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: Ecocem appears to be supportive of ambitious action on climate change with limited engagement with specific climate-related regulations in the EU, UK and Ireland. In particular, it appears to be supportive of the decarbonization of industry, though its engagement in limited to carbon pricing policies and industry standards.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Ecocem strongly supports climate action in its top-line messaging. In a report published in November 2022, Ecocem clearly recognizes the science of climate change and stated support for net-zero emissions by 2050 while in a tweet from the same month, appeared to support the COP process.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations:Ecocem appears to be positively engaged with specific climate related regulations, albeit with limited engagement. In a November 2022 report, it stated support for carbon taxes, adding that current free allowances in European climate policy has led to a lack of incentive to explore new decarbonization technologies. In May 2022, Ecocem was included in a joint letter sent to the European Union’s ENVI committee, in which it called for a more ambitious Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) and Emission Trading System (ETS), specifically opposing the use of free allowances and advocated for strengthened benchmarks. Alongside the joint letter, an Ecocem representative is recorded by CanEurope stating support for the CBAM and that it must replace the free allowances in the ETS.
Ecocem has also engaged on policy surrounding building codes and standards. In a July 2022 consultation response to the Construction Products Review of EU Rules, the company advocated for more ambitious regulation to enhance sustainability in the sector, advocating for ambitious embedded carbon assessments to be included. In June 2022, it was reported by Cemnet that Ecocem questioned whether new rules in England on new homes and buildings in England to produce significantly less CO2 go far enough, suggesting that a lack of policy on embodied carbon is making decarbonization ‘unachievable’.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Ecocem appears to actively support the decarbonization of the cement industry, but does not appear to take a position on the wider energy transition. In a November 2022 report, Ecocem chair Pat Cox stressed the need to decarbonize the cement industry, while it also stated that there is a lack of policy to drive decarbonization in the sector, stating that the EU is in danger of lagging behind other regions if policy changes do not occur. Additionally, in a November 2021 blog post, the company appeared to support Ireland’s 2021 climate plan, which included measures to decrease the embodied carbon in construction materials.
Industry Association Governance: Ecocem has not provided a dedicated disclosure of its membership to industry associations or indirect lobbying activity. However, through its 2021 climate change CDP response, the company disclosed that it was a member of the Mineral Products Association, which appears to be traditionally unsupportive of climate policy in the UK and EU.