Regardless of where you stand on environmental policy, most Floridians would agree that companies shouldn’t be coerced into playing politics — or punished for refusing to.
That’s why it matters that Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier has opened an investigation into two powerful climate organizations: the Climate Disclosure Project (CDP) and the Science-Based Targets initiative (SBTi). If you haven’t heard of them, you’re not alone. And yet, they are exerting influence and soft power over every Floridian.
Sal Nuzzo is the executive director of Consumers Defense.
Uthmeier is alleging these groups may be pressuring Florida companies into handing over proprietary business data under the guise of “environmental transparency,” and then using that data to shape investment decisions, scores and access to capital.
It’s an important move concerning an issue that has, for too long, lacked scrutiny.
CDP, a UK-based nonprofit, operates the world’s largest environmental disclosure system and sells services that help companies “improve” their ratings — while also offering positive media statements from its own executives, for a fee. Its scores are used by major financial firms like S&P Global, Bloomberg, and ISS to guide investment decisions.
SBTi, co-founded by CDP and the United Nations Global Compact, approves corporate climate targets and then refers companies back to CDP to report their progress. That cycle — validation, disclosure, scoring — creates a system where climate policy is increasingly dictated by non-governmental actors with no accountability.
Uthmeier has raised concerns that these organizations may have violated deceptive trade practices laws (and perhaps even antitrust statutes) by working in tandem with financial institutions to penalize companies that decline to participate.
This is what we see when efforts at the ballot box and legislative chamber fail — shift tactics to deploy beneath-the-surface influence and infect the business climate hoping nobody pays attention. It is nefarious and Floridians have good reason to pay attention.
For example, small businesses in Florida, like family-owned farms in the Panhandle or local manufacturers in Central Florida, are feeling the squeeze. These companies, already navigating tight margins, face pressure to comply with costly disclosure requirements or risk being blacklisted by investors and financial institutions influenced by CDP and SBTi scores. This can mean higher operating costs, reduced access to loans or lost contracts, directly impacting jobs and livelihoods.
In coastal communities, where tourism drives the economy, these opaque climate mandates could deter investment in local hotels and restaurants, raising prices for consumers and threatening the vibrant small-business ecosystem that Floridians rely on.
To be clear, there is nothing wrong with companies voluntarily adopting any practice they believe to be in their best interest. It crosses a line when private or foreign groups coerce companies into disclosing sensitive data by scoring them publicly and affecting their access to capital.
That’s why Florida’s investigation matters. It will help ensure that no Florida entrepreneur is forced to engage in practices that jeopardize the health of their business, customers and shareholders.
At the same time, the new administration in Washington is shifting its focus away from politically motivated climate handouts and toward common sense environmental stewardship: protecting clean air and water without threatening jobs, innovation or national security.
In Florida, we have a lot at stake. From tourism and agriculture to real estate and transportation, nearly every sector of our economy feels the ripple effects of top-down environmental mandates. As the national conversation about climate and ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) policies continues, it’s critical that states like ours ask the tough questions and protect consumers, companies and constitutional principles alike.
The climate cartel may operate in the shadows, but accountability begins in the sunlight. Thank you, Attorney General Uthmeier, for taking this fight on. Florida continues to lead the way.
Sal Nuzzo is the executive director of Consumers Defense, a 501c4 dedicated to advancing policy that protects Americans from environmental, social and governance policies.
