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)
Chris Foley, National Energy Manager at Wesfarmers Department Stores, sits on the board of EUAA. He also "sits on Wesfarmers Strategic Procurement Council for energy and represents the interests of the wider Wesfarmers group of companies on the EUAA including Bunnings, Coles, OfficeWorks and a number of leading industrial businesses." (Up to date, August 2021)
Chris Foley
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Chris Foley, National Energy Manager at Wesfarmers Department Stores, sits on the board of EUAA. He also "sits on Wesfarmers Strategic Procurement Council for energy and represents the interests of the wider Wesfarmers group of companies on the EUAA including Bunnings, Coles, OfficeWorks and a number of leading industrial businesses." (Up to date, August 2021)
Chris Foley
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: Wesfarmers does not appear to be actively lobbying on climate policy in recent years. The company’s engagement is limited to top-line statements on climate action and the energy transition, which are broadly supportive but lack detail.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Wesfarmers’ top-line communications are supportive of ambitious action on climate change. The company’s 2020 annual report acknowledged the scientific consensus on climate change and supported the global goal of achieving net zero carbon emissions by 2050. In 2020, Wesfarmers also stated its support for the Paris Agreement but does not appear to have commented on the need for national level policy since it advocated “long-term policy certainty” in 2018.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: InfluenceMap has found no evidence of Wesfarmers’ engagement with specific climate-related regulations since 2017. In its 2017 CDP response, the company outlined its support for Australia’s Emissions Reduction Fund and legislation which drives energy efficiency. In 2017, Wesfarmers also supported minimum energy performance standards under the National Construction Code in Australia.
Positioning on Energy Transition: In 2019, Wesfarmers expressed top-line support for the transition to a low-carbon economy, including low-emissions and renewable technologies. In July 2020, Wesfarmers Chemicals also signed on to the Australian Industry Energy Transitions Initiative to support the decarbonization of Australian industry. This is an improvement from its 2018 position which supported a sustained role for coal in the energy mix. However, in May 2021, Wesfarmers appeared to oppose proposals for the early retirement of the Dampier-to-Bunbury natural gas pipeline, citing “tens of millions of dollars” of extra costs as a result.
Industry Association Governance: Wesfarmers has disclosed its membership to some key industry associations including the Business Council of Australia (BCA) and Carbon Market Institute (CMI), the former of which appears to not fully support ambitious climate policy in Australia. However, the company does not appear to have published a full list of its industry association memberships in a dedicated disclosure, nor an audit review of its alignment with these organizations on climate change. Wesfarmers has also not disclosed its leadership role in the Energy Users Association of Australia.