Corporates brace as Supreme Court comes for diversity

Jun 30, 2023 View in browser   By Debra Kahn THE WEEK THAT WAS Ripples from the Supreme Court's ruling on affirmative action will quickly reach the shores of corporate America. | Jose Luis Magana/AP Photo DEI ON THE ROPES — Thursday's Supreme Court decision barring race-based college admission policies could chill corporate diversity efforts. Corporate America is already reeling from Republicans' attacks on progressive business practices. The court's broadening of the federal ban on factoring race or skin color into employment decisions will open corporate diversity policies to more legal challenges, as Nick Niedzwiadek reports. At the same time, it'll prompt employers to pay more lip service to the principles. “It will cause employers to take a closer look at how they are executing their diversity strategies,” Tim Bartl, the CEO of the HR Policy Association, told Nick. “And it really creates an impetus for employers to reaffirm their commitment to diversity, but to do so in a way that mitigates the potential of challenge down the line.” DEI is already a rising star in the culture-war firmament. Republican lawmakers are cracking down on DEI initiatives on college campuses and other areas. America First Legal, a group headed by former Donald Trump adviser Stephen Miller, has filed complaints recently with the Equal Employment Opportunity Commission seeking investigations into corporate diversity and hiring practices at major companies like Unilever, McDonalds and candy maker Mars. EXTREMES WHAT'S IN A STATE — Florida and Kentucky were both ravaged by hurricanes last year. But homeowners in each state are getting wildly different payments from the National Flood Insurance Program for their troubles, Minho Kim reports for POLITICO's E&E News. The average NFIP payment to Florida households from September's Hurricane Ian is $91,000. In Kentucky, which had a major storm in July, it's $49,000. The disparity is due largely to factors other than the severity of the two storms or the amount of flood damage, Minho found. Rather, it’s caused by factors including highly inaccurate government flood maps in Kentucky, the small number of households in the state that have NFIP insurance and the limited amount of coverage they bought. FEMA didn't dispute the findings and said it wants to make NFIP policies affordable, which potentially involves subsidizing premiums for lower-income households. “FEMA recognizes and shares concerns about flood insurance affordability for those who need it. Making flood insurance more affordable is a top priority for the agency,” David Maurstad, a FEMA assistant administrator and senior executive of the NFIP, said in a statement. “We will continue to work with Congress to examine all affordability options.” CANADA STILL ON FIRE — Most Washingtonians (or D.C.-onians, in a delightful coinage by our new transplant Allison) have not read our guide to wildfire smoke, judging by the number of flimsy surgical masks we saw around town Thursday as the smoke descended again. To reiterate: Wear an N95, definitely don't exercise outside, and suck it up! No, seriously, don't exercise outdoors when there's wildfire haze. | AP WASHINGTON WATCH BANK SHOT — The Treasury Department is urging states to force insurance companies to better account for climate change and its financial risks as growing disaster damage is costing insurers billions of dollars in property claims, Tom Frank reports for POLITICO's E&E News. The 73-page report released this week by Treasury’s Federal Insurance Office, comes at a tumultuous time for property insurers. Some have gone insolvent or stopped providing coverage in flood-prone states such as Florida and Louisiana and in states hit by severe wildfires including California and Colorado. The office doesn't have much authority: It doesn't regulate insurers — that’s done by state agencies — and it relies mostly on its power to monitor the insurance industry and issue detailed reports with data and recommendations. The report holds up a few states as models, including Connecticut and New York, both of which recently adopted guidance for insurers to identify and manage risks from climate change.   SUBSCRIBE TO POWER SWITCH: The energy landscape is profoundly transforming. Power Switch is a daily newsletter that unlocks the most important stories driving the energy sector and the political forces shaping critical decisions about your energy future, from production to storage, distribution to consumption. Don’t miss out on Power Switch, your guide to the politics of energy transformation in America and around the world. SUBSCRIBE TODAY.     SUSTAINABLE FINANCE BANK BABBLE — A new report finds that big banks' rhetoric on climate change isn't matching their action, Avery Ellfeldt writes for POLITICO's E&E News. Lobbying watchdog InfluenceMap found that individual banks have done little to advocate for bold climate policy or regulation — and in some circumstances have tried to weaken those efforts — despite setting splashy climate goals and in many cases saying they support federal action on climate change. Another key finding: The trade associations they belong to have actively worked to water down laws and regulations meant to stem global warming and its financial consequences. AROUND THE WORLD SHIP SHAPE — The global shipping industry is coming under growing pressure to clean up its act — and pay climate reparations until it does, Zia Weise and Hanne Cokelaere report. A week-long meeting of the U.N. International Maritime Organization’s environment committee in London starts Monday. Countries will discuss whether to set steeper climate targets for shipping, which accounts for almost 3 percent of worldwide emissions. The main focus of the meeting is on overhauling the IMO’s overarching strategy to cut shipping emissions — a massive change of pace for the traditionally conservative organization. Movers and Shakers SUSTAINABILITY SHUFFLE — Department of Defense senior climate aide Joe Bryan is stepping down at the end of July, Daniel Cusick reports for POLITICO's E&E News. He served at the Pentagon for more than two and a half years — first in a senior advisory role and later as the department's chief sustainability officer. He's planning to return to clean energy consulting. Brendan Owens, the Defense Department's assistant secretary for energy, installations and environment, will take on the title of chief sustainability officer, where he will work closely with Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin and Deputy Defense Secretary Kathleen Hicks on climate initiatives. YOU TELL US GAME ON — Happy Friday! Welcome to the Long Game, where we tell you about the latest on efforts to shape our future. We deliver data-driven storytelling, compelling interviews with industry and political leaders, and news Tuesday through Friday to keep you in the loop on sustainability. Team Sustainability is editor Greg Mott, deputy editor Debra Kahn, and reporters Jordan Wolman and Allison Prang. Reach us at gmott@politico.com, dkahn@politico.com, jwolman@politico.com and aprang@politico.com. Want more? You can have it. Sign up for the Long Game. Four days a week and still free. That’s sustainability! WHAT WE'RE CLICKING — The CEO of Glencore, the world’s most profitable coal miner, is praising U.S. investors for being less focused on ESG than their European peers, the Financial Times reports. — Bloomberg explains why monitoring, reporting and verification have become the three most important words in carbon removal. — Tesla's march to EV charging dominance continues, as its biggest rival agrees to add the company's connectors to its stations. The Associated Press has that story.   LISTEN TO POLITICO'S ENERGY PODCAST: Check out our daily five-minute brief on the latest energy and environmental politics and policy news. Don't miss out on the must-know stories, candid insights, and analysis from POLITICO's energy team. Listen today.       Follow us on Twitter Debra Kahn @debra_kahn Greg Mott @gwmott Jordan Wolman @jordanwolman Allison Prang @AllisonPrang   Follow us

To change your alert settings, please log in at https://www.politico.com/_login?base=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.politico.com/settings This email was sent to rouf@idiot.cloudns.cc by: POLITICO, LLC 1000 Wilson Blvd. Arlington, VA, 22209, USA Please click here and follow the steps to unsubscribe.