CEC unveils its first Policy Engagement Assessments, evaluating 41 companies' alignment with climate policies
Climate Engagement Canada (CEC) proudly announces the release of the first-ever Public Policy Engagement Alignment Assessments (also known as “Policy Engagement Assessments") for the CEC Focus List companies.
InfluenceMap, a research contributor to CEC, conducted these assessments. The Policy Engagement Assessments complement CEC's inaugural Net Zero Benchmark.
They evaluate how the CEC's 41 Focus List companies engage in public policy about climate change and analyze their interactions with 14 of Canada's largest and most active industry associations concerning climate-relevant policy.
These assessments strive to assess the alignment between the companies' lobbying efforts and the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) recommendations, which aim to keep the global temperature rise well below 2°C, ideally around 1.5°C.
The analysis includes both direct and indirect lobbying efforts, such as through associations.
As of March, the 41 companies span six sectors: Consumer Discretionary, Consumer Staples, Energy, Industrials, Materials, and Utilities. LobbyMap has identified several trends:
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The highest performance grade given was a C. Grades from A+ to B reflect broad support for Paris-aligned climate policy, whereas D to F grades indicate a perceived misalignment with science-based policies.
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Industry associations are generally more active in lobbying than the companies they represent, a trend consistent across global jurisdictions.
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Only 7 percent of companies demonstrate strategic engagement with climate policy, with Engagement Intensity over 25 percent.
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A significant 78 percent of companies show low engagement, with Engagement Intensity scores between 0 and 11 percent.
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The sectors of Materials, Industrials, Consumer Staples, and Consumer Discretionary exhibit particularly limited public engagement.
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About 46 percent of companies have a misaligned Relationship Score, ranging from 23 percent to 50 percent, indicating membership in industry associations that do not align with climate-related policies.
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Furthermore, 44 percent of companies show limited indirect engagement through currently assessed industry associations, lacking a Relationship Score.
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Energy companies received some of the lowest scores, followed by the Utilities sector.
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These 2024 results are comparable to those of similar evaluations like CA100+, now in their fourth year.
The findings from these assessments will guide investor-led collaborative engagement activities with Focus List companies. By evaluating both stated commitments and actual policy engagement, CEC investor participants can more effectively engage with companies on climate policy.
