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.
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: Danone appears to be lobbying positively on climate change policy. The company seems to focus primarily on high-level climate ambition and policy, but does seem to engage more positively with US climate policy through the Sustainable Food Policy Alliance (SFPA).
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Danone supports top-line action on climate change, in particular supporting net-zero “no later than 2050” as part of the Transform to Net Zero Initiative in July 2021. Danone also stated support for climate neutrality by 2050 in the EU and supported the European Green Deal in a position paper on the EU Common Food Policy in May 2020. The company appears to support government regulation to respond to climate change, as a founding member of the Transform to Net Zero Initiative, advocating for policies to reduce GHG emissions including carbon pricing mechanisms and green recovery packages in a declaration letter in July 2021. Danone also advocated for carbon pricing in the US as part of the SFPA in a Climate Policy Principles publication in April 2019. However, this support appears to come with the caveat that it must ensure competitiveness of industry is upheld. Danone has historically supported the UN Paris Agreement, and tweeted support for the decision taken by the Biden administration for the US to rejoin the treaty in January 2021.
In general, Danone is transparent about the link between climate change, land-use and agriculture. For instance, on Twitter in December 2020, the company clearly highlights that reducing emissions from agriculture is critical to averting the climate crisis.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Danone appears to be supportive of specific climate-related regulations. The company does not appear to have taken a position on the EU Emissions Trading System. However, in a position paper on an EU Common Food Policy in (month) 2020, the company advocated for implementing Carbon Border Adjustments through the European Green Deal. Danone also supported policies to develop more sustainable energy sources in the US in a May 2020 statement as part of the SFPA. Previously, in a joint response to the proposed repeal of the Clean Power Plan in April 2018, Danone stated support for the policy and opposed its repeal.
Danone generally recognizes that diets need to change to be more plant-based, including in its 2020 Annual Report Supporting changes to consumer habits and agricultural practises . In its 2021 CDP declaration, it outlines that the group advocates for the EU to improve sustainability of food, principally through the EU growing its own animal feed. Furthermore, in its 892164 CDP 2020 it states that it is advocating for the EU to tackle the importation of goods linked to deforestation. On its corporate website, accessed in August 2022 , Danone supported carbon dioxide removal, however it is unclear if it supports regulations. Similarly, the company supports protecting forests but it is unclear what its position is on specific policy (892729).
Positioning on Energy Transition: Danone is supportive of the energy transition, albeit with limited engagement. The company stated it is “determined to help lead an industry-wide transition to a low-carbon economy” on its corporate website last accessed in February 2021. Fast Company magazine reported in April 2019 that the company supported measures to accelerate clean energy deployment in the US, although the article did not provide detail on the company’s position on phasing out fossil fuels.
Industry Association Governance: Danone disclosed a list of memberships to industry associations in its 2020 Policy on Advocacy, and noted where the company has board membership, but did not detail the climate policy positions of the groups. Danone has not published a review of alignment on climate policy with its industry associations in May 2022.
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 2023.