The Erb Principles emerged from a recognition that the old framework for thinking about corporate political activity no longer fits the world businesses actually operate in. When Milton Friedman articulated his famous shareholder primacy doctrine, he assumed that the "rules of the game" were set by government and society — and that business simply played within them. That assumption no longer holds. U.S. businesses now dominate campaign financing and lobbying, making them active co-authors of the very rules that govern markets. Without guardrails, that influence tends toward short-term, narrow interests pursued behind closed doors — fueling the public distrust in both government and business that poses one of the most serious long-term threats to free market capitalism and constitutional democracy alike.

The Erb Principles for Corporate Political Responsibility offer a way out of that dynamic. Developed through a rigorous, non-partisan process — convening senior business leaders, leading academics, and more than 40 stakeholder groups spanning the political spectrum — they provide a credible, independent standard that companies can point to when navigating politically charged decisions. They ask not whether political engagement is permissible, but whether it is legitimate: whether it is conducted transparently, with accountability to stakeholders, and in a manner consistent with a company's stated values and long-term interests.

Concretely, the Principles address four interconnected domains: how companies decide when and whether to engage in political activity at all; how they govern and oversee that engagement internally; how they ensure consistency between their political spending and their stated values; and how they disclose their activities to investors and the public. Together, they give companies — and the boards and executives responsible for them — a structured way to ask hard questions before acting, rather than after the reputational damage is done. For companies facing growing scrutiny from investors, employees, and regulators, the Principles offer both a practical framework and a clear signal of good faith commitment to the long-term health of the markets and democratic institutions on which business ultimately depends.