Companies Tout Their Climate Pledges, But Lobby Against Regulation

According to the environmentalist organization InfluenceMap, more than 60 companies are at “significant risk of net zero greenwashing” due to lobbying that contradicts their own climate pledges.

by Donald Shaw, Sludge

Car manufacturer Stellantis last year came out with a bold commitment on climate change. “Stellantis will be the industry champion in climate change mitigation, becoming carbon net zero by 2038, with a 50% reduction by 2030,” said CEO Carlos Tavares in March 2022 while announcing the company’s “Dare Forward 2030” initiative. The 2038 target put Stellantis’ net zero timeline far ahead of that of most other large companies.

While the company is promoting its climate commitments and accelerating its plans for selling electric vehicles, behind the scenes it is working to weaken industry-wide vehicle emissions regulations.

Delta planes parked on a tarmac in a line

In June of this year, Stellantis submitted comments to the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) opposing its proposed tightening of greenhouse gas standards for heavy-duty vehicles. “The proposed HD GHG targets are incredibly challenging and will require electrification at an unprecedented level in a market segment that demands payload and towing capability,” the company wrote. A month later, Stellantis submitted another comment urging the EPA to weaken its proposed greenhouse gas standards for light-duty vehicles, saying they “exceed what is feasible.”

Because of its regulatory lobbying and other actions, Stellantis has been labeled as at significant risk of “net zero greenwashing,” according to a new report by environmentalist organization InfluenceMap that analyzes the climate commitments and policy engagements of 293 Forbes 2,000 companies. Influence Map found that 21.5% of the companies it looked at were at significant risk of greenwashing, while 36.5% were at moderate risk.