As the impacts of climate change continue to affect Earth — from increasingly frequent and severe extreme weather events to rising sea levels — corporations and influential individuals are implementing sustainability efforts into their agendas, though large corporations remain some of the chief culprits for high greenhouse gas emissions.
Research from Governance & Accountability Institute Inc. found more than 90% of S&P 500 companies published sustainability reports in 2020. USC, too, has adopted sustainability initiatives, such as the USC Sustainability Data Hub, which provides the University community with reports regarding sustainable practices.
To analyze the University’s tie to corporate sustainability efforts and downfalls, the Daily Trojan compiled data about members of the Board of Trustees, many of whom hold leadership positions at large companies. This article intends to study whether Trustees’ political donations and company initiatives align with the University’s sustainability goals.
The Board of Trustees is composed of 34 members assigned to uphold the University’s interests and act as the “ultimate decision-making body” according to University policy. The Trustees include leaders from a variety of industries — such as communications, entertainment and biopharmaceuticals — to serve the University. For the purpose of this article, the Daily Trojan delved into Trustee-led companies to spotlight their contributions to the fight against climate change or their negative environmental impacts.
Many members from the Board of Trustees make monetary donations to politically-affiliated organizations or individuals, which may assist in the development of certain political agendas, as elected officials have the ability to affect legislation for constituents.
It is unclear whether Trustees considered a candidate’s stance on climate change when making donations; therefore, donations may not reflect Trustees’ stances on the issue. This article is intended to inform the University community about Trustee political donations, and is not intended to be an attack on Trustees or the University as a whole.
Methodology
The Daily Trojan compiled public political donations data from the National Institute on Money in State Politics and Open Secrets. Only significant donations — those above $15,000 — were considered for the purpose of this story, so the data presented do not encompass the whole of Trustees’ political expenditures. Only donations made to winning campaigns were included — with exceptions made in cases where donations to losing campaigns were among the largest for the donor.
Candidates and political campaigns were then considered in terms of their support for climate change mitigation policies and acknowledgement of anthropogenic climate change as a serious threat.
This investigation also examined the climate impact of the companies in which Trustees hold executive positions, as well as climate- and sustainability-related policies they have adopted.
The Daily Trojan used publicly accessible Environmental and Social Governance reports from the corporations that publish them to understand the companies’ environmental impact and policies. Smaller companies that Trustees lead often do not have public ESG reports, so information from the companies’ websites and external ESG ranking sites were used when available. The environmental impact of companies that retired Trustees used to work for was not considered.
Analysis
Stephanie Argyros, a real estate professional, has been a member of the Board since 2018. A principal at Arnel, a real estate firm, Argyros also serves as director of the Argyros Family Foundation. Arnel Development has donated $110,000 to the Republican Party.
According to a 2021 survey conducted by the Pew Research Center, only 10% of Republicans and Republican-leaning independents call addressing climate change a top concern, compared to 49% of Democrats and Democratic leaners.
Chair, co-CEO and co-founder of Salesforce Marc Benioff has been a member of the Board since 2011 and is also a member of the USC Marshall School of Business Board of Councilors.
Benioff has donated $56,400 to California Governor Gavin Newsom, who in 2022 announced the California Climate Commitment, which aims to cut air pollution by 60% and reduce state oil consumption by 91% over the next two decades. Benioff donated $21,200 to former California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, who continues to promote state and local clean energy efforts through the work of the Schwarzenegger Institute at USC.
Benioff also donated $20,000 to the Republican Party of California and $54,400 to former California Governor Edmund Brown Jr., who in 2016 signed SD 1383, which established tough restrictions on destructive super pollutants.
Salesforce, a cloud-based software company, boasts of net zero residual emissions, 100% renewable energy in its operations and a goal to grow one trillion trees on its company site. The company aims to reduce absolute Scope 1, 2 and 3 emissions by 50% by 2030.
Corii D. Berg, a member of the Board since 2020, serves as the executive vice president of Lionsgate Entertainment. There are no significant listed donations for Berg and no publicly accessible ESG report for Lionsgate Entertainment.
