Climate Lobbying Overview: thyssenkrupp appears to be actively engaged on climate change policy, with mixed positions. The company supports climate policy in its top-line messaging with some exceptions, but remains negatively engaged on key climate policy streams such as reform of the EU Emissions Trading System. thyssenkrupp holds an influential position in the Federation of German Industries (BDI), which is engaging negatively on climate change policy in Europe.

Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: thyssenkrupp seems to support climate policy in its top-line messaging with some exceptions. On its corporate website, accessed in January 2022, thyssenkrupp supported efforts to limit global temperature increase to 1.5°C. However, in its 2021 CDP Climate Change Disclosure, the company stated it supports the German Climate Law with major exceptions, suggesting it needs “adequate measures” and should avoid collisions with the EU Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS). In its 2021/22 Annual Report, published in November 2022, thyssenkrupp suggested that climate protection efforts should prioritize security of supply and competitiveness on an equal level as climate protection. In a November 2021 meeting with EU policymakers, sourced from a Freedom of Information Request, the company supported a “workable” Fit for 55 package and stressed the risk of carbon leakage. On its corporate website, accessed in September 2022, thyssenkrupp stated support for the UN Paris Agreement targets.

Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: thyssenkrupp’s engagement with specific climate regulations appears to be predominantly negative, with more limited engagement in 2022. In response to an EU public consultation on the EU Emissions Trading System (EU ETS) in November 2021, the company did not support any of the EU Commission’s proposed reforms to the EU ETS to align the policy with the EU’s increased 2030 climate target, and advocated for strengthened carbon leakage protection measures. However, in a February 2021 consultation response on the EU ETS, thyssenkrupp supported a reform of the Linear Reduction Factor to decrease the emissions cap. In response to an EU public consultation on the proposed Carbon Border Adjustment Mechanism (CBAM) in November 2021, the company advocated for exemptions for the steel industry from the policy, as well as no phase out of free allowances in the EU ETS before 2030 and the inclusion of export rebates, a position which is misaligned with the EU Commission’s proposal. thyssenkrupp Steel Europe CEO Bernhard Osburg signed several open letters to the European Parliament in May and June 2022 advocating against ambitious proposals for the reform of the EU ETS and the CBAM.

Handelsblatt reported in May 2021 that thyssenkrupp did not support the increase in ambition of Germany’s GHG targets. However, thyssenkrupp stated support for increased investment in renewable energy production on its corporate website, accessed in January 2022. The company signed a joint letter in April 2021 advocating for more ambitious light-duty fuel economy standards in the US.

Positioning on Energy Transition: thyssenkrupp appears to mostly support the energy transition. The CEO Martina Merz stated support for the decarbonization of industry and for policies to scale up renewable energies in Germany in November 2021. In December 2022, thyssenkrupp nucera supported the Clean Hydrogen tax credit in the US but stated it should not be overly burdensome or set rigid rules, although it did define clean hydrogen as produced with renewables. In a joint White Paper, published in June 2022, thyssenkrupp advocated for a range of policies to scale up green hydrogen in the EU and Germany, but also advocated for creating hydrogen using natural gas and carbon capture and storage in a January 2021 press release. In comments on the EU’s Gas and Hydrogen Market Decarbonization Package in April 2022, the company advocated for sped up investment in hydrogen networks and accelerating repurposing of gas infrastructure. However, in its 2020/21 Annual Report, published in February 2022, thyssenkrupp supported the energy transition provided that policies preserve the competitiveness of industry.

Industry Association Governance: thyssenkrupp disclosed a list of some of its memberships to industry associations, but did not describe the climate policy positions of the associations nor how the company is influencing the groups. The company does not appear to have published a review of alignment with industry associations. A senior executive of thyssenkrupp is Chairman of the Climate Policy committee in the Federation of German Industries (BDI), which takes a negative stance on climate policy in the EU and Germany.

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.