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The A-List of Climate Policy Engagement 2021

An InfluenceMap Report

October, 2021

Which global companies lead in strategic climate policy engagement?

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See coverage in The Dutch Wire Service (ANP), AFP, ShippingWatch, and Financial Times.

InfluenceMap's 2021 A-List of Climate Policy Engagement identifies 15 corporate leaders advocating for ambitious climate policy across a range of sectors and regions. To qualify, a company must exhibit sufficient support for ambitious climate policy, strategic levels of engagement with climate policy, and leadership in its sector. Links to industry associations egregiously opposing climate policy can disqualify a company from the list.

  • Many of the 2021 leaders are also in InfluenceMap’s 2018 A-List of Climate Policy report: Unilever (U.K., Netherlands), Iberdrola (Spain), Nestlé (Switzerland), Enel (Italy), Tesla (US), IKEA (Netherlands), EDP (Portugal), and AkzoNobel (Netherlands) have all continued to advocate for ambitious climate policy in their respective jurisdictions. This year’s A-List also adds Edison International (US), EDF (France), Verbund (Austria), and H&M (Sweden), which rose from the 2018 list of Potential Leaders, as well as Acciona (Spain), Ørsted (Denmark), and Pacific Gas and Electric Corporation (PG&E, US).
  • In addition to the A-List of corporate leaders, this report offers 21 ‘Potential Leaders’ which appear to be on the right track. These are held back for reasons such as low engagement or extreme misalignment with their industry associations. Japan-based Aeon makes this list: while the company does not appear highly active on climate, its support for ambitious climate policy in Japan suggests the potential for future leadership. Others, like Apple, haven fallen from the A-List due to an increased bar for Engagement Intensity since the 2018 report.
  • The Utilities sector appears to be the most active and positive on climate policy overall, particularly in Europe, whereas only one company from the Automotive sector – Tesla – makes the A-List. This report also highlights a handful of companies such as Johnson Controls in the Industrial sector which do not meet all criteria for A-List or Potential Leader status, but which stand out in their sector for relatively positive climate advocacy.
  • Industry association misalignment is a common factor eliminating companies from the A-List, particularly in the US. For example, US companies Microsoft and Salesforce along with European companies Siemens AG and Schneider Electric appear to remain members of US groups like the National Association of Manufacturers and/or US Chamber of Commerce. While InfluenceMap does not recommend any singular course of action to address corporate misalignment with industry associations, these companies are excluded from the A-List because they have not disclosed any real efforts to reform the trade groups on climate policy, while remaining their members and funders.
  • European companies make up the majority of the A-List, having consistently and actively supported Paris-aligned climate policy in the EU. Conversely, companies from the US, Japan, Australia, and Canada are far less common in this list, which could be a major reason for the lack of binding, progressive climate policy in these regions. Active support from the European corporate sector has likely amplified the leadership of the EU on climate since the Paris Agreement, while insufficient or obstructive activity from the corporate sector and its industry groups has held back climate policy in much of the rest of the world.
  • Only 4% of the 350 companies evaluated by InfluenceMap for this analysis make the A-List. The results reflect a high bar for leadership in climate policy engagement, with stricter criteria applied in 2021 than in the 2018 report. The remaining majority of companies remain on the sidelines of active and progressive climate advocacy.

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Climate Policy EngagementEuropeUnited States
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About InfluenceMap

InfluenceMap is a non-profit think tank providing objective and evidence-based analysis of how companies and financial institutions are impacting the climate and biodiversity crises. Our company profiles and other content are used extensively by a range of actors including investors, the media, NGOs, policymakers, and the corporate sector. InfluenceMap does not advocate or take positions on government policy. All our assessments are made against accepted benchmarks, such as the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change. Our content is open source and free to view and use (https://influencemap.org/terms).

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InfluenceMap's 2021 A-List report is a fantastic tool and resource that any business serious about its sustainability journey should closely examine. Increasingly businesses understand that they need to deliver climate action and sustainability through the whole of their business activities including their lobbying and public affairs impact. This report showcases the invaluable policy engagement work undertaken by many businesses and I'm delighted that many members of CISL's Corporate Leaders Groups are highlighted in the report, as well as the group itself. We all need to recognise business leadership on climate change where it occurs and use that example to inspire and demand even greater action from across the business community.

Eliot Whittington

Robust commitments to net zero must be more than just operational; businesses and investors also need to align their policy advocacy with their climate action to accelerate the transition to a zero carbon world. We welcome Influence Map's ‘A List’ report identifying those companies which actively advocate for the policies required to decarbonise at pace. It's fantastic to see many Race to Zero members included in this report, and I urge all other businesses and investors to raise the bar on their own policy advocacy and strive to join InfluenceMap’s ‘A-List’, in this race to COP26 and beyond.

Nigel Topping