Companies with ambitious environmental objectives are failing to reconsider or disclose their affiliations with trade groups that actively lobby against climate goals and decarbonization policies, a new study has found.
An analysis published in February by think tank Planet Tracker has revealed how major corporations in the consumer goods and chemicals sectors that are signed up to the Climate Action 100+ initiative remain members of a number of trade associations that are routinely "misaligned" with the goals of the Paris Agreement.
Air Liquide, BASF, Colgate-Palmolive, Dow, Incitec Pivot, Lyondell Basell, Procter & Gamble, Toray Industries, Walmart, Woolworths and Unilever are among the firms accused of remaining members of a number of trade associations at odds with their stated environmental objectives.
Nestle and Danone were the only companies assessed that were not members of trade associations deemed to have undermined climate policy.
The report revealed how corporates that have publicly committed to meeting net zero goals remained members of trade associations, such as the German Chemical Industry Association, the Tennessee Chamber of Commerce & Industry, the National Association of Manufacturers, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and American Fuel and Petrochemical Manufacturers, which stand accused of lobbying against a range of net zero policies.
As such, Planet Tracker has called on companies to better scrutinize their membership of associations and "take decisive action" to address where their lobbying goals are misaligned.
Climate policy advocacy guidelines from the World Resources Institute (WRI) recommend that all companies should perform a regular audit of trade associations' positions on climate change and develop a strategy for "self-correction" based on explicit criteria for leaving or staying within an association that diverges from the corporate's stated climate goals.
WRI recommend that all companies should perform a regular audit of trade associations' positions on climate change and develop a strategy for 'self-correction.'
However, environmental campaigners and sustainable investors have long feared that many companies with ambitious climate goals in place remain members of trade associations and lobby groups that then work on their behalf to block decarbonization policies.
An analysis published in November 2022 by sustainability non-profit Ceres revealed just 8 percent of companies on the S&P100 Index proactively assess their trade associations' climate policies, with an even smaller proportion of 5 percent acknowledging the obstructive nature of trade associations' lobbying on climate policy.
Ion Visinovschi, transition research analyst at Planet Tracker, said companies that failed to ensure their trade association memberships are aligned with their climate goals were at "increased risk of greenwashing."
"Consistent messagin
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