This InfluenceMap landing page collates resources to support the Race to Zero's 5th P (Persuade), to support Partners and members to implement disclosure recommendations in the 5th P Handbook.
Section 1 provides key resources to support Race to Zero companies and investors with >250 employees review their industry associations
Section 2 lists the InfluenceMap assessments of the 150+ largest Race to Zero companies based on publicly available evidence of their climate policy engagement
For a detailed overview of investor expectations on the disclosure of governance and climate policy positions, refer to the Global Standard for Responsible Climate Lobbying.
The 2023 Race to Zero call to action urges non-state actors to “align advocacy, policy and engagement with net zero goals”. On 26th June, the Race to Zero published its Handbook on Race to Zero’s 5th P, which consolidates existing critical resources on net zero advocacy, policy, and engagement and summarises best practice. Influence Map contributed, alongside CDP, to the 'Disclosure' section in the Handbook.
InfluenceMap's assessment methodology is globally recognized by the investment community, and feeds data and analysis to the Climate Action 100+ (CA100+) initiative, made up of 700 investors responsible for over $68 trillion in assets under management.
Negative lobbying by industry groups is strikingly misaligned with the 5th ‘P’ and currently outweighs the influence of more supportive associations.
The opposition to climate policy is not isolated to associations representing fossil fuel sectors, for example many cross-sector associations representing business at country or continent level also consistently push for weaker climate policy.
To explain this, in 2021 the OECD identified a "lowest common denominator" trend seen a lot within member organisations, where the group takes a position aligned with its most conservative constituent, which often becomes a barrier to supportive climate policy advocacy.
The institutional investor-led Global Standard for Responsible Climate Lobbying is clear that i) reviewing an organization’s links to third parties that are engaging with climate policy and ii) acting to ensure their activity is aligned with the Paris Agreement are critical steps companies should take to ensure overall policy engagement is compatible with 1.5C.
The Race to Zero encourages, with the support of InfluenceMap, member companies and investors with >250 employees to "disclose a complete and accurate account of the positions and engagement activities of industry associations on specific climate policies, including a review of the 1.5C alignment of this activity, as part of wider annual lobbying disclosure".
This recommendation aligns with the Global Standard on Responsible Climate Lobbying - instigated by investors and launched in March 2022 - which highlights the need for companies to publish a detailed annual review to ensure that its climate policy engagement (direct & indirect via industry associations) is consistent with the 1.5°C goal of the Paris Agreement.
InfluenceMap has developed a methodology to assess the quality of these disclosures, benchmarked against the Global Standard on Responsible Climate Lobbying and investor statements outlined by the PRI, IIGCC and Ceres. A ranking table of the 60+ reviews conducted by CA100+ companies to date can be found here as well as best practice guidance here.
| Race to Zero Member Scope | Handbook Disclosure Recommendations | InfluenceMap Guidance |
|---|---|---|
| All companies and investors with >250 employees | 1: Review the 30 most influential cross-sector industry associations engaged on climate policy globally, as identified by InfluenceMap, if memberships are retained to these groups. | 1: InfluenceMap assessments of the 30 most influential cross-sector industry associations engaged on climate policy globally can be found below.*
*5 associations are undergoing updates and will be published in Q3 2023. |
| Companies and investors with >250 employees in the following sectors:
Automobiles, transportation, energy, utilities, metals & mining, construction materials, chemicals, agriculture, land use | 1: Review the 30 most influential cross-sector industry associations engaged on climate policy globally, as identified by InfluenceMap, if memberships are retained to these groups.
2: For companies and investors operating in key sectors, additionally review all associations assessed by InfluenceMap in their sector, if memberships are retained to these groups. | 1: InfluenceMap assessments of the 30 most influential cross-sector industry associations engaged on climate policy globally can be found below.*
2: All InfluenceMap assessments of sector associations to review are listed at this link under the ‘industry associations’ tab. The page can be filtered by sector. *5 associations are undergoing updates and will be published in Q3 2023. |
Race to Zero members tracked by InfluenceMap are listed below, including over 150 of the largest Race to Zero members (listed in the Forbes 2000).
It is noted that the Race to Zero will be updating its membership in July 2023.
