ArticleHarvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance

The Erb Principles for Corporate Political Responsibility

Elizabeth Doty, Tom Lyon, 2023

https://corpgov.law.harvard.edu/2023/04/04/the-erb-principles-for-corporate-political-responsibility/

This article introduces the Erb Principles for Corporate Political Responsibility (CPR), a framework designed to help companies align political influence with long-term system health, democratic legitimacy, and responsible governance. The principles emphasize legitimacy, responsibility, accountability, and transparency as foundational standards for evaluating lobbying, political engagement, and broader public affairs practices in increasingly polarized environments.

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ReportBusiness for Social Responsibility (BSR)

Redesigning Sustainable Business Amid Global Realignment

David Korngold, Aron Cramer, 2024

This report explores how geopolitical fragmentation, shifting alliances, and economic realignment are reshaping corporate sustainability strategies. It argues that companies must redesign governance structures, partnerships, and operating models to remain resilient while balancing sustainability commitments with rising political, regulatory, and market uncertainty across regions and sectors.

ReportRhodium Group

Rhodium Climate Outlook 2024: Probabilistic Global Emissions and Energy Projections

Kate Larsen et al., 2024

The Rhodium Climate Outlook 2024 provides a probabilistic assessment of global emissions and energy trajectories through 2100, integrating uncertainty across economic, policy, and technology variables. It projects likely warming of 2.2–3.2°C under current policies but shows that if countries fulfill mid-century and expanded net-zero commitments, the probability of staying below 2°C rises to 96%. The report highlights innovation, equity, and policy acceleration as essential for achieving 2035 NDCs.

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ReportOxfam

Right-Sizing Corporate Voice: A Briefing for Business on Responsible Political Engagement

Andrew Slight, 2024

This article outlines a new approach to corporate political engagement that builds on human rights frameworks to help combat corporate short-termism and enable companies to align their political engagement with longer-term priorities. The article outlines specific action steps that companies can use to align their political engagement with longer-term environmental, institutional stability, and human rights considerations.

ReportSociety for Human Resource Management

SHRM Political Conversations Playbook

Allen Smith, J.D., 2024

This playbook offers HR professionals guidance on managing political discussions at work, providing strategies to ensure civil dialogue, resolve conflicts, and maintain a respectful, productive environment. It includes practical tips and real-world examples for handling political topics in diverse workplaces.

ArticleThe Erb Institute CPR Taskforce

South Africa: A Case Example of Corporate Political Responsibility in Polarized Times

Patricia McLagan, 2024

Patricia McLagan is an author, consultant, and business owner with fifty years’ experience supporting large scale change processes in business and governments globally. From 1983 through 2004, Pat consulted with major South African businesses, government entities, universities, and parastatals, and chaired the Desmond Tutu Peace Foundation after returning to the US. This article draws on her personal experience with South African businesses and government entities from 1983 into the 2010s, focusing on what some white South African business leaders did in a time of polarization and potential civil war.

ArticleMilken Institute Review

Taking Net Zero Seriously

Tim Brennan, 2024

This article examines two methods for pricing carbon – the first based on estimating the “social cost of carbon” for current and future generations, and the second based on mandating limits and using a permit system to meet them. Argues for a fixed limit based on tipping points, and points to the challenges of political coordination required to adopt it, and the potential for technology to make that easier.

VideoCorporate Political Responsibility Taskforce

The Business Case for CPR

Angeli Patel with the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, 2024

ReportThe Erb Institute CPR Taskforce

The Erb Principles for CPR: What People are Saying

2024

Comments from business leaders, academics, civil society organizations and others commenting how the Erb Principles for Corporate Political Responsibility can help with managing risk, sustaining market economies, strengthening civic institutions and enabling long-term value for business and society.

