DSM-firmenich, IKEA, Unilever and others praised for climate policy engagement

A new InfluenceMap report has identified 40 companies including DSM-firmenich, IKEA and Unilever as leaders on climate policy engagement, while listing best practices for others to follow.

The report looks at climate policy engagement across three areas: science-aligned advocacy or the extent to which corporate entities support or oppose science-aligned climate policy; strategic engagement; and addressing indirect influence by tackling misaligned industry associations. 

Companies identified as leaders demonstrate “exceptional performance” in at least one of these areas, but may have “room for improvement” in others. For example, chemical firm DSM-Firmenich tops the ranking for science-aligned advocacy but ranks lower than others in strategic engagement.

“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 1.5ºC,” said Edward Collins, Director of LobbyMap at InfluenceMap.

Advocating through multiple channels

Overall, the report lists DSM-Firmenich, IKEA and Unilever as category leaders for science-aligned advocacy, strategic engagement and addressing indirect influence, respectively. 

As an example of Unilever’s leadership, its Chief Sustainability Officer, Rebecca Marmot, warned trade associations that the company would be willing to withdraw its membership if climate positions were not reviewed last March.

Meanwhile, IKEA is “highly actively engaged on climate-related policy in multiple jurisdictions” and tends to advocate its detailed positions through multiple channels, from meetings with policymakers to public statements – which InfluenceMap identifies as best practice for strategic engagement. 

Apple recognised for work with industry associations

Apple is also recognised as a leader in addressing indirect influence, after “attempting to influence” US-based lobbyist associations such as the Business Roundtable, which opposed many parts of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s climate disclosure rule, for example.

“The company shows a clear commitment to rectifying misalignment – particularly with powerful cross-sector associations,” InfluenceMap notes. Apple stated in its 2023 CDP Disclosure that it would soon terminate its membership in BusinessEurope due to climate concerns.

European firms fare better than others

Most of the companies that meet the minimum criteria to be listed as leaders are headquartered in Europe (23 out of 40), compared to nine in North America and eight in the Asia-Pacific region.

Compared to last year, newcomers to the leadership ranking include L’Oreal, Biogen and Deutsche Telekom, as well as General Mills, which achieved special recognition in the science-aligned advocacy category.

“It is encouraging to see a number of the world’s largest and most well-known companies demonstrating significant positive climate policy engagement and raising the bar for their industry peers,” added Collins 

However, the analysis also found that no Asia-Pacific company currently shows leadership in addressing misaligned industry associations.