ICYMI: BUSINESS ROUNDTABLE CEO SAYS MEMBERS SUPPORT CLIMATE ACTION AS IT CAMPAIGNS AGAINST THE BUILD BACK BETTER AGENDA

WASHINGTON, D.C. — Today, in a statement to Axios, Business Roundtable (BRT) CEO Josh Bolten said “All of our members support action on climate change” as the trade association spends money on ads to oppose the bill, which is large-in-part a climate bill. This week alone, BRT spent upwards of $166,000 on Facebook ads as part of a multi-million dollar opposition campaign, and the question of how these campaigns are funded hasn’t been answered.

189 of BRT’s 230 due paying members have been praised for corporate climate action plans. Only five of these members — Salesforce, Netflix, GM, Workday, and Wal-Mart — have issued statements in support of the climate investments in both the infrastructure and budget reconciliation bills, but, according to the trade association, it “has not received pushback from its members or any threats to quit the group as a result of the reconciliation ads.” Meanwhile, the 184 BRT members that have claimed to be corporate climate “champions”, such as Microsoft, Apple, Amazon, and Levis, have shown no support for the legislation moving through Congress.

Of course, not all businesses and CEOs are staying silent or unwilling to support corporate tax increases to pay for climate action. Letters of support were submitted from other manufacturers and business owners (CE4A, E2, AAA, CEBN, CERES) to push back on the opposition’s very well funded messaging push. Patagonia released a statement saying “Patagonia strongly urges swift passage of the once-in-a-generation opportunity to avoid a worsening climate crisis and to give working families the support they deserve now. To pay for this critical legislation, Patagonia is willing to pay a higher corporate tax rate and we urge Congress to also consider ending subsidies for the extractive industries.”