CSRHub, which compares corporations based on twelve subcategories of corporate social responsibility, ranked Lionsgate Entertainment as 33% better than the 31,156 other companies considered in terms of its commitment to ESG.
Chairman of Chaparal Investments, a personal investment and holding company, Robert Beyer joined the Board in 2021. Beyer has donated $107,600 to Gavin Newsom, $33,400 to the National Republican Congressional Committee and $100,000 to Restore our Future PAC, a committee created in 2010 to support Mitt Romney. Romney, who has called the Green New Deal “silliness,” is one of few Republicans who has said they believe in anthropogenic climate change.
There is no publicly accessible ESG report for Chaparal Investments.
A member of the Board since 2015, David Bohnett also serves as chair of the David Bohnett Foundation, which gave a $50,000 grant to Climate Resolve in 2015 for a project titled “Transformative Transportation – Clear the Air in LA by 2050.”
Bohnett has donated $73,500 to the Democratic National Committee, $3671,000 to the California Democratic Party, $18,500 to Gavin Newsom and $80,300 to Edmund Brown Jr. Bohnett has also given $60,100 to Sean Maloney (NY-18), who has previously allied himself with the fossil fuel industry but signed the Inflation Reduction Act, which the World Resources Institute called the “largest single step that Congress has ever taken to address climate change.”
Bohnett has donated $92,400 to other politicians — David Cicilline, Andrew Cuomo and Gray Davis — who recognize the threat posed by climate change and pollution.
A member of the Board since 2014, Robert A. Bradway is the CEO of Amgen, a multinational biopharmaceutical company. Amgen is rated at 21.9 ESG risk by Morningstar Sustainalytics, with 40+ being severe risk and zero to 10 being the lowest risk. The company aims to achieve net zero carbon emissions in its operations by 2027, with renewable energy providing 79% of the company’s total electricity consumption in 2021 — up from 2020’s 41%. Amgen raised $750 million to support its sustainability goals through its first ever “green bond” issued in 2022.
Bradway has donated $409,700 to the National Republican Senatorial Committee.
Former Board Chair and candidate in the 2022 Los Angeles mayoral race, running an unsuccessful campaign in which he spent a record-breaking $104 million of his own money, Rick Caruso is the founder and CEO of Caruso, a real estate and hospitality company. According to Caruso’s company website, all new developments are in strict accordance with the latest California Green Building Standards Code.
Caruso’s mayoral campaign put forth a climate plan that included an acceleration of the Department of Water and Power’s renewable and clean energy programs, an initiative for water conservation and growth of the city’s public transportation system. The L.A. Times criticized Caruso in May 2022 over his lack of a specific climate plan, writing that he failed to elaborate on issues such as closing down L.A.’s gas-fired power plants and prohibiting gas hookups in new housing.
David Dornsife, chairman of the board of the Herrick Corporation — a steel corporation with factories in Stockton, Calif., San Bernardino, Texas, Mississippi and Thailand —, has been a member of the USC Board of Trustees since 2002.
Dornsife donated $19,000 to Pete Sessions (TX-17), who the League of Conservative Voters gave a 3% lifetime score for his support of national environmental policies — 100% being the most support. In 2021, Sessions voted ‘NO’ on the Build Back Better Act, which would invest $555 billion in climate, clean energy jobs and environmental justice.
Dornsife has also donated $16,000 to Lynne Leach, a former California State Assemblywoman who did not have a public stance on climate change mitigation.
There is no publicly available ESG report for the Herrick Corporation, but the company’s website writes that “Herrick deploys the best management practices available in our storm water pollution prevention plans and maintains a fleet of construction equipment that far exceeds emissions standards established by the Environmental Protection Agency and California Air Resources Board.”
Michele Dedeaux Engemann, a member of the Board since 2012, is a philanthropist and actor. Engemann does not have any public donations to political campaigns.
Michael Felix is a retired
financial services professional who has been a Board member since 2019. Felix has no listed political donations.
President Carol Folt, a career biologist, has cited sustainability at the University as one of her top priorities after assuming her current position in 2019. Under Folt’s leadership, the University announced its 2028 Sustainability Plan in early 2022, which involves commitments to achieve carbon neutrality by 2025 and zero waste by 2028. The University also announced a move, initiated July 1, to eliminate single-use plastic bottles at campus retailers and dining locations.
