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: State Street appears to have had limited engagement with specific climate change policies, while outlining mostly positive top-line messaging on climate policy.
Top-Line Messaging on Climate Policy: State Street and its asset management subsidiary State Street Global Advisors have recognized the science of climate change and clearly supported the findings of the IPCC. State Street has recognized the need for urgent action to combat climate change and in 2021 State Street Global Advisors joined the Net Zero Asset Managers initiative, signaling support for net zero economies by 2050 or sooner. State Street Global Advisors’ 2022 Journey to Net Zero appears supportive of policies and regulations to achieve net zero and a 2021 State Street insights paper suggests support for government regulation to respond to climate change and ensure carbon is priced into the economy. In 2021, State Street Global Advisors signed on to a Global Investor Statement that called on governments to establish more ambitious Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) before COP26.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: State Street appears to have had limited engagement with specific climate change policies and regulations. 2021 insights papers suggest support for a carbon tax, carbon price floor, and renewable energy subsidies, but do not cite specific policies to achieve these measures.
Positioning on Energy Transition: State Street appears generally supportive of the energy transition, but has suggested that continued investment in fossil fuels is necessary to achieve this transition. In State Street Global Advisors’ 2022 TCFD Report, the company states that it is engaging with policymakers to “increase adoption” of energy transition policies, and the 2021 Global Investor Statement calls on governments to remove fossil fuel subsidies and implement policies to decarbonize industry and transport. Federal lobbying reports show that State Street has engaged on the Build Back Better act and federal tax legislation relating to energy policy, but details of this engagement are unclear. A 2022 insights paper states support for the climate provisions in the Inflation Reduction Act and calls for further action to limit global temperature rise. CEO Ron O’Hanley has stated broad support for the transition of the energy mix but has also asserted that continued investment in fossil fuels is necessary to achieve this transition, and emphasized that the transition will not happen “overnight.”
Industry Association Governance: State Street has listed its memberships to “principal” US industry associations but has not described these organizations’ climate policy positions or any actions taken to address misalignment, except for that it assesses where positions may diverge from State Street “including on ESG issues,” and evaluates the benefit of continued membership. In its 2021 CDP response to the question regarding engagement with industry associations likely to take a stance on climate policy, State Street only listed membership in sustainability initiatives, and omitted mention of its membership in the Business Roundtable which has taken mixed positions on US climate policies.