom to consider environmental, social and governance factors when deciding where to allocate capital. pic.twitter.com/mfaREezTIX

— Congressman Seth Magaziner (@Rep_Magaziner) January 25, 2023

Additional endorsements

The Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus is endorsed by numerous investors and organizations.

Investors and firms endorsing the Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus, include: Adrian Dominican Sisters, Portfolio Advisory Board, AIF (“Autism Impact Fund”), Align Impact, Aligned Climate Capital, Aspire Financial Group, LLC, Bluprint Financial, LLC, Change Finance, Clean Energy Ventures, Clear Current Capital, Communitas Financial Planning PBC, Congregation of St. Joseph, Congruent Ventures, Daughters of Charity, DBL Partners, Deliberate Capital, LLC, Domini Impact Investments, LLC, Earth Equity Advisors, A Prime Capital Investment Advisors Company, Ecosystem Integrity Fund (EIF), Envest Microfinance, Friends Fiduciary Corporation, FundX Investment Group, GEF Capital Partners, Generate Capital, Gitterman Wealth Management, Governance & Accountability Institute, Inc., Green Future Wealth Management, Greenhouse Capital Partners, Grounded Capital, Horizons Sustainable Financial Services, Inc., Impact Engine, Impact Shares, Impax Asset Management PLC, Lime Rock New Energy, Longwave Financial, Mercy Investment Services, Inc., Miller/Howard Investments, Inc., Natural Investments, New Markets Venture Partners, New York City Office of the Comptroller, R|K Invest Law, PBC, Province of St. Louise, Regeneration VC, Responsible Investment Solutions, Rethink Food LLC, Reynders, McVeigh Capital Management, Riverwater Partners, SharePower Responsible Investing, SharePower Responsible Investing, Social Impact Capital, TC Wealth Partners, The Social Entrepreneurs’ Fund, Terra Alpha Investments, The Sorenson Group, The Sustainability Group of Loring, Wolcott & Coolidge, Third Sphere, Till Investors, Trailhead Capital, Trillium Asset Management, United Church Funds, Utor Wealth LLC, Veris Wealth Partners, Vert Asset Management, Zevin Asset Management

Organizations endorsing the Congressional Sustainable Investment Caucus, include:

US SIF: The Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment, the American Sustainable Business Network, As You Sow, Ceres, Green America, Impact Capital Managers, Inc., Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, Northwest Coalition for Responsible Investment, Tobacco Free Portfolios and the US Impact Investing Alliance.

Source: US SIF