Sustainable Companies Are Using Trade Associations That Undermine EU Climate Policy
Many major multinational companies with strong sustainability policies, such as Facebook andMicrosoft, are also members of trade associations that are actively lobbying against European climate policy, a new study released this week finds.
According to the report by the Policy Studies Institute (PSI) at the University of Westminster, businesses use trade associations to lobby on climate policy more than any other approach, including direct contact with policymakers.
But as the report argues, member companies must assess if the position of these trade associations is undermining their own stance on climate change.
Ben Fagan-Watson, lead researcher and research fellow at PSI, said: “Companies which are making strong commitments to deal with climate change need to ensure that their trade associations are singing from the same hymn sheet.”
Climate Policy
“In the run-up to COP21 in Paris, [EU] leadership should not be undermined by trade associations lobbying to protect narrow, short-term industrial interests at the expense of theEU economy and the global climate in the long term,” he continued.
Data from the Carbon Disclosure Project cited in the report shows that 61 percent of all companies surveyed and 77 percent of the largest 500 companies in the world use trade associations to lobby on climate policy.
Other companies highlighted in the report for contradicting their stance on sustainability through membership to one of these trade associations include American consumer goods company Johnson & Johnson, British drinks brand Diageo, and major car companies such asBMW, Daimler and Volkswagen.
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