Meta Platforms Inc. (“Meta” or “Company”) pays trade association dues and other membership fees to organizations that consistently doubt the scientific consensus on climate change.[1] The Company scores below its peers on many other aspects of climate policy advocacy as well.[2]
Clean energy policy should matter to Meta, since its greenhouse gas emissions increased 50% from 2021 to 2022, and electricity usage rose 22.5% in one year alone (2021-2022), according to its own reporting.[3][4]
Meta notes that for it to reach its “net zero emissions goal in 2030, [we] need governments around the world to move toward a net zero economy.”[5] Yet a review of Meta's direct climate lobbying and its disclosed trade associations and other memberships[6] reveals concerning inconsistencies with Meta's actions on, and commitments to, its own Net Zero ambitions.[7] [8] Meta further supports the direction of some potentially misaligned organizations by serving on their boards, and by lobbying against legislation requiring enhanced corporate climate disclosure[9] [10]
While Meta notes it doesn’t always agree with the positions and policies of its trade association and membership organizations,[11] it has not disclosed the policy positions, actions, assessment framework, nor escalation considerations needed for investors to analyze and address the risk of misalignment in the Company’s current lobbying activities.
Such alignment matters because dangerous gaps continue to exist between national climate targets and the actions required to meet them, and lobbying to stall robust action threatens market stability as this implementation gap rises. “As global temperatures and greenhouse gas emissions break records, the latest Emissions Gap Report…finds that current pledges under the Paris Agreement put the world on track for a 2.5-2.9°C temperature rise….” [12] [13]
Proponents believe Meta’s current business model would face significant threats under such a scenario.
Shareholders need clear, credible information on whether Meta’s lobbying is aligned with the Company’s stated climate targets – because evidence shows that some companies tout their climate efforts while allowing themselves or the organizations and initiatives they support to block genuine climate progress. [1] https://about.meta.com/facebook-political-engagement/; https://www.aei.org/podcast/steven-koonin-on-climate-science-and-extreme-weather/; https://www.aei.org/policy-areas/science-and-energy/; https://www.aei.org/politics-and-public-opinion/its-time-to-cancel-the-climate-crisis/; https://www.nytimes.com/2019/07/10/climate/nyt-climate-newsletter-cei.html; https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2023/08/02/climate-group-pushes-big-tech-exit-nations-largest-business-lobby/; https://prospect.org/power/2023-07-17-climate-denialist-think-tank-ftc/.
[2] https://lobbymap.org/company/Facebook-ffb0b8e1f69795c122a866ab673751f9; In-N-Out Burger, Meta fight California climate change bill (ktvu.com)
[3] https://sustainability.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/2023-Meta-ESG-Data-Index.pdf
[4] https://www.utilitydive.com/news/electricity-load-growing-twice-as-fast-as-expected-Grid-Strategies-report/702366/?utm_source=Sailthru&utm_medium=email&utm_campaign=Issue:%202023-12-14%20Utility%20Dive%20Newsletter%20%5Bissue:57387%5D&utm_term=Utility%20Dive
[5] https://sustainability.fb.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/07/Meta-2023-Sustainability-Report.pdf
[6] https://about.facebook.com/facebook-political-engagement/
[7] https://www.aei.org/politics-and-public-opinion/its-time-to-cancel-the-climate-crisis/
[8] https://www.ceres.org/accelerator/responsible-policy-engagement/database/meta-platforms-inc-formerly-facebook;
[9] https://www.uschamber.com/about/governance/board-of-directors
[10] https://www.ktvu.com/news/in-n-out-burger-and-facebook-parent-company-meta-are-fighting-a-climate-bill-in-sacramento
[11] https://about.meta.com/facebook-political-engagement/?utm_source=about.facebook.com&utm_medium=redirect
[12] https://climateactiontracker.org/global/cat-emissions-gaps/
[13] https://www.unep.org/news-and-stories/press-release/nations-must-go-further-current-paris-pledges-or-face-global-warming; https://www.unep.org/resources/emissions-gap-report-2023