Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Saint-Gobain demonstrates policy engagement that is supportive of science-aligned climate policy in the EU and the US, with strategic engagement. The company engages with positive positions on energy efficiency policies in the building sector in the EU, and is supportive of the decarbonization of the construction sector and the energy transition. However, Saint-Gobain retains membership to several industry associations which are negatively engaged on climate policy.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Saint-Gobain is supportive of climate action in its top-line messaging. The company consistently supported the need for urgent action to address climate change, for example, it supported GHG emissions reductions in line with the 1.5°C target in its 2024 Universal Registration Document, published in March 2025. Saint-Gobain signed a joint statement in June 2024 in which it strongly supported the European Green Deal, advocating for it to be prioritized in the EU’s Strategic Agenda for 2024-29. Saint-Gobain supported the UN Paris Agreement in its 2024 Universal Registration Document, published in March 2025.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policies: Saint-Gobain mostly supports climate change-related policies in the EU, with some engagement in the US. In its 2024 CDP Climate Change Disclosure, the company supported more ambitious energy efficiency legislation in the EU, including broadening the scope of the EU’s Energy Performance of Buildings Directive. CEO Benoît Bazin has consistently supported energy efficiency legislation in the buildings sector in France. For example, in a July 2024 interview with La Tribune, he advocated for government investments to improve the energy performance of buildings in France through large scale renovations. In the US, Saint-Gobain advocated for more ambitious energy efficiency measures in March 2024 comments on the Implementation of the EPA Label Program for Low Embodied Carbon Construction Materials.
Saint-Gobain supports carbon pricing legislation in the EU with some exceptions and ambiguities. In its 2024 CDP Climate Change Disclosure, the company advocated for the EU’s Emission Trading System (ETS) to adapt to "changing economic conditions" without clarifying how this would impact the policy's ambition. Saint-Gobain supported extending the ETS to the buildings sector in its 2024 Universal Registration Document, published in March 2025. In the same Document, the company was broadly supportive of the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM). However, former CEO Pierre-André de Chalendar stated in an April 2024 report that the policy design of the CBAM needed to be changed to protect competitiveness.
In its 2024 CDP Climate Change Disclosure, the company appeared supportive of the EU’s 2030 GHG emissions reduction target.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Saint-Gobain broadly supports the energy transition and the decarbonization of industry, in particular the construction sector. In its 2024 Universal Registration Document, published in March 2025, the company supported the decarbonization of the economy in general, and highlighted the need for decarbonization measures in construction, transport, and heavy industry. Similarly, CEO Benoît Bazin supported the urgent decarbonization of the buildings sector in a September 2024 publication.
In the US, Saint-Gobain supported measures to implement the Inflation Reduction Act aimed at decarbonizing the construction sector in a March 2024 comment submitted to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA).
The company signed a joint statement in June 2024 which supported the need to phase-out fossil fuels in Europe. However, Saint-Gobain supported the EU’s Clean Industrial Deal State Aid Framework (CISAF) with major exceptions in an April 2024 public consultation response: It advocated for a general technology-neutral approach to granting state aid, did not support a full exclusion of most polluting fuels from the scope of the framework, and promoted less stringent GHG emissions requirements in some provisions of the policy, in contrast with the EU Commission’s original policy ambition.
Industry Association Governance: Saint-Gobain only published a partial list of its industry association memberships in its 2024 Universal Registration Document, published in March 2025, and only provided some top-line climate statements on its industry associations’ positions and engagement activities. The company has not published a review of its alignment with industry groups. Saint-Gobain is a member of several industry associations which are engaged negatively on climate policy, such as the Confederation of Employers and Industries of Spain (CEOE). A senior executive is on the board of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM), which is negatively engaged on climate policy in the US.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q3 2025.