Scored evidence collected on an entity's engagement with land-use and circular economy policy will now be fully weighted into the final calculations for each entity's metrics. This follows a two year process where InfluenceMap has evolved its methodology to collect evidence on corporate and industry engagement with these key areas of climate-related policy.
We have strengthened the algorithm for discounting the impact older evidence on an organization's top-line metrics. Evidence from within the last two years is weighted the strongest and then gradually weighted out of the scoring calculations as it gets older. All evidence that is 5 years or older is completely removed from the scoring calculations. Users will still be able to view older evidence items that are archived the scoring matrix below, but these will not be impacting the organization's current scores.
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 Policy Engagement Overview: JFE Steel appears to hold negative positions on climate policy in its top-line messaging, and has actively engaged in opposition of numerous climate policies, including carbon taxes, emissions trading, and the feed-in tariff (FIT). It has taken mixed positions on the energy mix and the decarbonization of steel production. JFE Steel retains executive positions in several key industry associations opposing climate policies, such as the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF).
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: JFE Steel appears to hold negative positions on climate policy in its top-line messaging. In a meeting held by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry (METI) in September 2022, JFE Steel appeared ambiguous on the need for climate change action, as it acknowledged the “urgent need to address global climate change issues” while emphasizing technological and financial challenges. Its holdings group’s CSR report, published in September 2022, emphasized concerns over the impact of carbon pricing policies on cost competitiveness and innovation, and highlighted the need to monitor whether they will “truly contribute to growth.” Furthermore, according to a Nikkei report in May 2022, JFE Steel CEO Yoshihisa Kitano opposed the need for carbon pricing. No recent evidence could be found on JFE Steel’s position on United Nations climate treaties, such as the Paris Agreement.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: JFE Steel has actively engaged in opposition of various climate-related policies, directly advocating against carbon taxes, emissions trading, and feed-in tariffs since 2019. In a METI hearing in September 2022, JFE Steel requested that the introduction of a carbon tax be avoided until decarbonization technologies are established, and appeared to not support Carbon Border Adjustment Measures (CBAM). JFE Steel also appeared to question the feasibility of the government’s 2030 greenhouse gas emissions reduction target in a joint meeting with METI and the Ministry of Environment (MOE) in August 2021.
Positioning on Energy Transition: JFE Steel has taken mixed positions on the energy mix and the decarbonization of the steel industry. In a message on the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF)’s website in January 2023, JFE Steel CEO Kitano stated support for measures to develop and utilize nuclear power in the Japanese government’s draft Green Transformation (GX) policy, but he did not specify a position on the role of nuclear power in regards to a full transition to a zero-emission energy mix. JFE Steel appears to have taken a more negative position on the energy mix in the past, for instance appearing to support ammonia and hydrogen power generation over wind and solar power, and emphasizing concerns over high costs in transitioning to non-fossil power sources in a METI hearing in March 2021.
JFE Steel has directly advocated to the Japanese government for policies and funding to increase the development and production of technologies such as zero-emissions hydrogen to decarbonize the steel industry, for instance in METI hearings in April and September 2022. The CSR report of JFE Holdings, the parent company of JFE Steel, published in September 2022, stated the need for increased R&D and capital investment as well as infrastructure to supply “cheap and ample green hydrogen and electricity” in order to decarbonize steelmaking. On the other hand, JFE Steel has occasionally supported the expanded role for hydrogen in steelmaking without specifying a position on decarbonizing hydrogen production, including in a symposium sponsored by METI in May 2022 and a media interview with CEO Kitano by the Japan Metal Daily in April 2023.
Industry Association Governance: JFE Steel publishes its CSR information through the JFE Holdings website and submits its CDP disclosures through JFE Holdings. The JFE Group CSR report from September 2022 disclosed its membership in the Japan Business Federation (Keidanren) and the Japan Iron and Steel Federation (JISF), but did not disclose other industry association memberships identified by InfluenceMap. JFE Steel does not appear to have a dedicated disclosure of its climate change policy positions and engagement activities. JFE Steel CEO Kitano is the Chairman of JISF, and numerous JFE Steel and JFE Holdings executives hold key positions within JISF and Keidanren, both of which have lobbied negatively on numerous key climate change policies in Japan. JFE Steel CEO Kitano is also on the Executive Committee of the World Steel Association (worldsteel), which has had some active and mixed engagement with climate change policy. In addition, a JFE Steel executive is a Board Trustee of the Japan Coal Frontier Organization (JCOAL), which has advocated for a sustained role for coal in the Japanese energy mix.