The Big Tech Masters of the Universe have come together to urge the SEC to require public companies to regularly disclose climate-related issues to shareholders. The letter was signed by Google’s parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Autodesk, eBay, Facebook, Intel, and Salesforce.
CNBC reports that in a recent letter to SEC Chairman Gary Gensler, Google parent company Alphabet, Amazon, Autodesk, eBay, Facebook, Intel, and Salesforce all called on the SEC to mandate that public companies regularly disclose climate-related matters to their shareholders.
The companies wrote to Gensler: “We believe that climate disclosures are critical to ensure that companies follow through on stated climate commitments and to track collective progress towards addressing global warming and building a prosperous, resilient zero-carbon economy.”
The group outlined several principles that they believe the SEC should incorporate into rules around climate disclosures. The companies stated that businesses should report on their relevant greenhouse gas emissions measured by global standards and the SEC should lean on existing frameworks to ensure that disclosures are consistent.
The group said that collectively it has purchased 21 gigawatts of clean energy and each aims to operate from 100 percent renewable energy. Microsoft separately submitted its own letter encouraging the SEC to adopt rules requiring material disclosures related to climate impact. The company also emphasized that the reports should be based on common standards but said rules should not be “excessively prescriptive.”
Climate change is not a new issue for the Masters of the Universe, Amazon founder Jeff Bezos announced in February that he is creating a $10 billion fund to combat climate change. Last year, employees at Google, Amazon, and Microsoft staged a walkout protest to take issue with the companies lack of action on climate issues.
Lucas Nolan is a reporter for Breitbart News covering issues of free speech and online censorship. Follow him on Twitter @LucasNolan or contact via secure email at the address lucasnolan@protonmail.com