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: Verizon Communications (Verizon) demonstrates very little engagement with climate change policy. However, the company is a member of several trade associations that actively lobby against climate policy, such as the California Chamber of Commerce.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Despite clear support for action to reduce GHG emissions in its own operations, Verizon has expressed limited positions on any specific measures to drive global emissions reductions. However, in April 2021, Verizon signed an open letter from the We Mean Business Coalition addressed to President Biden calling for the US to set an ambitious 2030 GHG target of at least 50% and supporting net zero emissions by 2050. Verizon reported engagement on the Build Back Better Act in its Q3 and Q4 2021 federal lobbying disclosure, but did not report engagement on the climate provisions in the bill. Furthermore, in its 2020 ESG Report, the company expressed support for the UN Paris Agreement and the America is All in Initiative.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: InfluenceMap did not find recent evidence of Verizon’s positions on, or engagement with, specific climate-related policies. The company does not disclose any positions on climate policy on its website and has not responded to the relevant questions in the 2021 CDP Climate Change Information Request.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Verizon Communications appears to show limited direct engagement with the transition of the energy mix. In a press release from January 2021, the company appears to state support for the transition to a low-carbon economy, though mainly in relation to its own operations and investments. It also signed an America is All In open letter in December 2020 advocating for a zero-emissions power sector and policies to support the energy transition.
Industry Association Governance: Verizon has limited transparency over its relationships with industry associations. It published a list of its industry association memberships in its 2021 midyear Political Engagement Report, but does not disclose the climate policy positions of each group or how it tries to influence those positions. A Verizon executive is a Board Member of the California Chamber of Commerce, which appears actively opposed to most California climate policies. The company is also a member of the Business Roundtable, which lobbies with mixed positions on US climate policy.