ReportCommittee for Economic Development (The Conference Board)

A Stable Democracy at 250: Trusted Elections as the Foundation Report

2026

https://www.conference-board.org/research/solutions-briefs/a-stable-democracy-at-250-trusted-elections-as-the-foundation

What It Is: A 2026 solutions brief explaining why free and fair elections matter for democracy and the economy, tracking recent trends in voter confidence and election administration, and offering recommendations and best practices across the business community, election administration, the conduct of elections, federal/state/local roles, and information integrity — paired with an accompanying Elections Toolkit.

Why It Matters: As the brief puts it, free and fair elections are "a cornerstone of US democracy," underpinning both political stability and economic strength — a secure, credible, and accessible electoral system builds the business confidence companies need to operate with trust in governance and engage in shaping policy. That stake is measurable: confidence that votes will be counted accurately has slipped to 60% ahead of the 2026 midterms, down from a post-2024 high of 77%.

How to Use It: The brief's recommendations distill to three actions for business leaders: proactively encourage employee and community voting in a nonpartisan way; support election administration by recruiting poll workers and offering flexible scheduling; and share trusted, official information to counter election-related mis- and disinformation. Use the accompanying Elections Toolkit to put these into practice ahead of the midterms.

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Report

The Law Firm Crisis: Lessons and Recommendations

Kathleen Hamill, 2026

This report is based on interviews with twenty-nine partners and associates from law firms that responded to 2025-26 Executive Orders and other federal challenges with a wide variety of strategies -- from compliance to lawsuits.

The focus was on the strategic calculations driving decisions by individual lawyers and law firms, regardless of the strategy they took. The report concludes that fear significantly magnifies perceptions of risk, collective action is critical in responding to pressure, and business leaders have a crucial stake in upholding rule of law, for its own sake and as a cornerstone of the free market system.

ArticleCenter for Political Accountability

The New Rules of Political Spending Oversight

David Pahlic, Bruce Freed & Karl Sandstrom, 2026

What It Is: A June 2026 Directors & Boards article documenting how corporate political spending oversight has shifted from a government-relations function to a board-level governance priority, citing the CPA-Zicklin Index's tracking of disclosure practices at major public companies.

Why It Matters: Companies rated "trendsetters" for political spending disclosure and board oversight grew from 28 to 112 over the past decade — a 400% increase — reflecting a shift toward Accountability and Transparency achieved through "private ordering" (companies self-regulating) rather than government mandate.

How to Use It: Use this to benchmark your company's political spending policy against the CPA-Zicklin Framework, and to make the case to your board that comprehensive disclosure is now mainstream practice, not an outlier position.

ArticleHarvard Law School Forum on Corporate Governance

Why Shareholder-Driven Corporate Social Responsibility Failed

Mark J. Roe, 2026

What It Is: A short summary of Roe’s 2026 University of Pennsylvania Law Review article that analyzes why driving corporate social responsibility through large institutional investors with market-wide exposure to risks and opportunities was politically and legally unrealistic.

Why It Matters: Argues that the same political forces and voter sentiment that have historically blocked direct government action on issues such as climate also mobilized against private sector action once prominent. In particular, shows how acting on Responsibility requires a clear, defensible basis in Legitimacy.

How to Use It: Investors, business leaders and associations can use this article to make more accurate assessments of political opposition to CSR, and to develop more realistic responses and strategies. Roe suggests engaging political barriers more directly.

ReportEdelman

2025 Edelman Trust Barometer

2025

This report reveals a decline in trust, and how majorities now hold grievances against governments, business and the rich. Historically strong trust in “my employer” is complicated when employees hold grievances. Argues that business should respond in concert with other actors, investing in local communities, quality information, and job skills.

ArticleProMarket (Stigler Center, University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

A Pro-Market Framework for Driving Decarbonization: Part I

Karthik Ramanna, 2025

This article argues anthropogenic emissions are driven by customer preferences and that such preferences can shift with improved information, Karthik Ramanna advocates for a new approach: an economy-wide system of reliable and comparable accounts of the embedded emissions in products to allow customers (and investors) to make better-informed decisions aligned with underlying preferences.

ArticleProMarket (Stigler Center, University of Chicago Booth School of Business)

A Pro-Market Framework for Driving Decarbonization: Part II

Karthik Ramanna, 2025

Part II extends the pro-market argument, outlining a global accounting standard that would embed decarbonization throughout the economy, while remaining technological neutral about how emissions are reduced. It examiniescurrent politicies and reporting standards intended to advance emissions and challenges their top-down approach as contributing to ideological stalemate, proposing that a product-level accounting system could address this barrier.

WebsiteUS White House

AI for the American People

2025

The White House AI portal lays out a a multi-pronged national strategy to boost U.S. leadership in AI by investing in research, encouraging adoption across industries, and preparing the workforce for AI-driven changes. It highlights a commitment to developing AI responsibly by setting ethical guidelines, ensuring transparency and privacy, and fostering cooperation across government agencies to address risks and build public trust.

ReportListen First Project and Civic Health Project

America's Bridge-building Movement: Strengthening the Fabric of One Nation, Indivisible

2025

This report highlights the growing bridge-building movement in the United States and provides concrete examples of organizations doing this work in different settings, including policymaking, workplaces, faith communities, education, and volunteering.

