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)
Cenovus President & CEO, Jon McKenzie is on the CAPP Board of Directors. Cenovus Executive Chair, Alex Pourbaix is no longer the chair of CAPP's Board (up to date as of August 2023)
Jon McKenzie
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
President & CEO, Cenovus Energy is the chair of CAPP board of governors.
Alex Pourbaix
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
An Executive from Cenovus is on the board of governors of CAPP
Alex Pourbaix
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
An Executive from Cenovus is on the board of governors of CAPP
Robert Pease
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Cenovus President & CEO, Jon McKenzie is on the CAPP Board of Directors. Cenovus Executive Chair, Alex Pourbaix is no longer the chair of CAPP's Board (up to date as of August 2023)
Jon McKenzie
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
President & CEO, Cenovus Energy is the chair of CAPP board of governors.
Alex Pourbaix
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
An Executive from Cenovus is on the board of governors of CAPP
Alex Pourbaix
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
An Executive from Cenovus is on the board of governors of CAPP
Robert Pease
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Chief Sustainability Officer of Cenovus Energy serves on the Chamber's 2021-2022 Board of Directors. Cenovus is also a member of the Chamber's Net-Zero Council (correct as of July 2023)
Rhona DelFrari
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Chief Sustainability Officer of Cenovus Energy serves on the Chamber's 2021-2022 Board of Directors. Cenovus is also a member of the Chamber's Net-Zero Council (correct as of July 2023)
Rhona DelFrari
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Cenovus Energy is a member of AFPM and an executive sits on the Board of Directors (correct as of January 2023)
Keith Chiasson
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Cenovus Energy is a member of AFPM and an executive sits on the Board of Directors (correct as of January 2023)
Keith Chiasson
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Alex Pourbaix is no longer listed as a board member of BCC. Cenovus CEO, Jon McKenzie, is listed as a member of BCC (up to date as of August 2023)
not specified
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
A senior executive of Cenovus Energy is on the Business Council of Canada's board of directors (updated as of June 2023)
not specified
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Alex Pourbaix is no longer listed as a board member of BCC. Cenovus CEO, Jon McKenzie, is listed as a member of BCC (up to date as of August 2023)
not specified
--no extract--
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
A senior executive of Cenovus Energy is on the Business Council of Canada's board of directors (updated as of June 2023)
not specified
--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 Policy Engagement Overview: Cenovus Energy demonstrates negative engagement on climate policies. The company opposes emissions regulations in Canada and advocates for a long-term role for oil in the energy mix.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Cenovus shows both positive and negative positions on its top-line messaging on climate change. The company’s website, when accessed in September 2022, recognized the need to respond to climate change. Cenovus appeared supportive of a net-zero emissions economy by 2050 in a tweet from February 2022.
Cenovus’ position on the need for climate regulation appears to be unclear. The company’s registration in Canada’s Federal Lobbyist Registry in May 2023 advocated for government investment in technologies for emissions reduction, without specifying a position on the need for climate regulations.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Cenovus appears to have negative engagement with specific climate regulations, with limited transparent engagement. In July 2022, Cenovus CEO Pourbaix opposed Canada’s proposed federal oil and gas emissions cap, stating that the policy would result in future production cuts from Canada’s oil sands, as reported by Calgary Herald. In a June 2023 testimony to the federal government, a Cenovus executive supported carbon tax while advocating that revenues from carbon tax should be reinvested into decarbonization technologies.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Cenovus appears to strongly advocate for a continued role for fossil fuels in the energy mix. Cenovus’ filing in the federal lobbying registry in May 2023, revealed that the company advocated for oil and gas infrastructure, including advocacy for provincial government investment in the West White Rose/White Rose offshore project. In Alberta, Cenovus advocated for the government support for the expansion of the oil and gas resource sector, as disclosed in its filing in August 2023.
Cenovus’ support for the energy transition appears to be predicated on government support for technology-led solutions for decarbonization, mainly carbon capture and storage (CCS). For example, in the June 2023 testimony to the federal government, the company advocated for expanded financial incentives and government investment for CCS in the oil sector, appearing to use this support for CCS to advocate for continued fossil fuel production.
Industry Association Governance: Cenovus appears to show limited transparency on its membership of industry associations and does not appear to have undertaken an audit of its industry associations’ engagement on climate change policy. Cenovus is a member of Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), American Fuel & Petrochemical Manufacturers (AFPM) and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce – all groups that are engaging negatively on climate change policy. The company is also the founding member of Pathways Alliance, a group of six oil sands companies that advocate for fossil fuels in Canada.
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 2023.