Green America applauded the CEOs of major corporations who dropped out of President Trump’s Strategy & Policy Forum and Manufacturing Council, forcing the president to disband both councils today. After the President refused to specifically condemn the neo-Nazis and white supremacists who brought terror to Charlottesville, VA, and equated their actions with opponents of racism, Green America issued a statement calling on corporate CEOs involved in the American Manufacturing Council to drop their membership (https://www.greenamerica.org/blog/its-time-all-companies-leave-trumps-american-manufacturing-council).  Since then, CEOs continued to drop out of the councils and oppose the President’s repeated equating of white supremacists with their opponents.

“It is important that a growing number of leaders of Corporate America are taking a stand that the President’s equating of racism with anti-racists is unacceptable,” said Todd Larsen, executive co-director for consumer and corporate engagement. “Corporations increasingly state that they recognize the value of diversity and the need for inclusion. Trump’s statements demonstrate once again that the administration is working for the opposite.  Businesses need to continue to make clear that they are not willing to work with an administration that supports racism.”

“As our Green Business Network members demonstrate every day, business can and should be a force for good,” said Fran Teplitz, executive co-director of business, investing, and policy. “When our President refuses to immediately and unequivocally repudiate racism and white-supremacist violence, the business community must stand against it. Green America applauds the CEOs of Intel, Under Armour, the AFL-CIO, Merck, and the other companies that left the councils for refusing to be party to tolerating hate.”

ABOUT GREEN AMERICA: Green America is the nation's leading green economy organization. Founded in 1982, Green America provides economic strategies and practical tools for businesses and individuals to solve today's social and environmental problems. www.GreenAmerica.org