California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber)
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.
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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? |
NS | NS | NA | NS | NS | NS | NA | NA |
|
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) |
NS |
0
|
NA | NS |
0
|
NS | NA | NA |
|
Supporting the Need for Regulations
To what extent does the organization express the need for regulatory intervention to resolve the climate crisis? |
-1
|
-1
|
NA | NS |
-1
|
-1
|
NA | NA |
|
Support of UN Climate Process
Is the organization supporting the UN FCCC process on climate change? |
NS | NS | NA | NS | NS | NS | 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? |
2
|
NA | NA | 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. |
-2
|
-1
|
NA |
-1
|
NS | NS | NA | NA |
|
Emissions Trading
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: emissions trading. |
0
|
0
|
NA |
-2
|
-1
|
0
|
NA | NA |
|
Energy and Resource Efficiency
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: energy efficiency policy, standards, and targets |
-1
|
-1
|
NA |
-1
|
-2
|
NS | NA | NA |
|
Renewable Energy
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Renewable energy legislation, targets, subsidies, and other policy |
-1
|
0
|
NA |
-1
|
-2
|
NS | NA | NA |
|
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? |
-2
|
-1
|
NA |
-1
|
-1
|
-1
|
NA | NA |
|
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
|
-1
|
NA |
-2
|
-1
|
-2
|
NA | NA |
|
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
|
NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA | NA |
The California Chamber of Commerce (CalChamber) is actively and negatively lobbying Californian climate change policy, although evidence from 2017 suggests an evolving position. CalChamber has criticized ‘command and control’ climate regulation and previously indicated opposition to GHG emission reductions in line with a 2°C target in 2014, however evidence from 2017 suggests a position more supportive of GHG reductions. CalChamber has led legal action against California’s emission trading system from 2012-17, rejecting the policy as an illegal tax that is ‘simply outside the law’. However, after losing a legal battle against the system in 2017, CalChamber shifted position to support the California cap and trade bill AB 398 in order to prevent more ambitious regulation. CalChamber signals opposition to bills with a ‘job killer’ label, applying the label to most major Californian climate legislation throughout 2014-17 including SB 32, a bill mandating 80% GHG emission reductions by 2030. CalChamber directly advocated to policymakers and spearheaded coalition campaigns to reject the SB 32 in 2015-16. The California Chamber of Commerce also initially opposed SB 350 as a ‘job killer’, criticizing its 50% energy efficiency and renewable energy targets, only taking a neutral position once a 50% petroleum usage reduction provision was removed from the bill. Further evidence also suggests CalChamber oppose low-carbon fuel standards, ambitious CAFE standards and in 2017 a 100% renewable energy target for California. CalChamber also advocates for the sustained use of fossil fuels, for example opposing a 2015 bill that would limit unconventional fossil fuel production.
as evident in a statement from Chamber President Allan Zaremberg and again in a June 2020 blog post.