ArticleGallup

Americans Still Want Business to Stay Quiet on Public Policy

Zach Hrynowski, 2025

A Gallup-Bentley University survey shows that only 38% of U.S. adults believe businesses should take public stances on current events, a decline from 48% the previous year, reflecting a broader trend toward preferring corporate neutrality in political matters.

ReportB Lab

B Lab Standards: Government Affairs & Collective Action

B Lab, 2025

The updated B Lab certification standards include a new impact topic on “Government Affairs & Collective Action”, requiring companies to disclose and govern their political engagement, advocacy, lobbying practices and collective initiatives for systems change. The changes raise expectations for transparency and accountability in how firms use their influence and voice.

ToolB Labs

B Labs Standard for Government Affairs

Grace Son, 2025

This framework sets new B Corp certification requirements for responsible lobbying and public policy engagement, including public disclosure of lobbying activities and country-by-country tax reporting. It also mandates that companies engage in at least two collective actions that support social and environmental goals, enhancing transparency and accountability in government affairs as part of fulfilling a beneficial purpose.

ReportB Lab

B Labs Standards: Government Affairs and Collective Action

B Lab , 2025

The updated B Lab certification standards include a new impact topic on “Government Affairs & Collective Action”, requiring companies to disclose and govern their political engagement, advocacy, lobbying practices and collective initiatives for systems change. The changes raise expectations for transparency and accountability in how firms use their influence and voice.

ArticleThe Conversation

Banks Retreat from Climate Change Commitments – but It’s Business More Than Politics

David L. Levy & Rami Kaplan, 2025

This article explains why major banks are abandoning the Net-Zero Banking Alliance, arguing that economics—not politics—drives the retreat. Despite political backlash, fossil fuels remain highly profitable and low-carbon transitions costly. The authors warn that banks’ short-term incentives and siloed risk management ignore long-term climate risks, exposing investors and markets to systemic instability and stranded assets.

ArticleBSR

Beyond the Business Case Debate: Reasserting the Strategic Value of Sustainability

David Korngold, 2025

BSR argues that the traditional “business case” conversation is broken and emphasizes the need for judgment to recognize sustainability’s strategic relevance. Rather than focusing narrowly on ROI, companies should integrate sustainability into core priorities—like innovation, operations, and digital transformation—positioning it as a driver of long-term value for both business and society.

ReportHarvard Corporate Governance Law Forum

Beyond the Corporate Culture Wars: How Companies Are Revolutionizing Decision-Making on Social Issue

Stavros Gadinis, 2025

The piece highlights how companies are moving beyond ad hoc responses to social issues by creating internal rules and processes that guide decision-making. These frameworks, alongside executive action and monitoring, are becoming a core part of corporate governance that boards are expected to oversee.

ReportBlackrock Investment Institute

Blackrock Geopolitical Risk Dashboard

2025

This report identifies 10 top geopolitical risks that could significantly affect companies and markets: (1) global trade protectionism, (2) Middle East regional war, (3) U.S.-China strategic competition, (4) global technology decoupling, (5) major cyber attacks, (6) major terror attacks, (7) Russia-NATO conflict, (8) emerging markets political crisis, (9) North Korea conflict, and (10) European fragmentation. For each risk, the report highlights three assets most sensitive to that scenario—such as sector-specific equities, currencies, credit spreads, or commodities—offering concrete signals businesses can monitor to assess potential impact. This framework helps firms proactively track and integrate geopolitical risk into strategic planning and risk management.

ArticleBloomberg

Bloomberg Company-Level Geopolitical Risk Scores

2025

Bloomberg’s new Geopolitical Risk Scores offer a data-driven way for companies to assess how country-level political instability—such as regulatory disruption and civil unrest—could affect operations, supply chains, and compliance. Built with Seerist threat intelligence and covering 7 million companies across 245 countries, the scores quantify 29 types of political, security, and cyber risk. Companies can track, compare, and integrate these risks into strategic planning, disclosure, and portfolio management.

BookIndependent / Amazon Kindle

Bribery Beyond Borders: The Story of the Foreign Corrupt Practices Act

Severin Wirz, 2025

This book by Severin Wirz, an attorney specializing in U.S. and international anti-corruption law, traces the origins, enforcement, and global impact of the U.S. Foreign Corrupt Practices Act (FCPA). It explores how anti-bribery law reshaped corporate conduct, compliance systems, and international business norms, illustrating how legal accountability mechanisms influence global markets and corporate political behavior.

ReportThe Erb Institute CPR Taskforce

Bringing Corporate Political Responsibility into Business School Classrooms

Gabriel Correa Acosta, 2025

Written as a CPR Independent Study project at the Stephen M. Ross School of Business at the University of Michigan, this report outlines ways to bring CPR concepts into five areas of the business school curriculum, including: Business Law and Ethics Courses, Business Economics and Policy Courses; Finance Courses; Business Strategy Courses; and Business and Society, Social Responsibility and Sustainability Courses. Drawing on the Erb CPR Principles the report outlines detailed suggestions for "caselets" and videos that are most relevant for each topic area, as well as sample discussion questions.

ReportWorld Business Council for Sustainable Development (WBCSD)

Business Breakthrough Barometer 2025

WBCSD with Bain & Company, 2025

This annual survey of over 300 global businesses across 50+ countries assesses how the private sector is acting on the net-zero transition, identifying where policy, investment, and system conditions are speeding or slowing progress. It flags how geopolitical volatility and regulatory uncertainty are influencing corporate decisions and how business sees its role in system-wide transformation.

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