Two UK firms make list of 40 companies that meet think tank’s criteria for recognition
Apple, Unilever, and IKEA have been identified as leaders on climate policy engagement in a new report from InfluenceMap.
A briefing published yesterday by the non-profit think tank lists 40 companies across a range of sectors that had met its "minimum criteria" for recognition for their climate policy engagement and advocacy.
More than half the companies featured in the list are headquartered in Europe, compared to nine in North America, and eight in the Asia-Pacific region. Two - consumer goods firm Unilever and energy company SSE - are based in the UK.
Out of the longlist, eight companies were singled out by the researchers for special recognition for demonstrating "exceptional performance" across one of three areas assessed in the research: science-aligned advocacy, strategic engagement, and addressing indirect influence.
US consumer foods giant General Mills was applauded as the regional leader for North America in the science-aligned advocacy category, while Swedish furniture behemoth Ikea was recognised for its strategic engagement efforts in Europe.
Meanwhile, Apple and Unilever were hailed as the leaders in 'addressing indirect influence' category for the North America and Europe regions, respectively.
No company was picked as a leader on 'addressing indirect influence' in the Asia-Pacific region. InfluenceMap said, as no firm on its longlist had showed best practice in this area.
The think tank said the purpose of the report was to highlight companies that are working against the tide of corporate advocacy - typically from "vested fossil fuel interests" - to delay or weaken climate policies. It provides a counterpoint to other reports from the group highlighting the roll of corporates in lobbying against effective climate policies.
However, it noted that even the leaders identified in the report had a long way to go in advancing more ambitious climate policies and regulations. "Leadership in one area or region does not necessarily represent best practice across the board," it said.
Edward Collins, director of the LobbyMap at InfluenceMap, said it was encouraging that some of the "world's largest and most well-known companies are demonstrating significant positive climate policy engagement and raising the bar for their industry peers".
"By introducing leadership categories, this year's Global Leaders Report hopes to highlight the many avenues that companies must consider in order to align their actions with science, and to reiterate that progress in one single area is not enough to drive the systemic change we need in order to achieve 1.5C," he added
Newcomers on this year's list of qualifying companies include L'Oreal, Biogen, and Deutsche Telekom, as well as General Mills.
Maria Mendiluce, CEO of the We Mean Business Coalition of leading corporates, congratulated the companies that had taken "the necessary internal steps and external positions" to be recognised by InfluenceMap. "At this critical time, climate leadership from the business community can help set the tone for world leaders and national governments as they craft their national climate policies," she said.
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