Folt does not have any listed political donations.
Reed Smith Chief Diversity Officer John Lino has served as the chair of the USC Gould School of Law’s Board of Councilors since 2018. Reed Smith has advised multiple organizations, such as the United Nations, on sustainability initiatives. The firm aims to reduce their carbon footprint by 20% by 2024, and is the first firm to grant billable hour credits to attorneys for non-legal work related to sustainability.
Reed Smith’s lobbying clients, however, include ExxonMobil and Dominion Energy. Morningstar Sustainalytics, a firm providing ESG research, gave the former an ESG rating of 36.45, while the latter has a rating of 25.4. These are considered high and medium risk, respectively. Law Students for Climate Accountability, a movement focused on “pushing the legal industry to phase out fossil fuel representation” gave Reed Smith a “C” rating on its latest Law Firm Climate Change Scorecard.
Co-President of the W.M. Keck Foundation Steve Keck has been a member of the Board since 2021. He donated $19,600 to the National Republican Congressional Committee in 2017.
In 2019, the carbon footprint of the W.M. Keck Observatory was estimated at 3.0 tons of CO2 per science night. The Observatory aims to reduce the figure to net zero over the next decade by decarbonizing its vehicle fleet and aviation footprint, among other measures.
The W.M. Keck Foundation also granted $1.6 million to the University of Maine to fund climate change research in 2008 and $1 million to a Duke University research team working on improving energy conversion processes, which may make higher efficiency solar energy conversion systems possible.
Kenneth Klein has been a board member since 2009. While he has held multiple leadership positions at Wind River Systems, Inc. He currently serves as the CEO of Praisidio. The Daily Trojan could not find information regarding sustainability regarding either company. Klein has no listed public donations to elected officials.
A member of the Board since 2018, Jaime Lee serves as the CEO of Jamison Realty, a real estate firm. Lee’s political donations fall below the threshold for the Daily Trojan’s investigation; however, she has spoken about sustainability.
“The climate crisis is a defining moment for the global citizens of this next decade,” Lee said in an interview with Bisnow in November 2021. “We must pursue R&D, investment and adoption for technologies and lifestyles that will transform our future in sustainable ways.”
Member of the Board since 2016 and founding publisher of Allure Magazine Kathy Leventhal does not have listed donations to elected officials.
William McMorrow serves as CEO of Kennedy Wilson Holdings and has been a member of the Board since 2015. McMorrow donated $22,300 to the National Republican Committee in 2016. He also donated $46,200 — including $29,200 to Antonio Villaraigosa, L.A.’s “greenest mayor” — to politicians who have worked on sustainability between 2010 and 2018.
All of Kennedy Wilson Holdings’ European assets exceed the current minimums to comply with Energy Performance Certificates, a rating scheme that summarizes a building’s energy efficiency. Eighteen percent of their assets have an “A” rating, while 47% have a “B” and 23% have a “C.” All of its directly managed electricity contract tariffs are from renewable sources. Kennedy Wilson Holdings has a 18.1 ESG risk rating, which is considered low.
Former Chairman of the Board John Mork has been a member since 2006. He also serves as EnerG-ID Solutions Corporation’s CEO. Mork donated $205,000 to Thomas Corbett and Jim Cawley from 2010 to 2014. While Pennsylvania expanded its use of natural gas in order to reduce carbon emissions under Corbett, the former governor believed climate change was a “subject of debate.”
There is no publicly accessible ESG report for EnerG-ID Solutions Corporation.
A Board member since 2018, Oscar Munoz is now the retired executive chairman of United Airlines Holdings. The first airline to fly a passenger flight using 100% sustainable aviation fuel, United aims to go 100% green by 2050 and, by 2035, reduce carbon intensity 50% compared to 2019. Their ESG risk rating is considered medium at 28.8.
Munoz has no significant personal donations to elected officials.
Rod Y. Nakamoto has been a Board member since 2017. He has no significant donations to political campaigns.
