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: Deere & Company (John Deere) appears to have very low direct engagement with US climate policy and limited disclosure of its climate policy positioning in 2018-20. However, Deere & Company is a member of multiple highly active trade associations, including the US Chamber of Commerce, who are lobbying against ambitious US climate policy.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Deere & Company does not appear to have disclosed its top-line positioning on climate policy. In key communications, such as its 2020 Sustainability Report, Deere & Company has not communicated positions on the Paris Agreement, GHG emissions regulations, or the global response required on climate change as set out by the IPCC. In its 2020 10-K report, Deere & Company appears to acknowledge some of the science of climate change while taking no clear position on climate regulation.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: In 2018-20, Deere & Company demonstrated limited direct engagement with US climate policy. Deere & Company does not directly disclose their positions towards or engagement with any climate change policy in their communications, and does not provide a dedicated disclosure on their climate positioning or lobbying. Furthermore, Deere & Company’s 2020 CDP Questionnaire Response did not disclose its engagement or positioning on any climate legislation with the exception of biofuels legislation, which it appears to support.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Deere & Company appears to have limited messaging regarding its positioning on the energy transition. A November 2020 blog from Deere & Company appears supportive of the transition to low-carbon energy to support rural farmers. Furthermore, public messaging from the John Deere European Technology Centre in 2017 and 2020 appears supportive of the electrification of transportation.
Industry Association Governance: Deere & Company publicly discloses a list of its memberships to industry associations on its website without disclosing its direct engagement with them on climate change, their climate policy positions, or Deere & Company’s role within each association. In its 2020 CDP response, Deere & Company did not disclose its membership with any trade association. Deere & Company is a member of the US Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, which are actively and negatively lobbying US climate policy. It is also a member of Business Roundtable which has mixed lobbying on US climate policy.