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New research has found that European companies are increasingly engaging with climate change, with a sharp rise in firms lobbying for climate action since 2019.
New research suggests that European companies may be more engaged with climate change policies and action than first thought.
Analysts say that the share of companies whose corporate lobbying is ‘aligned’ with plans for global climate goals increased from 3% in 2019 to an impressive 23% in 2025. That is a significant change across a six-year stretch.
Similarly, companies who were regarded as ‘misaligned’ fell from 34% to 14% within the same time period. Over half of firms were also at least ‘partially aligned’ with climate goals.
200 of the biggest European companies were examined by InfluenceMap as part of its research. The findings are a disruptor to the long-held belief that corporations view green rules as a potential risk to revenue.
All sorts of company behaviours were analysed in order to determine which were most in tune with climate policy. This included corporate disclosures, EU consultation documents and even social media activity.
The researchers concluded that ‘an increasingly substantial portion of the corporate sector’ was embracing climate policies and incorporating them into their strategies. As The Guardian reports, only 25% of companies were lobbying in line with Paris Agreement goals in 2019. This has since doubled.
All of these numbers are well and good, but what about the firms that aren’t stepping up to climate change? InfluenceMap stated that industry associations were behind individual companies, with only 12% currently aligning with climate policy in 2025.
The worst performing organisations included PGE, Australian oil and gas producer OMV, a similar Spanish firm called Respol, and the German airline Lufthansa, among others. Most of the bottom-tier firms are fossil fuel companies or operate in similar sectors, which shouldn’t come as much surprise.