Member of the Board since 2017 and retired senior vice president of premium care and customer loyalty at AT&T’s Entertainment Group, Carmen Nava has not made significant donations to political campaigns supporting elected officials.
Community leader Shelly Nemirovsky has been a Board member since 2016. She donated $30,800 to the Republican National Committee and $16,700 to the Republican Congressional Committee in 2012.
Dominic Ng, Chairman and CEO of East West Bank, has served as a member of the board since 2014.
Ng has no significant donations to political campaigns. East West Bank does not have a public ESG Report listed on its website.
Suzanne Nora Johnson has served as chair of the Board since 2022. Johnson has been a part of the Board since 1998 and previously served as the vice chairman of The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. She has donated $427,800 to the Democratic committees. Johnson has also donated $23,100 to secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra, a member of the Democratic party. Becerra has advocated for climate change action due to its negative effects on human health.
Amy A. Ross is a retired biotechnology executive and has served on the Board since 2015. Ross does not have any significant donations to political campaigns.
Frederick J. Ryan Jr. is a publisher and CEO of The Washington Post. Ryan joined the Board in 2017, and also serves on the Board of Councilors for USC Annenberg. Ryan was the chief of staff to Ronald Reagan. Ryan has no significant political donations.
Founding chairman and CEO of WellPoint Leonard D. Schaeffer has served on the Board since 2013. Schaeffer has given $35,500 to the Democratic Congressional Committee, and $20,000 to secretary of the Department of Health and Human Services Xavier Becerra.
William E. B. Siart is chairman of ExED and has served on the Board since 1995. He has donated $53,000 to the Republican National Committee. Siart has donated $17,000 to Republican David Lungren, who holds the role of vice president of membership and administration for the Independent Petroleum Association of America. Siart has gifted $16,000 to Republican Bill Simon and $15,000 to former L.A. Mayor Richard Riordan, a Republican.
Jeffrey H. Smulyan is chairman of the Board for Emmis Communications. Smulyan joined the Board in 2002, and also serves on the Board of Councilors for USC Annenberg. Smulyan has donated to members of the Democratic party, including $27,500 to Joe Kernan and Kathy Davis and $21,250 to Frank O’Bannon and Joe Kernan. Smulyan has donated $16,750 to Andre Carson. Carson supports clean fuel and careers in energy-efficient organizations.
Heliane M. Steden is a retired managing director of Merrill Lynch. Steden has no listed significant political donations.
Ronald D. Sugar is the retired chairman emeritus of Northrop Grumman Corporation and joined as a member of the Board in 2003. Sugar has no significant donations listed. According to Northrop Grumman Corporation’s 2021 sustainability report, the organization has multiple sustainability success indicators, including a goal of achieving net-zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2035 and diverting 41 million pounds of waste from landfills.
Community leader Tracy M. Sykes has been a member of the Board since 2015. Sykes has donated $42,100 to the Republican National Committee and $51,800 to U.S. ambassador to Kenya, Margaret Whitman. Whitman, a Republican, has stated her belief in technology advancing action against climate change.
Chairman of Fubon Group Daniel M. Tsai has been a Board member since 2012. Wang has no significant donations listed. Under the leadership of Fubon Group’s Board of Directors, the organization’s Corporate Governance and Sustainability committee has groups dedicated to ESG discussion and adaptation, including an Environmental Sustainability team.
Wenxue Wang is founder and chairman of China Fortune Land Development and has been a Board member since 2016. Wang has no listed political donations.
Concluding thoughts
Climate change is an issue that should be dealt with by governments and corporations worldwide. While California has made climate change a top priority, our investigation shows the organizations Board members lead do not necessarily consider it so. Organizations such as Salesforce, Amgen, the W.M. Keck Foundation and United Airlines have clear sustainability initiatives. Others, such as Lionsgate Entertainment, Praisidio, EnerG-ID and West Bank do not have publicly accessible environmental efforts.
Board Members have donated $614,300 to politicians working on sustainability initiatives and $432,100 to politicians who do not think climate action is a priority.
The University’s leaders should be held accountable for the environmental impacts of the companies they hold executive positions in and the actions of politicians they spend their money on.