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)
Tesltra is a member of the BCA. However, Telstra has openly stated it's misalignment with the BCA in terms of climate policy. 'formal climate and energy policy positions held by the BCA differ to commentary presented by them in public discourse.'
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Tesltra is a member of the BCA. However, Telstra has openly stated it's misalignment with the BCA in terms of climate policy. 'formal climate and energy policy positions held by the BCA differ to commentary presented by them in public discourse.'
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: Telstra has communicated a positive top-line position on climate action and energy transition, although it seems reluctant to comment on specific climate-relevant regulations.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: In its 2021 Sustainability Report, Telstra has acknowledged the science of climate change and backed the Paris Agreement as well as its goal of limiting global temperature rise to 1.5°C above pre-industrial levels. This is an improvement from its 2019 position where the company stated support for keeping temperature increase below an additional 2°Celsius above pre-industrial levels in its climate change policy. In a 2020 press release, Telstra’s CEO Andrew Penn urged for “bolder and more significant action on climate change.”
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Telstra appears to be reluctant to engage with climate-related policy regulations beyond its internal climate targets. As reported by the Australian Financial Review in December 2020, Telstra seems to have suggested government policy alone is inadequate to stimulate climate action.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Regarding energy transition, Telstra called for investments in renewable energy in Australia in a June 2021 press release and advocated for increasing renewable energy in the power grid in Australia in its 2021 Sustainability Report. In its 2020 CDP submission, the company also appears to support increasing renewables in the energy mix, though details surrounding the pace or extent of the transition and the need for relevant policy were not provided.
Industry Association Governance: Telstra stated in its 2021 Sustainability Report that it engages with industry associations, however, without providing further information on its membership and activities in any associations. In 2019, Telstra published a Review of Industry Association Climate Change and Energy Positions where it concluded that it is ‘most aligned’ but failed to disclose what industry associations memberships it was reviewing, except for Business Council of Australia with which Telstra has found misalignment on climate and energy policy positions.