CEZ
What do our scores mean?
The organizational score represents the degree to which the organization influencing climate policy and legislation. Corporations also have relationship scores reflecting their links with influencers like trade associations. Both are combined to place the corporation in a performance band. Full details can be found here.
Engagement Intensity
The engagement intensity (EI) is a metric of the extent to which the company is engaging on climate change policy matters, whether positively or negatively. It is a number from 0 (no engagement at all) to 100 (full engagement on all queries/data points). Clearly energy companies are more affected by climate regulations and will have a higher EI than, for example retailers. So an organization’s score should be looked at in conjunction with this metric to gauge the amount of evidence we are using in each case as a basis for scoring. On our scale, an EI of more than 35 indicates a relatively large amount of climate policy engagement.
Relationship Score, December 2020
A new batch of industry associations has been uploaded onto the InfluenceMap system and the relationship scores recalculated accordingly.
Updated terminology, February 2021
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
- Details of Organization Score
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What do the 0,1,2 and NSs, NAs mean?
Each cell in the organization's matrix presents a chance for us to assess each data source against our column of climate change policy queries. We score from -2 to 2, with negative scores representing evidence of obstructive influence. "NA" means "not applicable" and "NS" means "not scored" - that is we did not find any evidence either way. In both cases, the cell's weighting is re-distributed over others. Red and blue cells represent highly interesting negative or positive influence respectively. Full details can be found here.
- Details of Relationship Score
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What is the Relationship Score
A corporation, as well as its organizational score will have a relationship score. It is computed by aggregating the organizational scores of the Influencers (trade bodies etc.) it has relationships with, weighted by both the strength of these relationships and the relative importance of the Influencers towards climate change policy. Full details can be found here.
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QUERIES
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DATA SOURCES | |||||||
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Main Web Site
The main organizational Web site of the company and its direct links to major affiliates and attached documents. |
Social Media
We search other media and sites funded or controlled by the organization, such as social media (Twitter, Facebook) and direct advertising campaigns of the organization. |
CDP Responses
We assess and score responses to two questions from CDP's climate change information request (12.3 a & 12.3c) related to political influence questions (currently these are not numerically scored by the CDP process). |
Legislative Consultations
Comments from the entity being scored on governmental regulatory consultation processes, including those obtained by InfluenceMap through Freedom of Information requests. |
Media Reports
Here we search in a consistent manner (the organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
CEO Messaging
Here we search in a consistent manner (the CEO/Chairman, organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
Financial Disclosures
We search 10-K and 20-F SEC filings where available, and non US equivalents where not. . |
EU Register
Information provided by to the voluntary EU Transparency Register. |
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Communication of Climate Science
Is the organization transparent and clear about its position on climate change science? |
-1
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1
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NS | NS | NS | NS | NA | NA |
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Alignment with IPCC on Climate Action
Is the organization supporting the science-based response to climate change as set out by the IPCC? (the IPCC) |
0
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2
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NA |
2
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NS |
0
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NA | NA |
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Supporting the Need for Regulations
To what extent does the organization express the need for regulatory intervention to resolve the climate crisis? |
-1
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1
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NA |
0
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NS |
-1
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NA | NA |
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Support of UN Climate Process
Is the organization supporting the UN FCCC process on climate change? |
1
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1
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NS | NS | NS |
1
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NA | NA |
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Transparency on Legislation
Is the organisation transparent about its positions on climate change legislation/policy and its activities to influence it? |
0
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NA |
-2
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NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
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Carbon Tax
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: carbon tax. |
1
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1
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NS |
1
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NS | NS | NA | NA |
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Emissions Trading
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: emissions trading. |
1
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2
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1
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1
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1
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NS | NA | NA |
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Energy and Resource Efficiency
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: energy efficiency policy, standards, and targets |
-2
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NS | NS |
-1
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-2
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NS | NA | NA |
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Renewable Energy
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Renewable energy legislation, targets, subsidies, and other policy |
-1
