More than half of EU companies advocate for 1.5ºC-aligned policies

The proportion of European companies advocating for climate policy aligned with science-based pathways to limit the temperature rise to 1.5ºC has risen dramatically in recent years, reaching 52% in 2025.

This is the conclusion of an InfluenceMap report analysing the climate policy advocacy of 200 of the largest European companies and 80 industry associations. 

The percentage of firms whose advocacy efforts are fully aligned with 1.5ºC warming went from 3% in 2019 to 23% in 2025. When adding partially aligned advocacy, more than half of EU companies are now pushing for climate policies that will help put them on a scientifically recommended pathway to net zero.

At the same time, the proportion of companies engaging on climate policy with positions that are misaligned with 1.5ºC has dropped significantly, from 34% to 13% over the same period.

‘Overwhelming support’ for strong climate policy

This suggests that an increasing number of European firms want policymakers to raise their ambition around climate action – contrary to the impression given by those in favour of reducing sustainability requirements in the EU.

Dominic Gogol, Director of Policy at We Mean Business Coalition said: “Recent polling shows that business leaders overwhelmingly support a rapid transition to renewable energy. Now, this research from InfluenceMap reveals that companies are acting on that strategic direction and treating climate action as material to their business. This is not the preoccupation of a minority, but an increasingly significant portion of the corporate sector that use science-aligned policy engagement as a tool for safeguarding strategic investments in the energy transition. 

“It is incumbent on the rest of the business and investor community to take note of these positive trends. The case is clear: reducing emissions offers a pathway to operational efficiencies, greater resilience and reduced risk. Companies must take proactive steps to ensure their lobbying and association memberships support – not undermine – their business goals.”

Industry associations pitting competitiveness against green goals

While significantly more companies are pushing for policies that are in line with the scientific recommendations of the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) and the International Energy Agency (IEA) to keep warming below 1.5ºC, their trade associations are not matching this changing attitude.

Just 12% of European industry associations advocate for 1.5ºC-aligned policies, with a wide majority still advocating negatively on regulatory proposals to tackle climate change.

InfluenceMap found that heavy industry and transport industry associations, as well as cross-sector associations such as BusinessEurope and the Federation of German Industries (BDI), are particularly reluctant to science-aligned climate policy in the region. 

In their advocacy efforts around the 2024-29 legislative cycle, these trade bodies have consistently leveraged concerns around companies’ international competitiveness to push back against climate policy, InfluenceMap notes, adding that these arguments are inconsistent with the advice of the IPCC and the 2024 Draghi Report (which focused on EU competitiveness).

Venetia Roxburgh, European Programme Manager at InfluenceMap added: “Industry associations in the EU appear to be fighting a losing battle against the tide of positive corporate action on climate policies and need to urgently reassess their priorities if they are to continue to act as true representatives of the majority of their membership. Their go-to-argument, that science-aligned action on climate is bad for European business competitiveness, is looking out of date and is putting the EU at risk of being left behind on the energy transition at a crucial inflection point in climate policy globally.”

Some companies, like Unilever, are now actively pushing their trade associations to align their advocacy activities with climate goals.