As a further reflection of our commitment to racial equity and justice, Natural Investments recently became a member of Freedom Economy, a coalition of responsible investors, investment professionals, and values-aligned legal professionals who support one another in responding to the unfounded attacks against diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI), as well as responsible investing. This network provides information and resources to defend against targeted legal attacks and tracks pertinent state and federal litigation and legislation so advocates can mobilize to address them.
As part of our work with Freedom Economy, we’re keeping you aware of two federal bills that were passed this summer by the House of Representatives:
- H.R. 8771: Department of State, Foreign Operations, and Related Programs Appropriations Act, 2025
- H.R. 8774: Department of Defense Appropriations Act, 2025

Both bills prohibit expending funds on any DEI programming—including programming enforcing President Biden’s Executive Order 13985 (Advancing Racial Equity and Support for Underserved Communities Through the Federal Government) or programming promoting so-called “divisive concepts” in the State and Defense Departments.
Many state legislative bills are similar in their assault on DEI. The status of anti-DEI bills and laws can be tracked at Quorum.us, a paid policy tracking software. In the map generated by Quorum.us shown below, you can see the states that are taking aim at such programs under the false guise of equal opportunity, for it is purely a form of institutional racism. For example, Tennessee HB 1896 prohibits financial institutions and insurers from basing the decisions it makes on non-financial factors—such as a social credit score (including political opinions or affiliations, ownership or sale of a firearm, involvement in the fossil fuel industry, DEI programs, and other ESG issues) or demographic information.
People can be part of the movement and participate in the defense of DEI efforts by joining or supporting American Pride Rises, which is an initiative that works to protect long-established civil, gender, and labor rights under threat.
ATTACKS & FALSE NARRATIVES
America needs Freedom Economy because of the rise in Congressional subpoenas, private lawsuits, and laws attacking proponents of responsible investing and prohibiting its practice. Many of these attacks are being orchestrated by Representative Jim Jordan (R-Ohio), Chairman of the of the House Judiciary Committee (the Committee), whose circus-like hearings and “findings” in recent months falsely suggest that activists are colluding to illegally destroy capitalism.
But it’s clear that the theatrics are both attempting to rile the conservative base while also potentially laying a foundation for possible Justice Department action under a Republican administration. Jordan is using the Sherman Antitrust Act to suggest that responsible investing proponents— those who collaborate on campaigns to help companies become more responsible—are committing antitrust violations designed to harm competition. Of course, collaborative shareholder advocacy is just that—advocacy—it’s not controlling prices, policies, or behavior, nor is it causing actual harm. The Sherman Antitrust Act is a law intended to promote economic fairness by banning businesses from colluding or forming monopolies.
Nevertheless, in late July, the Committee sent 130 members of Climate Action 100+, an investment consortium advocating for a transition away from fossil fuels, a letter. The letter requested that the coalition preserve all communications related to this work, to explain their activities encouraging the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions across the value chain, and to address the sectoral barriers to the net-zero transition. Many of the recipients of this letter are our colleagues and some of the companies with funds Natural Investments’ clients hold: Boston Trust Walden, Brown Advisory, Domini, Ecofin, Green Century Mutual Funds, Impax, Nuveen, and Praxis Mutual Funds.
This approach—widely considered by our industry to be nothing more than an intimidation tactic—is having its desired effect. Approximately 10 percent of corporate members of Climate Action 100+—Goldman Sachs, JP Morgan Chase, BlackRock, State Street, PIMCO, and two of our fund managers, Nuveen and Alliance Bernstein—have left the coalition.
DEBUNKING CRITIQUES OF DEI, SRI & ESG
One of the most visible conservative critiques of sustainable and responsible investing—that it’s a woke, anti-capitalist liberal plot against America—is not only untrue but is clearly debunked by research that has long shown a positive correlation between socially and environmentally responsible corporate behavior and financial performance.

The latest evidence of this is a new report from our colleagues at HIP Investor, “Which US Public Pension Plans Made More Money?” This report compares the investment returns from 2011-2022 across 204 public pension plans in states controlled by both Democratic and Republican legislatures. Data clearly shows that public pensions in which environmental, social, and governance (ESG) criteria were allowed—even required—to be integrated had outperformed those that did not include these criteria. This means that pro-ESG policies in Democratic cities, counties, school districts, and states significantly outperformed those in Republican strongholds with anti-ESG policies.
If Jim Jordan were to see this analysis, would he still attack proponents of responsible investing as being anti-capitalist? He could, but he’d have to use “alternative facts” to do so.
What is very clear is that attacks on both DEI and ESG are efforts by conservatives to both limit freedom of choice and ignore the cumulative impact of centuries of structural oppression in this country towards all groups other than white men. They perceive efforts to repair the historic disenfranchisement that’s limited women and People of Color from cultivating economic, social, and political power as a zero-sum game. They falsely assume that for underrepresented people to have power, white men must lose it. This fear, however unfounded, is rampant among conservatives and people anywhere where diversity doesn’t exist. For once people experience diversity, equity, and inclusion, they come to know that it makes everyone—and the country—better and stronger. We hope that all people will someday have that understanding and realize there is nothing to fear.