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NS | NS |
-1
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-2
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-1
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NA | NA |
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Energy Transition & Zero Carbon Technologies
Is the organization supporting an IPCC-aligned transition of the economy away from carbon-emitting technologies, including supporting relevant policy and legislative measures to enable this transition? |
0
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0
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NS |
0
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0
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1
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NA | NA |
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GHG Emission Regulation
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: GHG emission standards and targets. Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Standards, targets, and other regulatory measures directly targeting Greenhouse Gas emissions |
1
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1
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NS |
2
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0
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NS | NA | NA |
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Disclosure on Relationships
Is the organization transparent about its involvement with industry associations that are influencing climate policy, including the extent to which it is aligned with these groups on climate? |
-1
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NS |
1
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NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEZ is an indirect member of Eurelectric through CSZE
Open PDF file of Data Source
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
Senior executive of CEZ is the Chairman of the board of CSZE which is a member of Eurelectric
Ing. Jiří Staněk
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
A Senior Executive of of CEZ is on the board of Eurelectric
Mrs. Zuzana Krejcirikova
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
CEZ is an indirect member of Eurelectric through CSZE
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
Senior executive of CEZ is the Chairman of the board of CSZE which is a member of Eurelectric
Ing. Jiří Staněk
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
InfluenceMap Comment:
A Senior Executive of of CEZ is on the board of Eurelectric
Mrs. Zuzana Krejcirikova
How to Read our Relationship Score Map
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
Climate Lobbying Overview: CEZ is actively engaged with EU climate regulation but appears to show mixed support for regulations intended to tackle climate change. CEZ has stated support for the need for drastic emissions reductions. However, although the company seems to support the transition to a low carbon energy mix, it appears to favor market-based mechanisms, such as the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS), over other kinds of regulation. CEZ therefore appears to have opposed some specific climate policies, such as those intended to increase the share of renewables in the energy mix.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: In its 2020 annual report, CEZ appears to support drastic emissions reductions aligned with IPCC recommendations, and in June 2019, expressed support for the EU target of net-zero emissions by 2050 as part of the Nuclear Europe Leaders’ Manifesto. However, CEZ appears to prefer market-based responses over government regulation and has stressed the importance of global regulations over action in Europe. In line with this position, CEZ appears to show strong support for the Paris Agreement.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: CEZ appears to support some specific climate change policies, while seeming to oppose others, with a preference for policies that use market-based mechanisms. CEZ appears to strongly support the EU ETS, actively supporting the expansion of the scheme in its position statement from July 2020. CEZ has also stated in 2020 that sectors not covered by the EU ETS should be covered by a carbon tax and has also indicated support in August 2020 for a border carbon adjustment mechanism to reduce emissions from imported goods. However, in August 2018, CEZ appeared to oppose an EU-wide renewable energy target, as well as seeming to oppose mandates or quotas for renewable hydrogen in July 2020, and appears unsupportive of support schemes for renewables including the feed-in tariff and priority dispatch mechanisms. Additionally, in March 2020, CEZ petitioned the Czech government for exemptions from emissions standards for coal power plants in its portfolio.
Positioning on Energy Transition: CEZ appears to broadly support measures to transition the energy mix. CEZ’s position statement on the EU strategy for carbon neutrality from 2020 advocates for widespread electrification as part of the transition to a low carbon economy, and press releases from June 2020 appear to support phasing out coal from the energy mix. However, there is some uncertainty around CEZ’s position on the pace of this transition, with some evidence suggesting CEZ’s preferred trajectory for coal is not aligned with IPCC guidelines. CEZ appears to be unsupportive of the long-term role of gas in the energy mix, stating in feedback to the European Commission in May 2020 that it is “not compatible with a climate neutral economy” and arguing against the use of subsidies to support natural gas. CEZ appears to support a role for nuclear energy in the future energy mix, and in 2020 has lobbied for nuclear energy to be included in the EU sustainable finance taxonomy in feedback to the European Commission.
Industry Association Governance: CEZ discloses a list of its membership of industry associations in its 2019 sustainability report. However, CEZ has not published a full audit disclosure of its alignment with its industry associations and therefore it is not clear how CEZ is influencing the climate positions of these groups or the extent to which their positions are aligned. CEZ is a member of Eurelectric and the International Emissions Trading Association, both of which appear to be positively lobbying on progressive climate policy. In addition, the CEO of CEZ Group, Daniel Beneš is the Vice-President of the Confederation of Industry of the Czech Republic, the premier business lobbying group of the Czech Republic, which appears to be lobbying negatively on climate policy; for example, calling for the Czech government to oppose the increase in the EU GHG reduction target for 2030 in May 2020 as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic. Beneš also sits on the Czech Coal Commission, an advisory body to the government set up to decide upon the phase out date for coal in the Czech Republic.