We have expanded the list of climate policies we assess company engagement with to incorporate land-use related policy, referring to legislative or regulatory measures to enhance and protect ecosystems and land where carbon is being stored. Assessments under this category are currently underweighted in terms of their contribution to the overall company metrics. This weighting will be progressively increased over the next 6 months.
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
President of Baowu Steep Group is the chairman of China Iron and Steel Association
Chen Derong
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
President of Baowu Steep Group is the chairman of China Iron and Steel Association
Chen Derong
--no extract--
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
Open PDF file of Data Source
Climate Lobbying Overview: Baowu Steel appears to have engaged with climate policies with mixed positions. It has communicated top-line support for the Paris Agreement and limiting global warming to below 2° C. The company called for government policy on carbon emission standards and to aid renewable energy deployment. However, it has communicated negative positions on the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (EU CBAM) and did not fully support an energy transition in the steel sector.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Baowu Steel has communicated a positive top-line position on climate policy. In its Climate Action Report published in June 2022, Baowu Steel backed the Paris Agreement. In the 2021 Green and Low-Carbon Development Report, published in July 2022, the company supported limiting global warming to below 2° C. In its 2021 Corporate Responsibility Report, published in August 2022, it supported China’s 2030 carbon peak and 2060 carbon neutrality targets.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Baowu Steel appears to have a mixed position on specific climate-related policies. As reported by Tan Pai Fang, an online news site, in July 2022 Baowu supported introducing carbon tax in traditional industries in China. However, in the company’s 2021 Green and Low-Carbon Development Report, published in July 2022, Baowu Steel did not support the EU Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (EU CBAM), stating concern that the regulation would make the low-carbon transition of the steel industry ‘more complicated, severe and uncertain.’ In terms of renewable energy, as reported by China Steel News in March 2021, the company called for tax benefits to incentivize steel enterprises to shift from fossil fuels to renewable energy. In terms of emissions reduction, Baowu called for government policy on low-carbon standards for the steel sector in a March 2021 press release.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Baowu Steel has communicated a mixed position regarding the energy transition away from fossil fuels. As reported by Shanghai Securities News in December 2022, Baowu Steel supported green hydrogen to decarbonize the steel sector. In an April 2022 press release, the CEO of Baowu, Chen Derong supported low-carbon technologies to increase the share of renewables and transition to the electric arc furnace route in the steel sector. However, as reported by China Steel News in March 2022, Baowu Steel advocated for policy to support coking coal at the National People’s Congress. In another March 2022 report by China Steel News, the company appeared unsupportive of transition from the traditional blast furnace method to electric arc furnace (EAFs) method in steel making, citing difficulty of procuring scrap for EAFs. In the 2021 Sustainability Report of Baosteel, published in April 2022, the company supported natural gas as a low-carbon energy source, without placing clear conditions on the deployment of carbon capture and storage (CCS) or methane abatement measures.
Industry Association Governance: As of January 2023, Baowu Steel has not disclosed its membership of trade associations. InfluenceMap’s database contains evidence that the CEO of the company, Chen Derong, is the chairman of the China Iron and Steel Association and an executive committee member of the World Steel Association. China Iron and Steel Association has communicated a mixed position on the energy transition. The World Steel Association has become more supportive of steel sector decarbonization in recent years.
Additional Note: China Baowu Group is wholly owned by the government of China. State-owned enterprises likely retain channels of direct and private engagement with government officials that InfluenceMap is unable to assess, and therefore are not represented in Baowu's engagement intensity metric.