View or download a PDF of the letter here. AFREF also submitted an individual comment to the DOL; view or download a PDF of that letter here. 

Americans for Financial Reform Education Fund and Sierra Club were joined by 13 organizations in a comment letter to the DOL supporting a proposal to encourage fiduciaries to consider climate change and ESG factors, and calling for further actions to standardize sustainable investing for private retirement plans and pensions.

“Fiduciaries should be able to prudently choose investments that provide long-term benefits, yield healthy contributions to retirement plans, enhance—rather than undermine—workers’ share of earnings, and promote a healthy and livable planet, fair working conditions, and a racially just and democratic society while honoring their fiduciary duty,” reads the letter.

“In addition to supporting the Proposal, we call for the Department in future rulemakings, guidances and other agency actions to set a minimum standard for fiduciaries’ consideration of systemic risks to retirement savings, and to require that participant-directed plans offer a sustainable investing option addressing systemic risks among a prudently constructed lineup of funds offered to participants.”