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.
Climate Lobbying Overview: The American Wood Council (AWC) appears to have limited, mixed engagement with climate change policy and regulation. The association has engaged on several significant climate bills, including the Build Back Better Act, without disclosing its positions.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: AWC appears to have limited top-line communications on climate change. AWC does not appear to have taken a position on climate science, IPCC-demanded global emissions reductions, the need for climate regulation in general, or the Paris Agreement.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: AWC has not disclosed its positions towards, or engagement with, specific climate change policies on its website as of August 2022. AWC stated in its Q2 2022 federal LDA report that it engaged on the CLEAN Future Act, which would have set a US GHG emissions reduction target, but did not disclose its position. In comments directly to the EPA in August 2020, AWC suggested it supported the Trump administration’s changes to benefit-cost analysis used in Clean Air Act rulemaking, which hampered GHG emissions regulation from the federal government.
Positioning on Energy Transition: AWC appears to have minimal engagement on policy to transition the energy mix. In its Q2 2022 federal LDA report, AWC reported lobbying on climate-related policy in general, as well as the budget reconciliation bill, but did not disclose positions on these efforts. In a joint press release with the National Alliance of Forest Owners and Southeastern Lumber Manufacturers Association, AWC stated broad support for President Biden’s Executive Order Catalyzing America’s Clean Energy Economy Through Federal Sustainability. Outside of this, InfluenceMap has not been able to find any engagement on the energy transition from AWC.