Report Cambridge University Press

The Fading Light of Democratic Capitalism

Malcolm S. Salter, 2024

This work examines how global capitalism’s democratic foundations are eroding, as inequality, institutional decay, policy capture and corporate dominance erode democratic legitimacy. It argues that corporate-state relations and market structures shape democratic outcomes and that without attention to power, voice and influence, business risks operating in unstable systems of diminishing legitimacy.

VideoCorporate Political Responsibility Taskforce

The Future of Trade Associations & Sustainability Policy

Renee Henze of IFF and Nathan Sell of the ACI, 2024

ReportBoston College Law Review

The New Corporate Political Governance

Tom C. W. Lin, 2024

This paper examines how the intersection of corporate governance and political engagement is reshaping business strategies and societal impact. It explores how factors like ESG investing, corporate activism, and political changes are pushing businesses into social issues, complicating the roles of shareholders vs. stakeholders, and blurring the lines between private and public power. The author offers new models for businesses and policymakers to navigate these evolving dynamics.

ReportPotential Energy Coalition

The Return on Responsibility: Re-framing Corporate Climate Messaging

2024

This guide offers companies a research-backed climate communication strategy that emphasizes materiality over morality—framing climate action as a business necessity, not just ethical responsibility. Drawing on extensive surveys and focus groups from the US and abroad, it outlines how to connect with skeptical audiences by stressing the concrete, economic benefits of climate initiatives.

VideoCorporate Political Responsibility Taskforce

The ROI of Values: How Quantification Strengthens the Case for Action (and CPR)

Daniel Aronson of Valutus, 2024

ArticleHarvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance

The short-termism trap: Catering to informed investors with limited horizons

Francesco Sangiorgi, James Dow, Jungsuk Han, 2024

This article argues that companies often over-react to short-term investor pressures—even when investors are well informed—leading firms to underinvest in innovation, resilience, and long-term value creation. It shows how structural incentives and capital-market dynamics can distort strategy and weaken corporate governance, reducing firms’ capacity to act responsibly in broader economic and civic systems.

ToolUN Global Compact

Transformational Governance Corporate Toolkit

2024

This toolkit helps companies adopt practical transformational governance steps aligned with SDG 16 principles of peace, justice, and strong institutions. It includes a self-assessment tool to identify governance gaps, offers actionable recommendations, and focuses on board leadership, responsible lobbying, and sustainable investment strategies, enabling companies to improve transparency, reduce risks, and drive long-term societal impact.

PresentationLeadership Now

Understanding U.S. Political Risk: Implications for Business

2024

This executive presentation supports business leaders:

Understand the current threats to U.S. democratic institutions and their implications for business.
Analyze how political instability and the erosion of democratic values can directly affect your business environment.
Learn actionable steps that business leaders can implement to mitigate political risks and support the stability of U.S. democracy.

VideoCorporate Political Responsibility Taskforce

What are "Commercial Determinants of Health"

Dr. Nason Maani of University of Edinburgh, 2024

ReportThe Erb Institute

What People are Saying: Testimonials for the Erb Principles for CPR

2024

This collection of testimonials from business leaders, academics, investors, and advocates highlights the growing recognition of corporate political responsibility (CPR) as a business imperative. The Erb Principles for CPR are endorsed as a practical, nonpartisan framework to help companies align political activity with purpose, values, and democratic institutions. Testimonials emphasize CPR's role in managing reputational risk, supporting market stability, and safeguarding democracy—making it relevant for firms across sectors and political contexts.

ReportStrategic Management Journal

When Corporate Silence Is Costly: Negative Consumer Responses To Corporate Silence On Social Issues

Marco Quin, Xueming Luo, Todd Schifeling, Yang Wang, 2024

This research paper provides data that shows the costs to companies of deciding not to speak up on certain issues and the negative stakeholder response to such decisions. The researchers theorize whether and when consumers will negatively respond to corporate silence on a social issue based on the visibility of silence.

VideoCorporate Political Responsibility Taskforce

Why it is Difficult to Act on CPR

Angeli Patel with the Berkeley Center for Law and Business, 2024

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