In a report just published by an independent think tank, fingers are pointed at global companies that have done the most to oppose effective climate policies around the world. Positions one and two on the list of climate cranks are held by ExxonMobil and Chevron, which can’t be seen as a surprise. But right behind them in third position sits Japanese automotive giant Toyota.
The new Corporate Climate Policy Footprint report was produced by the UK-based InfluenceMap group, which analyzes the effect of business and finance policies on climate change and the fight against it. Toyota placed third-worst, punished for being “negatively influential” among global companies in working to counter climate policies related to the Paris accord on climate change.
The evidence against the auto giant includes its reluctance to start moving away from internal combustion engines and hybrid powertrains in 2020 and 2021, at a time when many other carmakers were implementing aggressive plans to go electric.
The list includes other carmakers, but they’re well back of Toyota. BMW sits at the 18 spot, Daimler comes in 24th and Hyundai lurks right behind it in the 25th spot.
Scope 4 impact
This is what the think tank calls the outsized influence it believes large companies have on the progression – or lack of it – of climate policies and regulations instituted by governments, which it deems far more impactful than any specific changes made to products or manufacturing processes.
In its view, therefore, a company like Toyota should be judged on how much it cooperates with or even pushes governments to adopt more-aggressive anti-climate policies on the same level as it is judged on its own emissions.
In case you’re wondering, there are auto companies that fared relatively well in the think tank’s appraisals. Last month, it published a report that identified those large companies it deemed were working positively to get ambitious climate policies implemented. The top automaker on that list? Tesla, in fifth spot. Other car companies cited for their positive steps included Volvo, Volkswagen and Honda.