Climate Policy Engagement Analysis
Climate Policy Engagement Overview: Verizon Communications (Verizon) appears to have limited engagement with climate change policy.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Verizon has some positive top-line messaging on climate. Its 2023 ESG Report appears to recognize the causal relationship between climate change and severe weather events. In its 2022 ESG Report, Verizon recognized the need for urgent action to combat climate change. Verizon has not clearly supported the need for government action on climate, though it reports monitoring climate policy developments in its 2023 TCFD report.
Engagement with Climate-Related Policy: InfluenceMap found limited evidence of Verizon’s positions on, or engagement with, specific climate-related policies. Although Verizon reported direct engagement on the Build Back Better Act and the Inflation Reduction Act in its recent federal lobbying disclosures, it did not clearly describe its position on the climate provisions in these bills. In 2023, the Ceres Corporate Electric Vehicle Alliance (CEVA), to which Verizon retains membership, submitted comments to the EPA in support of strong Phase 3 emissions standards for heavy-duty vehicles.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Verizon appears to state broad support for the energy transition, however with limited direct engagement on specific policies. In its 2023 ESG Report Verizon appeared supportive of the decarbonization and electrification of transport. In a 2024 press release Verizon appeared supportive of a renewables-dominated power sector. Additionally, in 2023 comments CEVA supported New Mexico’s Advanced Clean Cars II and Advanced Clean Trucks rules, supporting the transition of the transport sector.
Industry Association Governance: Verizon has limited transparency around its industry association memberships. It has published a list of its industry association memberships in its 2024 mid-year 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 on the board the California Chamber of Commerce, which actively opposes many California climate policies, and Verizon is a member of the National Association of Manufacturers (NAM) which takes negative positions on US climate policy.
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 2025.