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: Volvo Cars has increasingly positive engagement with climate regulations in 2022-24, with some exceptions. The company has positive top-line communications on climate and has supported an EU 2035 zero-emissions CO2 target while appearing to have more negative engagement on some US climate policies.
Top-line Messaging on Climate Policy: Volvo Cars has positive top-line communications on climate policy. In an October 2023 joint We Mean Business letter, Volvo Cars supported 1326242 1.5C global warming target, numerous higher-ambition climate regulations, and ambitious action at COP28 to meet Paris Agreement goals. Volvo Cars’ CEO, Jim Rowan also supported numerous climate regulations in a June 2023 Dagens Industri article. Similarly, the CEO of Polestar, a Volvo Cars subsidiary, urged governments to adopt higher ambition automotive climate regulations before COP27 in a September 2022 press release.
Engagement with Climate-Related Regulations: Volvo Cars has mostly positive engagement on CO2 regulations for light-duty vehicles. In Europe, Volvo Cars consistently supported an EU 2035 zero-emissions CO2 target, including in a May 2022 joint letter to policymakers. In 2022-23, Volvo Cars also consistently opposed an e-fuels loophole that would likely weaken the EU’s CO2 targets, such as in a March 2023 joint letter. A March 2023 Automotive News article also reported that Polestar’s CEO, a Volvo Cars subsidiary, criticized Germany’s decision to support an e-fuels loophole and abstain from voting for the 2035 zero-emissions target. Moreover, in an October 2022 EU consultation response, Volvo Cars stated support for EU low-emission steel standards.
In the US, in a July 2023 consultation response, Volvo Cars appeared unsupportive of stringent 2027+ GHG emissions standards for light and medium-duty vehicles, advocating to maintain flexibilities like off-cycle and air conditioning credits that would reduce the policy’s stringency. A June 2022 Reuters article more positively reported that Volvo Cars supported plans to restore California’s ability to set more stringent state-level vehicle GHG emissions standards.
In Australia, in a May 2023 consultation submission, Volvo Cars subsidiary Polestar supported an ambitious fuel efficiency (CO2) standard for light-duty vehicles in line with US/EU markets before, or by 2030, and against flexibilities like multipliers that would weaken the policy’s stringency. A March 2024 Guardian article further reported that Polestar had criticized negative advocacy to weaken Australia's CO2 standard from the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), vocally supporting the government's proposed standard. However, more negatively, in a June 2023 Go Auto article, Volvo Cars Australia’s managing director appeared to advocate for lower stringency fuel efficiency (CO2) standards aligned with the standard proposed by the FCAI.
Positioning on Energy Transition: Volvo Cars supports numerous measures to electrify transportation and phase-out internal combustion engine (ICE) powered vehicles. Volvo Cars consistently supported the phase-out of ICE-powered vehicle EU sales in 2021-23, including in a March 2023 joint letter. In a September 2022 press release, the CEO of Volvo Cars subsidiary, Polestar, stated that “a global ban on ICE vehicles must come sooner” than in 2035.
Volvo Cars has consistently supported electrifying transportation, including in a September 2023 speech by the CEO of Volvo Cars' subsidiary, Polestar, reported by EV In Focus, stating that "clinging to the past of the combustion engine will only hold us back”. A statement from Volvo Cars CEO, Jim Rowan, in a November 2022 Automotive News report, also appeared supportive of EV purchase incentives in the US Inflation Reduction Act.
In a May 2023 quote on behalf of the We Mean Business Coalition, Volvo Cars CEO, Jim Rowan, called on G7 leaders to accelerate the clean energy system transition, including by urgently decarbonizing power. An October 2023 joint We Mean Business letter, signed by Volvo Cars also advocated for a full global phase-out of unabated fossil fuels, removing fossil fuel subsidies, and for the urgent decarbonization of the power sector.
Industry Association Governance: Volvo Cars provides an incomplete disclosure of its global industry associations memberships on its website in 2023. The company has not published an industry association review. Volvo Cars CEO was previously an European Automobile Manufacturers Association (ACEA) board member, however Volvo Cars left ACEA at the end of 2022 due to a reported misalignment with its climate advocacy. Volvo Cars is a member of US-based Alliance for Automotive Innovation, and the UK-based Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT), which have both negative and positive engagement on US and UK climate policy respectively. Volvo Cars is also a member of the Federal Chamber of Automotive Industries (FCAI), which has engaged negatively with Australian climate policy, and the Electric Vehicle Council, which has more positive Australian climate policy engagement. Volvo Cars is also a member of the Japan Climate Leaders Partnership which has active, positive engagement on Japanese climate policy.
InfluenceMap collects and assesses evidence of corporate climate policy engagement on a weekly basis, depending on the availability of information from each specific data source (for more information see our methodology). While this analysis flows through to the company’s scores each week, the summary above is updated periodically. This summary was last updated in Q1 2024.