TALLAHASSEE, Fla. — Florida Attorney General James Uthmeier announced Monday that his office has launched an investigation into the Climate Disclosure Project (CDP) and the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), issuing subpoenas to determine whether the groups violated state consumer protection or antitrust laws.
According to the announcement, the probe focuses on whether CDP and SBTi coerced companies into sharing proprietary data and paying for environmental scores under the appearance of promoting transparency, while allegedly profiting from the system.
“Radical climate activists have hijacked corporate governance and weaponized it against the free market,” said Attorney General James Uthmeier. “Florida will not sit back while international pressure groups shake down American companies to fund their ESG grift.”
The CDP, founded in the UK, operates one of the largest environmental disclosure platforms globally, charging companies to disclose and revise their data. The system is reportedly used by major investment firms like Bloomberg, S&P Global, and Santander when making financial decisions. SBTi, co-founded by CDP and the United Nations Global Compact, validates company climate goals and feeds data back into CDP’s system, according to the release.
The investigation will examine potential deceptive trade practices, including:
- Selling services to improve scores and public endorsements
- Offering favorable treatment in exchange for payments
- Misrepresenting the objectivity of environmental data to investors and consumers
It will also explore possible antitrust issues, such as:
- Coordination between CDP and financial institutions that may constitute market manipulation
- Whether CDP’s tactics penalize companies that do not participate, resulting in anticompetitive impacts
