Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Boral Limited has a low level of engagement with climate policy. The company’s advocacy is largely limited to Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism (SGM) reforms and the introduction of an Australian carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). Boral is a member of the Cement Industry Federation, whose largely negative climate advocacy includes support for a continued role for fossil gas in the energy mix.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Boral’s top-line messaging on climate policy is limited. In its 2022 Sustainability Report, published September 2022, the company noted the causal relationship between climate change and recent erratic weather phenomena and stated that its FY2030 decarbonization target is consistent with the levels required to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement, but it is unclear if the company supports economy-wide IPCC demanded global emissions reductions.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: Boral’s transparent engagement with climate-related policy appears to be limited to Australia’s Safeguard Mechanism (SGM) reforms and an Australian carbon border adjustment mechanism (CBAM). The company appears to consistently link its support for the SGM reforms to the condition that they are coupled with a CBAM. In an October 2023 media release, Boral suggested that the SGM can only be effective if tied to a CBAM to prevent carbon leakage to jurisdictions with lesser restrictions. In addition, Boral supported a CBAM as a desirable mechanism to reduce carbon leakage in a December 2023 consultation submission but also advocated for the continuation of existing carbon leakage protections under the SGM for trade-exposed baseline-adjusted facilities. This advocacy appears to contradict the government’s initial consultation paper, which notes that a CBAM could reduce the need for tailored treatment for trade-exposed facilities.
Positioning on Energy Transition: InfluenceMap found no evidence that Boral has publicly communicated its positions on the energy transition in the past two years. However, the company’s former CEO, Zlatko Todorcevski, appeared to issue top-line support for the decarbonization of the energy sector in a May 2022 news article in the Australian Financial Review.
Industry Association Governance: Boral has disclosed a list of its “major” industry association memberships in its 2022 Sustainability Report but does not provide details on each group’s climate policy positions. Boral is a member of the Cement Industry Federation and Australian Industry Group (Ai Group), both of which advocate a continued role for fossil gas in the energy mix.
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 2024.