Imperial Oil Limited
What do our scores mean?
The organizational score represents the degree to which the organization influencing climate policy and legislation. Corporations also have relationship scores reflecting their links with influencers like trade associations. Both are combined to place the corporation in a performance band. Full details can be found here.
Engagement Intensity
The engagement intensity (EI) is a metric of the extent to which the company is engaging on climate change policy matters, whether positively or negatively. It is a number from 0 (no engagement at all) to 100 (full engagement on all queries/data points). Clearly energy companies are more affected by climate regulations and will have a higher EI than, for example retailers. So an organization’s score should be looked at in conjunction with this metric to gauge the amount of evidence we are using in each case as a basis for scoring. On our scale, an EI of more than 35 indicates a relatively large amount of climate policy engagement.
Relationship Score, December 2020
A new batch of industry associations has been uploaded onto the InfluenceMap system and the relationship scores recalculated accordingly.
Updated terminology, February 2021
We adjusted the terminology used to describe the queries running down the left-hand side of our scoring matrix and added additional explanatory text to the info-boxes. This has no impact on the scores and methodology. It has been done following user feedback to improve clarity.
- Details of Organization Score
-
What do the 0,1,2 and NSs, NAs mean?
Each cell in the organization's matrix presents a chance for us to assess each data source against our column of climate change policy queries. We score from -2 to 2, with negative scores representing evidence of obstructive influence. "NA" means "not applicable" and "NS" means "not scored" - that is we did not find any evidence either way. In both cases, the cell's weighting is re-distributed over others. Red and blue cells represent highly interesting negative or positive influence respectively. Full details can be found here.
- Details of Relationship Score
-
What is the Relationship Score
A corporation, as well as its organizational score will have a relationship score. It is computed by aggregating the organizational scores of the Influencers (trade bodies etc.) it has relationships with, weighted by both the strength of these relationships and the relative importance of the Influencers towards climate change policy. Full details can be found here.
|
QUERIES
|
DATA SOURCES | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
Main Web Site
The main organizational Web site of the company and its direct links to major affiliates and attached documents. |
Social Media
We search other media and sites funded or controlled by the organization, such as social media (Twitter, Facebook) and direct advertising campaigns of the organization. |
CDP Responses
We assess and score responses to two questions from CDP's climate change information request (12.3 a & 12.3c) related to political influence questions (currently these are not numerically scored by the CDP process). |
Legislative Consultations
Comments from the entity being scored on governmental regulatory consultation processes, including those obtained by InfluenceMap through Freedom of Information requests. |
Media Reports
Here we search in a consistent manner (the organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
CEO Messaging
Here we search in a consistent manner (the CEO/Chairman, organization name and relevant query search terms) a set of web sites of representing reputable news or data aggregations. Supported by targeted searches of proprietary databases. |
Financial Disclosures
We search 10-K and 20-F SEC filings where available, and non US equivalents where not. . |
|
|
Communication of Climate Science
Is the organization transparent and clear about its position on climate change science? |
0
|
NS | NA | NS | NS | NS | NS |
|
Alignment with IPCC on Climate Action
Is the organization supporting the science-based response to climate change as set out by the IPCC? (the IPCC) |
-1
|
2
|
NA | NS | NS | NS | NS |
|
Supporting the Need for Regulations
To what extent does the organization express the need for regulatory intervention to resolve the climate crisis? |
0
|
NS | NA |
-1
|
NA |
-1
|
0
|
|
Support of UN Climate Process
Is the organization supporting the UN FCCC process on climate change? |
0
|
1
|
NA | NS | NS | NS | NS |
|
Transparency on Legislation
Is the organisation transparent about its positions on climate change legislation/policy and its activities to influence it? |
-1
|
NA |
-2
|
NA | NA | NA | NA |
|
Carbon Tax
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: carbon tax. |
0
|
NS |
0
|
1
|
NS |
-2
|
NS |
|
Emissions Trading
Is the organisation supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: emissions trading. |
NS | NS | NS |
-1
|
NS | NS | NS |
|
Energy and Resource Efficiency
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: energy efficiency policy, standards, and targets |
NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS | NS |
|
Renewable Energy
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Renewable energy legislation, targets, subsidies, and other policy |
NS | NS | NS | NS | NS |
0
|
NS |
|
Energy Transition & Zero Carbon Technologies
Is the organization supporting an IPCC-aligned transition of the economy away from carbon-emitting technologies, including supporting relevant policy and legislative measures to enable this transition? |
-2
|
-1
|
NS | NS |
-1
|
-1
|
-1
|
|
GHG Emission Regulation
Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: GHG emission standards and targets. Is the organization supporting policy and legislative measures to address climate change: Standards, targets, and other regulatory measures directly targeting Greenhouse Gas emissions |
-1
|
0
|
NS |
-1
|
-2
|
-2
|
NS |
|
