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.
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Climate Lobbying Overview: Heineken is actively and positively engaged on climate change policy. The company takes supportive positions on a range of climate policies, engaging primarily through joint statements, on energy efficiency, renewable energy and emissions trading policies. However, it is a member of ERT, which is engaged negatively on some climate policy in the EU, such as the Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS).
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Heineken’s top-line messaging on climate policy is positive. The company has repeatedly called for governments to increase their ambition in line with IPCC recommendations, for example, a joint letter signed by Heineken’s CEO Dolf van den Brink in November 2022 supported GHG emissions reductions in line with the 1.5°C target. In a May 2022 joint letter, the CEO advocated for a more ambitious Fit for 55 package in order for the European Union to achieve its net-zero target by 2050. In a November 2022 joint letter, Heineken’s CEO also advocated for G20 countries to adopt more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) in the build up to COP 27.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Heineken is supportive of climate regulation, actively engaging on key EU policies by signing multiple joint letters. In a joint letter to EU President Ursula von der Leyen in May 2022, the company called for a more ambitious reform of the EU ETS, while the company’s CEO also endorsed a global carbon market with escalating prices in an October 2021 joint letter.
Heineken stated support for renewable energy legislation in a November 2022 open letter, advocating for incentives and additional funding for innovation, faster permitting processes, and the deployment of other market-based instruments, including carbon markets and power purchase agreements. In the same letter, the company also called for policies and funding to scale-up energy efficiency technologies on both the supply and the demand side. Heineken also supported the European Commission’s increased ambition for the reforms of the Renewable Energy Directive, the Energy Efficiency Directive and the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, in a May 2022 open letter to President Ursula von der Leyen.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Heineken strongly supports the energy transition. The company has repeatedly called for the removal of fossil fuel subsidies, for example in a joint letter from November 2022, and in an open letter in November 2021, which demanded that G20 countries phase out fossil fuel subsidies by 2025, as well as commit to ending coal power generation by 2030 for developed countries. The Heineken CEO also signed a May 2022 joint letter supporting the decarbonization of transport and industry and regulatory measures to transition to low-carbon technologies and infrastructure, including an ambitious revision of the Energy Taxation Directive.
Industry Association Governance: Heineken has published a list of industry association membership on its website with some detail regarding its role within each industry associations, positions on climate policy and how the company attempts to influence these positions. However, Heineken has not published a review of its direct and indirect climate policy engagement. The company is a direct member of the European Round Table for Industry, which is engaging on EU climate policy with some supportive positions, although maintaining negative advocacy on key policies such as the EU ETS.