AT&T Sets Corporate Transparency Standard for Political Spending

Report ushers in a new era of political spending disclosure and government affairs accountability

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT: Sophia Wilson, swilson@asyousow.org, (341) 600-1832

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA—DEC. 6, 2023 —AT&T released a Political Congruency Report on Friday providing standard-setting disclosure on its political spending. AT&T committed to release this report as part of a withdrawal agreement with As You Sow on a shareholder resolution last April. 

AT&T’s report provides investors with public, aggregated information on the company’s political spending. It assesses how state and federal elected officials, to whom AT&T or its employee PACs contributed, vote on legislation identified as important to the company’s stated “Political Priorities.” These include U.S. economic stability and growth, resilient infrastructure, technological progress and access, and employee opportunity. 

“This new approach to political spending transparency is completely innovative,” said Andrew Behar, CEO of As You Sow. “To have one of the largest corporate political donors provide this level of reporting on how its political spending aligns with its stated corporate priorities dramatically changes investors’ expectations for other companies. It is important that shareholders see the congruence between publicly stated corporate goals and how capital is spent, just like any other ROI analysis. 

Investors have filed over 295 shareholder resolutions in the past three years asking companies for greater political spending transparency. They are particularly interested in understanding how companies are reducing risks associated with supporting extremist politicians and if the legislative benefits of this support outweigh the risks to the brand and long-term business strategy. 

“Our political system is complex and nuanced, and it is challenging for companies to navigate within a highly polarized political environment,” said Meredith Benton, workplace equity program manager at As You Sow and founder of the consultancy Whistle Stop Capital. “No legislator will vote with a company 100% of the time — that’s not the expectation. But a company is expected to have a process to identify and respond if a legislator is consistently voting against its publicly stated goals.”

AT&T believes that increased disclosure will allow for a better understanding of the company’s political spending practices, oversight, and goals while fostering “a healthy dialogue and exchange of ideas” on pressing national challenges.

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As You Sow is the nation’s leading shareholder representative, with a 30-year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility and advancing values-aligned investing. Its issue areas include climate change, ocean plastics, pesticides, racial justice, workplace diversity, and executive compensation. Click here for As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker.

Whistle Stop Capital is a consultancy that supports asset owners and advisors in assessing and addressing material social and environmental exposures within investment portfolios. On behalf of clients, it researches, analyzes, and speaks with hundreds of companies a year on a range of sustainability and human rights-related topics.