Major Investors and Businesses Support Staying the Course on Strong Vehicle Rules

October 5, 2017 /3BL Media/ - Today, 36 institutional investors with over $813 billion in assets and a network of major businesses with over $400 billion in revenue, called on the Trump administration to not weaken the current light-duty vehicle fuel economy and greenhouse-gas emissions standards. The ask comes in the form of a Washington D.C.-focused ad blitz as well as letters to the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency.

In August, the EPA announced it would reopen the midterm review process for the current standards and accept comments from the public until Oct. 5.

In full page and digital ads in POLITICO released today, members of the Ceres BICEP Network said, “We — the drivers of the American economy — need cars and trucks that run on less gas.” The ads state that the network, which includes major businesses including Autodesk, IKEA, Mars, Incorporated and Unilever, supports the standards because they: 1) spur innovation and advance the U.S. manufacturing sector, 2) strengthen local economies and create jobs, and 3) protect consumers and the U.S. auto industry from fuel price spikes.

Institutional investors, including New York City Comptroller Scott Stringer, wrote in a letter delivered today to Administrator Scott Pruitt, that the standards will "strengthen the U.S. economy, enhance the global competitiveness of the U.S. auto industry, provide the regulatory certainty needed to spur innovation, reduce both our dependence on oil and climate risk, save businesses and consumers money, and create jobs.”

Read the full investor letter and list of signatories.

Read the full Ceres BICEP Network letter and list of signatories.

“If we really want a strong economy, we must encourage American ingenuity and know-how, and build vehicles that can meet increasingly stringent international standards,” said David Richardson, executive director and global head of marketing and client service for Impax Investment Management, which manages approximately $9 billion in assets for institutional investors around the world. “Rolling back the standards is inconsistent with international trends and would put the industry at a disadvantage. Stalling innovation is not a winning strategy - period.”

A Ceres analysis found that if the standards were weakened and gas prices spiked it could lead to 300,000 fewer vehicles sales for automakers and a loss of $1.08 billion in profits in 2025. Suppliers, which employ two and half times more jobs than automakers, would be hit especially hard, losing $3.3 billion a year between 2022-2025 in sales of fuel efficient technologies.

“EPA’s decision to revisit the standards is misguided,” said Carol Lee Rawn, director of transportation at Ceres. “Weakening the rules would increase fuel costs for businesses and consumers, undermine the ability of the U.S. auto industry to compete internationally, and endanger good manufacturing jobs across the country.”

Ceres’ research shows that strong standards would help drive the success of the U.S. auto industry in an era of technology and business model disruption.

Ceres is a sustainability nonprofit organization working with the most influential investors and companies to build leadership and drive solutions throughout the economy. For more information, visit www.ceres.org and follow @CeresNews.