Climate Lobbying Overview: Saint-Gobain appears to be supportive of climate change policy and regulation in the EU and US with active engagement. The company has lobbied with progressive positions on energy efficiency policies in the building sector in the EU, and is strongly supportive of the energy transition. However, Saint-Gobain retains membership to several industry associations which are negatively lobbying on climate policy, including the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM).

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Saint-Gobain supports action on climate change in its top-line messaging. The company has consistently stated support for limiting warming to 1.5°C, for example, in its 2021 Universal Registration Document, published in March 2022, and its CEO Benoît Bazin and supported net-zero emissions by 2050 in February 2022. The company’s position on climate regulation seems to have improved since 2020-21. In its 2021 Universal Registration Document, published in March 2022, Saint-Gobain supported an ambitious policy framework “to remove technical and financial obstacles” and accelerate the transition to a low-carbon economy, and supported the EU’s Fit for 55 package.

The Chairman Pierre-André de Chalendar seemed to support clear signals on the evolution of a carbon price and advocated for updating regulations to trigger investment in decarbonization in September 2022, and the CEO stated that industry must accept certain additional costs such as carbon taxes. In its 2021 Universal Registration Document, published in March 2022, the company was supportive of the UN Paris Agreement.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Saint-Gobain engages predominantly positively with climate regulations in the EU. In response to an EU public consultation in March 2022, the company strongly supported more ambitious reforms to the Energy Performance of Buildings Directive, including advocating for an accelerated phase-in of the legislation and for more ambitious mandatory minimum energy performance standards. The CEO Benoît Bazin has consistently supported energy efficiency legislation in the buildings sector in France, for example, in July 2022 in an interview he advocated for policy to triple the number of renovations annually and reduce the energy consumption of buildings by 80%, but without placing this within a clear timeline, and in October 2022 he supported doubling funding for French building renovation legislation MaPrimeRenov to 5 billion euros. Saint-Gobain UK repeatedly supported the UK Future Homes Standard to improve the energy efficiency of buildings in press releases in November 2021.

Saint-Gobain signed a joint letter to EU Commission President Ursula von der Leyen in May 2022 advocating for a more ambitious reform of the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS). However, in its 2021 CDP Climate Change Disclosure the company seemed to advocate for the continuation of the free allocation of emissions allowances in the post-2020 reform of the policy. In the same disclosure, Saint-Gobain supported a Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism in the EU, but did not place conditions on the removal of existing carbon leakage protection measures for industry in the EU ETS. The company supported the EU’s 2030 GHG target of 55% in the 2021 CDP disclosure, and in March 2022 in its 2021 Universal Registration Document it supported GHG emissions legislation for vehicles.

Positioning on Energy Transition: Saint-Gobain supports the energy transition, particularly scaling up green hydrogen and electrification. The company has consistently supported the decarbonization of the buildings sector, for example, in the company magazine in March 2022. On its corporate website, accessed in November 2021, Saint-Gobain UK supported the UK’s Future Homes Standard, which mandates low-carbon heating in homes. In a corporate article in April 2021, the company was supportive of green hydrogen to decarbonize key sectors such as heavy industry and transportation, as well as supporting subsidies and tax credits to incentivize electric mobility. In its 2021 Universal Registration Document, published in March 2022, Saint-Gobain supported reforms to the Energy Taxation Directive and the Alternative Fuels Infrastructure Regulation.

Industry Association Governance: Saint-Gobain has disclosed a list of its industry association memberships, only describing their climate policy positions and engagement activities in broad terms. The company has not published a review of its alignment with industry groups. Saint-Gobain is a member of several industry associations which are lobbying negatively on climate policy, such as the International Federation of Industrial Energy Consumers (IFIEC) and the European Association of Automotive Suppliers (CLEPA). A senior executive is on the board of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) which is heavily engaged in negative lobbying on climate policy in the US.

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.