Big Tech corporations like to crow about how their own operations are getting greener. But their political giving doesn’t match their greenwashing efforts, and has the overall effect of negating them them.
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The five Big Tech companies (Apple, Alphabet, Amazon, Facebook & Microsoft) account for more than 25% of the value of the S&P500 and 20% of its Q3 2020 profits. They have grown tremendously during the COVID pandemic, with Amazon alone adding almost half a million jobs in a "hiring spree without equal" . With this unprecedented concentration of economic and financial power comes the ability to influence government policy.
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This report shows that despite robust top-line climate commitments from Big Tech, they are not strategically deploying their significant influence over government policy in support of much needed climate policy. Furthermore, all remain members of powerful cross-sector groups – including the US Chamber of Commerce, the National Association of Manufacturers, BusinessEurope and the Japan Business Federation - all of which continue to lobby against binding measures necessary to meet the goals of the Paris Agreement.
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This research shows that the Big Tech companies do not appear to be matching their huge economic footprint with corresponding strategic support for strong government action to implement the Paris Agreement. This represents a lost opportunity for corporate leadership on climate policy. It is compounded by their continued silence on the negative climate lobbying undertaken by the powerful cross-sector industry groups that represent them, like the US Chamber of Commerce and BusinessEurope.
The steady stream of ominous news goes largely unnoticed by Big Tech’s corporate leaders.
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