Edited 2023/1/24

Climate Lobbying Overview: Daikin conducts strategic policy engagement in a range of countries globally, with broadly positive positions. The company appears supportive of climate action in its top-line messaging and has actively promoted the tightening of energy efficiency and GHG emission standards in Europe, Asia and the Americas. However, Daikin retains memberships to industry associations which have lobbied against ambitious climate policy such as Keidanren and Japan Electrical Manufacturers’ Association (JEMA).

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Daikin has a positive position on climate science. Daikin dedicates several pages on its website to detailing clear and transparent positions on climate change science, such as its CSR and environment page and another on carbon neutrality accessed in July 2022. Daikin’s CEO statement in the 2022 Sustainability Report, also communicated broad support for 2050 carbon neutrality. In its 2021 Sustainability Report published in October 2021, Daikin stated support for the Paris Agreement. In a joint letter on the Build Back Better Act in the United States in October 2021, Daikin appeared to support net zero GHG emissions in broad alignment with the IPCC science and directly advocated for robust climate provisions. In the February 2022 joint letter on the Build Back Better Act, Daikin recognized the need for urgent action to combat climate change. In July 2022, Daikin signed a C2ES-organized advertisement that advocated for Congress and President Bidden to enact climate investments through reconciliation.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Daikin appears to have engaged positively on a number of climate policies globally. On its website and in its 2022 Sustainability Report, Daikin disclosed in detail how it engages with a number of climate change policies. Daikin has actively advocated for, and has been involved in the development of, energy efficiency standards around the world. On its website as of July 2022, Daikin stated support for METI's Zero Energy Building (ZEB) target of net zero energy consumption in all new buildings in Japan by 2030. In its 2022 Sustainability Report, Daikin disclosed its engagement with policymakers in Saudi Arabia and the UAE in 2021 on policies for energy efficiency in air conditioners in the Middle East and Africa; Daikin also said that ASEAN introduced an energy saving performance standard because of its advocacy. In December 2022, the company submitted its comments to the US Environmental Protection Agency, advocating for more ambitious energy efficiency legislation. The company disclosed that it advocated for energy efficiency standards in Brazil, in its CDP 2021 Climate Change response. In its 2020 CDP disclosure, Daikin stated its support for the tightening of the Energy Transition Law and related energy efficiency standards in Mexico.

In February 2022, Daikin co-signed a C2ES joint letter advocating for the clean energy tax credits in the Build Back Better Act in the United States.

As reported by Nikkei in September 2021, Daikin appeared to support a carbon tax on fossil fuels in Germany, to accelerate the use of heat pumps.

Positioning on Energy Transition:

Daikin appears to support policies to facilitate the energy transition. At the company Investor Conference in December 2021, the company stated high-level support for increasing renewables in the global energy mix, with a particular focus on solar energy. During this conference, Daikin also expressed active support for US President Biden’s policy to promote the use of heat pumps and decarbonize the building sector. In February 2022, Daikin responded to European Environmental Bureau survey and expressed support to the phase out of subsidies for fossil-powered boilers and water heater. Daikin disclosed this position in its 2022 Sustainability Report, where it stated support for the EU Green Deal policies, subsidies and rebates for accelerating and expanding the European market for heat pumps.

Industry Association Governance: Daikin has a dedicated page on its corporate website for disclosing its engagement with industry associations, but the page does not provide the full list of memberships, nor details of each organization’s climate change policy positions. Daikin has not published a review of its alignment with its industry associations on climate policy.

Daikin retains direct membership of Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) and the Japan Electrical Manufacturers’ Association (JEMA), which have lobbied negatively and actively on many strands of climate change and energy regulation in Japan. It is also a member of the environmental committee of the Japan Association of Corporate Executives (Keizai Doyukai), which has called for an ambitious 2030 renewable energy target in Japan.

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 Q1 (Jan-Mar) 2023.