During London Climate Action Week, we convened a group of individuals across corporate, NGO and activist communities to discuss the question: Can Corporate Lobbyists help solve climate change? In the face of a well-organised and deeply strategic fossil fuel lobby, progressive businesses need to up their game.

What would it take for business to unlock the ‘political will’ to act on climate change? And how can business play that role more effectively?

What We Heard

What followed was 90 minutes of rich dialogue, disagreement and knowledge sharing. And then a further hour of wind-down discussion over drinks. Having brought together a diverse collection of viewpoints, the conversation flowed from ‘best’ practices to ‘insurmountable’ challenges and back, touching on feelings of scepticism and deep hope. Yet, clear themes emerged as particularly critical.

  1. Getting strategic

Business needs to identify and communicate the overlap between commercial strategy and progressive policy.

The pioneering companies in this space must get more strategic with their approach and framing of corporate lobbying. The role of policy needs to be centred within wider corporate strategy. Identifying and emphasising the strategic importance of policy for the net zero transition strengthens the business case for effective and focused corporate lobbying.

Though there is plenty of ‘goodwill’ in the corporate world, the role of incentives is never off the table. Throughout the discussion, participants went back and forth on how to better incentivise corporate lobbying. If business-for-good has tried the stick, where are the ‘carrots’ that could encourage louder voices?

One popular response suggested it might be time to reframe ‘corporate lobbying’ in terms of opportunity, not cost.

Furthermore, to form highly targeted lobbying strategies that meet stakeholder expectations, organisations must combine science-based targets and cross-sector collaborations. And with this, there is wariness from trade associations that increased scrutiny is coming. The momentum behind this ‘accountability’ demand must be continued.

  1. Becoming more sophisticated

Not as well trained or experienced as their opposition, the lobby-for-good industry needs to develop more sophisticated and transparent practices.

This is seen in corporate lobbying disclosures, most of which focus on their direct lobbying footprint. Instead, there is a need for disclosures to incorporate trade association activities. Enhanced disclosures and ambition will support corporates in nudging associations toward climate-aligned policy and progressing their own strategic climate goals.

Furthermore, as one leader raised, experienced lobbyists must develop more sophisticated ways of measuring impact and highlighting successful strategies. To outcompete the well-established fossil fuel lobby, accurate feedback between implementation and impact is needed, as is a wider emphasis on knowledge sharing. Success needs to be defined and then evidenced.

  1. Building capacity and understanding

Not yet mainstream, the lobby-for-good still has a lot to learn. Gaps remain in the capacity and understanding required to effectively mobilise. These gaps largely surround three core criteria:

  • The role and importance of policy, particularly concerning wider business strategy, is not yet widely recognised.
  • The blocking strategies of the fossil fuel lobby are poorly understood.
  • There is no culture of investing in relationships with policymakers over long-term priorities and goals. Businesses largely lack the know-how for this challenge.

One participant posited that ‘coordination, clarity and simplicity of message’ might be the most effective solution for rapid learning, awareness-building and cross-sector collaboration.

  1. Breaking out of siloed action

The final theme shone a light on the difficulty of collaborative, non-siloed action. Policy is often region- and sector-dependent. A deep understanding of these dependencies is required to lobby effectively.

Yet, current practices by progressive companies have often focused on their individual business plan ‘keeping activity under the radar’. This approach restricts political pressure within the narrow interests of the organisation and prevents the wider coordination needed to truly amplify the message.

There was consensus that more work needs to be done to build out the case for pre-competitive collaboration on policy pressure. Pursuing ‘aligned agendas’ that demand ‘joined-up policy’ could be a key cornerstone in accelerating the transition toward net zero.

Where To Go Next

Though our Salons are not focused on identifying concrete next steps, some obvious opportunities were identified:

  • There is a need to rally behind the corporate lobbying agenda. Enabling progressive policy poses a big opportunity for business – one which needs to be communicated and made visible.
  • The ‘education and information’ gap within organisations must be closed. Many lack the awareness and training required to pursue corporate lobbying. This education needs to be embedded into progressive businesses.
  • Given this lack of education, there is also a need to collaborate with public sector actors who are important allies in pushing for progressive policy. The salon was a microcosm that showcased the value diversity can bring.
  • Attempting to move the needle, the mobilisation of the investor community could be catalytic. Using the ‘carrot’, investors have the resources to incentivise more comprehensive approaches to corporate lobbying.

Our approach

Volans is committed to continue driving the ambition and effectiveness of corporate political engagement.

Recently, we developed a methodology for and conducted an independent review of Unilever’s trade associations’ climate lobbying activities as part of their Climate Policy Engagement Review – which represented a new gold standard, according to InfluenceMap. And we will continue to develop that methodology to strengthen disclosure.

Further, Volans continue to support companies on how to manage Trade Associations relations and ensure alignment – both through a longer term “Trade Associations for Good” project funded by Porticus Foundation partnering with WBCSD – and individual companies as they tackle the challenge. This includes using our experience in innovation and facilitated Imaginarium processes to inspire and activate corporate advocacy teams to take new creative approaches to lobbying, appropriate for this time.