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InfluenceMap periodically publishes an analysis to identify the companies around the globe that have achieved best practice in climate policy advocacy. The 2023 Corporate Climate Policy Engagement Leaders report provides an updated analysis of the global landscape for science-aligned climate policy influence, setting a clear bar for positive and active climate advocacy.
The 2023 Global Leaders list identifies a total of 27 companies globally meeting all criteria for leadership (Organization Score, Engagement Intensity, and Indirect Influence) based on InfluenceMap’s world leading platform for measuring corporate climate policy engagement. The companies represent a range of economic sectors – primarily Utilities, Information Technology, Industrials, and Retailing – across Europe, the United States, and Japan. Together, they make up roughly 5% of the entire InfluenceMap database of nearly 500 companies assessed for their climate policy engagement.
Positive corporate policy engagement is critical for progress on the climate crisis, given the gap between what is needed from governments and the policies in place. The corporate sector globally holds huge sway over climate policy, yet InfluenceMap research shows that the majority of companies outside the fossil fuel value chain remain largely on the sidelines, not prioritizing climate in their advocacy. Fortunately, the number of corporate leaders in Europe, North America, and Asia-Pacific has grown following previous InfluenceMap reports on this topic, indicating an encouraging trend.
16 of the 27 leaders in climate policy engagement are headquartered in Europe, compared to six in Japan and five in the United States. This year’s list includes established leaders in climate policy advocacy such as IKEA, Unilever, and Iberdrola, as well as new arrivals DSM-Firmenich and Saint-Gobain in Europe, and Apple and Trane Technologies in the U.S. Companies in Japan pushing for science-based policy include Ricoh and Softbank from the Information Technology sector and healthcare company Takeda.
To make the 2023 list, companies need to meet three criteria, each of which correspond to key InfluenceMap metrics. Global leaders must engage positively, aligning their climate policy advocacy with science-based pathways for delivering the goals of the Paris Agreement (InfluenceMap Organization Score), and they must engage actively with those positions (InfluenceMap Engagement Intensity). Companies were excluded from the Global Leaders list if they demonstrate highly negative indirect influence through industry associations with no formal disclosure of their efforts to address misalignment with their negatively engaging groups. More details on InfluenceMap scores are available here.
The analysis identifies an additional cohort of 17 companies that demonstrate various aspects of leadership but have not quite met all three criteria. A common reason for companies missing out on full leadership was the failure to transparently and robustly addressing the negative climate policy influence they are having via industry associations, despite their own positive direct engagement.
As we approach another COP meeting and the climate crisis continues to worsen, private sector support for meaningful national level climate policy is needed more than ever. InfluenceMap's research shows that there is a growing cohort of companies supporting government policy to help drive their clean energy transition plans. But the biggest barrier to action is the fossil fuel sector. The research shows consistent and persistent efforts to delay ambitious government climate policies by fossil fuel companies and those who support them.
