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.
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Norfolk Southern, Alan Shaw, is on the Board of Directors of the NAM (As of January 2022)
Alan H. Shaw
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer of Norfolk Southern, Alan Shaw, is on the Board of Directors of the NAM (As of January 2022)
Alan H. Shaw
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: Norfolk Southern appears to have very low engagement with climate change policy from 2018-2022. InfluenceMap found limited evidence and disclosure of the company's recent climate policy positions and engagement. However, Norfolk Southern is a member of several industry associations with highly active and negative engagement on climate policy.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Norfolk Southern acknowledges some of the science of climate change in its 2021 ESG report, released in August 2021, although in 2019 it funded the Competitive Enterprise Institute, an organization involved in disseminating climate misinformation. While clearly concerned with reducing its own emissions in line with the Paris Agreement, the company does not appear not to have commented on the need for IPCC-demanded emissions reductions or the Paris Agreement itself.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: InfluenceMap did not find any evidence of Norfolk Southern’s direct engagement with climate policy from 2018-2022. In its 2021 CDP response, Norfolk Southern notes that energy efficiency-related advocacy is carried out through one of its trade associations, and states that it cautiously supports energy efficiency policy after stating a "neutral" position in its 2020 disclosure.
Positioning on Energy Transition: InfluenceMap found limited evidence of Norfolk Southern’s position on, or engagement with, policy related to the transition of the energy mix. In its 2021 ESG report, released August 2021, the company states that it engages with external stakeholders including regulators and elected officials to advance low-carbon transportation solutions, without any further details on these engagements or related policies.
Industry Association Governance: Norfolk Southern discloses a list of its memberships to industry associations on its website, but with no further details of the company's role within each group’s governing bodies nor influence over their climate change policy positions. The company is a member of America’s Power, a group seemingly committed to securing an ongoing role for coal in the nation’s energy mix. While Norfolk Southern appears to have left the US Chamber of Commerce in 2020, it remains a member of the National Association of Manufacturers, where its Executive Vice President and Chief Marketing Officer serves on the Board of Directors.