The U.S. Chamber of Commerce has launched a new initiative aimed at using business solutions paired with government policy to address socioeconomic challenges.

The Project for Growth and Opportunity, or Project GO, is a multiyear effort to showcase and advance corporate solutions, the Chamber said in a statement Tuesday. The initiative will kick off by focusing on three issues: promoting board diversity, expanding investment opportunities for Main Street, and encouraging environmental, social and governance, or ESG, disclosure.

"Businesses have an unmatched ability, and therefore, a profound responsibility, to shape an evolving economy that works for all Americans and preserves their freedom and ability to succeed and innovate," Chamber President Suzanne Clark said.

Project GO will seek to pair business solutions with policy solutions. For example, in terms of encouraging board diversity, the business group will encourage companies to have procedures in place for encouraging diversity among board nominees while also supporting a federal law requiring corporations to disclose to investors how they are taking gender and racial diversity into account.

The push for more ESG disclosure is likely to be more controversial. Activist investors have pushed for publicly traded companies to be more upfront about their efforts regarding various environmental and social issues, such as contributions to business groups that oppose greenhouse gas regulations. The Chamber supports businesses voluntary providing that information but opposes having the Securities and Exchange Commission mandate disclosure, as some activists want.

Project GO will tackle other issues in the future, with likely topics being student debt, workforce development, and employee benefits, according to the Chamber.

MORE CEO DATELINE

• Pharmacists association wants better medical care at migrant detention centers
• Movie props decorate MPA's renovated headquarters