Could corporate climate lobbying be a force for good? - Challenging current practices
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Could corporate climate lobbying
be a force for good?
Challenging current practices
Corporate lobbying on climate change
• "There is a serious group of companies that have a voice that is much louder,
that is better funded, that operates much more in unison and that is still stuck
in the technologies and the fuels of yesterday.”
- Christina Figueres, executive secretary of the UNFCCC, 2011
• “I’m getting resistance from some fossil fuel interests who want to protect the
outdated status quo. When you start seeing massive lobbying efforts backed by
fossil fuel interests or conservative thinktanks or the Koch brothers, pushing for
new laws to roll back renewable energy standards or prevent new clean energy
businesses from succeeding, that’s a problem.”
- Barack Obama, 44th President of the United States of America, 2015
Case study: Australia
BHP resolution Rio Tinto resolution
Engagement: Company response
BHP could end $2m membership of minerals council over Minerals Council cedes ground to BHP, Rio on climate
policy differences
Minerals Council chief Brendan Pearson steps down after BHP fallout
Mining industry has to dig deep to restore its clout, says new MCA chief
State of European lobbying
Food & Bev &
Autos Chemicals Mining & Metals Oil & Gas Transportation Utilities
Industrials
(Average = -14) (Average = -28) (Average = -12) (Average = -14) (Average = -3) (Average = 13)
(Average = 29)
Fiat Chrysler Automobiles -19 BASF -39 Siemens 7 Rio Tinto Group -35 BP -35 Rolls-Royce -6 RWE -18
Daimler -17 Bayer -33 Danone 20 ArcelorMittal -33 Total -26 Air France-KLM -5 PGE Group -5
LyondellBasell
BMW Group -15 Industries -21 Philips 24 Glencore International -26 Royal Dutch Shell -21 Airbus Group -3 Centrica -4
Moller Maersk
Renault -14 Air Liquide -20 Nestle 32 HeidelbergCement -18 OMV -11 Group 0 CEZ -1
Volkswagen -10 Unilever 61 Anglo American -17 Eni -11 Fortum 1
Naturgy (Gas Natural
Groupe PSA -7 ThyssenKrupp AG -9 Repsol -11 Fenosa) 3
Larger negative scores represent a larger LafargeHolcim -8 Lukoil -9 Engie 4
CRH plc -4 Gazprom -8 E.ON 22
negative impact, with positive scores
Equinor (formerly
representing a positive overall impact. MMC Norilsk Nickel -1 Statoil) -8 Enel 26
SSAB 0 Rosneft -5 EDF 28
Severstal 0 National Grid 33
Saint-Gobain 8 Iberdrola 36
SSE 44
Partnerships for new approach in Europe
Setting out investor expectations on corporate climate lobbying • Published in October 2018 • Supported by funds with over £3 trillion in AUM • Adopted by IIGCC as best practice recommendations • Letter sent to 55 companies alongside examples of best practice on corporate lobbying inviting them to support the excpectations
Initiative launched
Investors challenge 55 companies over commitment to climate change Pension funds challenge European
companies on climate lobbying
'Why Is Your Trade Association Fighting Moves To Tackle
Climate Change?' Investors Ask Companies
Pension giants challenge companies on climate lobbying
EXECUTIVE PERSPECTIVE: Why contradictory climate lobbying
has to end
Preliminary analysis of company responses
POINTS
1 1 1 1 1 TOTAL POINTS
Evidence of paris alignment
for policy engagement
Evidence company is Evidence company is
conducted indirectly via third
Lobby Positively in Line with Support for Paris actively lobbying for actively lobbying in line
party organisations acting on N/A
Paris Agreement expressed limiting warming to 2 with Paris in all
the company’s behalf or with
degrees geographies
the company’s financial
support.
Evidence of board- Processes in place to Monitoring and review Transparent process set up to
Have Robust Governance level responsibility for monitor and review of climate policy ensure consistency between
N/A
Procedures direct and indirect climate policy engagement across ALL company policy and
policy engagement engagement geographies direct/indirect engagement
TOPIC
Company requires
Company publicly Company discontinues Company creates or
third party to desist
communicates support of organisations participates in coalitions to
Act when Unaligned differing policy
lobbying when there is
where there is lack of counter third parties' negative
N/A
misalignment with
positions alignment climate lobbying
member positions
Membership in, or The company has made an
Transparency over Company transparent The climate change policies
support of, third party assessment of the material
company's position on over direct and adopted by these third party
organisations that impact of lobbying by the
Be Transparent climate change and indirect lobbying on
engage on climate
orgs, and whether there is
organisation taking a contrary
policies to mitigate climate change misalignment with company's
change, including position to the public position
climate change risk policies own policy positions
political orgs of the company.Sector averages
Food & Bev & Mining &
Autos Chemicals Oil & Gas Transportation Utilities
Industrials Metals
3 3 5.5 3.8 3.4 0.5 4
Of a maximum total of 17 points, the mean score was 3.4, and the most popular score was 2.Progress with engagement • Shell and Anglo American have committed to review and report on their lobbying by the end of Q1. • Glencore have also committed to review and report on lobbying this year.
Washington State climate lobbying As Washington debates carbon fee, one oil giant is opposed but another is silent; what’s that about? BP CLAIMS TO SUPPORT TAXING CARBON, BUT IT’S SPENDING $13 MILLION AGAINST AN INITIATIVE THAT WOULD DO JUST THAT
Next steps… • Ongoing monitoring • Academic assessment • 2019 shareholder resolutions
Thank you
Adam Matthews
adam.matthews@churchofengland.org
@actmatthewsYou can also read