Disclosure on Relationships
Is the organization transparent about its involvement with industry associations that are influencing climate policy, including the extent to which it is aligned with these groups on climate? |
-1
|
NS |
-2
|
NA | NA | NA | NA |
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Imperial CEO is is on Board of Governors of CAPP
Rich Kruger
Open PDF file of Data Source
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Imperial Executive is is on Board of Governers of CAPP
Bart Cahir
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Imperial CEO is is on Board of Governors of CAPP
Rich Kruger
InfluenceMap Data Point on Corporate - Influencer Relationship
(1 = weak, 10 = strong)
InfluenceMap Comment:
Imperial Executive is is on Board of Governers of CAPP
Bart Cahir
How to Read our Relationship Score Map
In this section, we depict graphically the relationships the corporation has with trade associations, federations, advocacy groups and other third parties who may be acting on their behalf to influence climate change policy. Each of the columns above represents one relationship the corporation appears to have with such a third party. In these columns, the top, dark section represents the strength of the relationship the corporation has with the influencer. For example if a corporation's senior executive also held a key role in the trade association, we would deem this to be a strong relationship and it would be on the far left of the chart above, with the weaker ones to the right. Click on these grey shaded upper sections for details of these relationships. The middle section contains a link to the organization score details of the influencer concerned, so you can see the details of its climate change policy influence. Click on the middle sections for for details of the trade associations. The lower section contains the organization score of that influencer, the lower the more negatively it is influencing climate policy.
Climate Lobbying Overview: Imperial Oil communicates mixed top-line positions on climate change. It appears to support the Paris Agreement but at the same time stated support for an extended role of oil and gas in the future energy mix. While stating support for climate and energy regulation, the company emphasized considerations for economic impact and viability in policymaking. In terms of specific climate regulations, Imperial Oil appears to have limited disclosure of its activities and positions on policy issues in the last couple of years, but appears to be broadly not supporting progressive policy.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Overall, Imperial Oil has communicated a mixed position on climate policy. As of February 2021, in its Energy and Carbon Summary, the company has stated support for the Paris Agreement as an important framework for addressing the risks of climate change. However, while making reference to the Paris Agreement and the 2 °C target in the Summary, Imperial Oil does not provide a clear statement of its position on the science of climate change. Moreover, while on paper it supported the 2 °C target, in its corporate reporting in 2021, the company put heavy qualifications on the need for climate policy by emphasizing its social and economic costs and stated support for market-based solutions in addition to policy.
Engagement with Climate-related Regulations: Regarding engagement with specific climate regulations, there is limited transparency on the positions of Imperial Oil in the last few years. In its latest sustainability report published in 2018, the company disclosed that it engages with policymakers on climate change but provided no further details of specific policies it sought to influence. Additionally, Imperial Oil has declined to respond to the CDP Climate Change survey since 2018. Rich Kruger, President of Imperial Oil, in a public speech reported by Radio-Canada in 2018, opposed the clean fuel standard put forward by the Canadian government. In its corporate reporting in 2018, the company endorsed “revenue-neutral” carbon tax over policies on cap-and-trade and emissions standards, providing no further clarification on what this entails. Back in 2016, Kruger has commented negatively on the carbon tax policy included in Alberta’s new climate strategy on the basis that the policy would impede the function of market. InfluenceMap has not been able to identify evidence on Imperial Oil’s engagement with climate regulations in more recent times.
Positioning on Energy Transition: In terms of energy transition, Imperial Oil appears to support a continued role for oil and gas in the future energy mix. In its most recent Energy and Carbon Summary, accessed in Feb 2021, Imperial Oil advocated further production of oil sands in Canada and anticipated a growing demand of energy globally in which fossil fuel sources will remain an important component. The company has also stated support for more investments in oil and gas in the years leading up to 2040 in its 10K Annual Report published in 2019.
Industry Association Governance: Imperial Oil has very limited disclosure on its activities in industry associations. In its Sustainability Report published in 2018, the company disclosed that it collaborates with industry and business associations to engage with governments and climate policies. However, the report only disclosed the company’s membership in associations where annual fees exceeded $25K, i.e., the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers (CAPP), the Canadian Fuels Association, and the Canadian Chamber of Commerce. The disclosure does not provide further details on the role of the company in the associations and how it sought to influence the policy stance of the associations. The CAPP has lobbied against climate change policy in favor of preserving the Canadian oil and gas sector’s global competitiveness. Additionally, Imperial Oil has not answered CDP Climate Change survey since 2018.