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)
Alan Armstrong, CEO of The Williams Companies, is a direct member of the Business Round Table (February 2022)
Alan Armstrong
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
Alan Armstrong, CEO of The Williams Companies, is a direct member of the Business Round Table (February 2022)
Alan Armstrong
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: Williams Companies, Inc (Williams), appears to have very low engagement with climate change policy. The company has issued top-line support for climate policy through joint public statements. InfluenceMap found limited evidence and disclosure of the company's recent climate policy positions and engagement.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Williams generally accepts the science of climate change. In August 2020, the company announced a goal of absolute reduction of 56% of GHG emissions since 2005, by 2030, stating that this would put on a positive trajectory to be net-zero carbon emissions by 2050. This target was regularly reiterated in much of their corporate media, although InflunceMap found no statement explicitly referencing the IPCC. Williams does not appear to have commented on the general need for climate policy or the Paris Agreement.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Williams appears to lobby on a limited number of specific climate policies. The company disclose the policies that it is actively tracking, in its sustainability report, however it does not disclose its own position and influence over said policies. In a [907688 panel event with the Bipartisan Policy Center in March 2020, Williams CEO Alan Armstrong, when questioned about his position on carbon tax, remained undecided, and stated that it is unclear “carbon tax” really means.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Williams generally had a negative outlook on energy transition. The company supported the need to transition to a clean energy economy, but emphasized the idea that fossil gas will play a fundamental role in facilitating this transition. Williams CEO Alan Armstrong In 2021, Williams launched the Williams New Energy Ventures, to focus on growing Williams’ clean energy business. While the company continued to support the development of more fossil gas infrastructure, it must be noted that the company now emphasized the need for CCUS and the abatement of methane emissions.
Industry Association Governance: Williams discloses its membership with industry associations in its corporate governance page on its website, and also in its sustainability report. Of these associations that engage on climate change policy and that Influence scores, Williams failed to disclose one of them in its 2020 CDP report