The CA100+ Target Companies: Scoring and Analysis of Climate Lobbying

Only 10% of CA100+ companies analyzed by InfluenceMap have clearly aligned their direct climate lobbying practices with the Paris Agreement, including European utilities such as Iberdrola and SSE, and progressive consumer goods companies such as Unilever and Nestlé.

45% of CA100+ companies analyzed by InfluenceMap (or 58 of them) exhibit lobbying practices misaligned with the goals of the Paris Agreement. Of this misaligned total, 20 are from the energy (oil/gas) sector with the remainder operating in other heavy-emitting sectors including automotive, chemicals, cement, mining, steel, and utilities.

Overview: With the possible exception of Shell, companies have not performed consistently across the criteria tested in the analysis. Several companies (e.g. BASF, BHP) have produced reviews that provide examples of strong performance on one or two criteria, but fall down in other key areas. Examples of better practice under specific indicators are available in InfluenceMap’s April 2021 report.

Low benchmark for alignment: Many companies appear to assess alignment with their industry associations against their own corporate positions and practices, as opposed to a more robust assessment against the Paris Agreement, as specified in the formal expectations set out by investors. According to InfluenceMap analysis, the majority of CA100+ companies have not aligned their own climate policy positions and lobbying activities with the Paris Agreement (see Slide 4).

“Cherry picking” data for industry association assessments: The majority of companies have not disclosed a detailed and accurate account of their industry associations’ climate policy positions and engagement, nor provided details on their case-by-case alignment assessments. Companies appear to “cherry-pick” positive high-level statements from their industry associations when analyzing alignment, overlooking sometimes substantial evidence of detailed negative lobbying on climate-related policy.

Inconsistent action on misalignment: Underlying problems with the review process means that companies have failed to identify and take action to address key cases of misalignment with their industry associations. The lack of transparency on corporate engagements with industry associations exacerbates the perceived lack of action to address misalignments.