With the climate front and center of most business conversations in 2024, nobody can deny that we face an overheating world. But where there is a will, there is a way, and in recent years we’ve witnessed the rise of a more duplicitous anti-climate tactic.

No longer in a position to deny climate science, the world’s most powerful businesses are setting out to delay climate-positive legislation. How? By making bold climate commitments on the one hand, then behind the scenes either lobbying against proposed regulation, or remaining silent where their influence could otherwise be used for good.

This opaque greenwashing is drastically reducing our chances of reaching the globally agreed upon 2030 climate targets outlined in the Paris Agreement. And a new report from Climate Integrity highlights just how widespread this tactic is.

The investigation looked at the climate policy of nine of Australia’s largest companies, and found a troubling disconnect between what they say publicly and the agendas they are pushing behind closed doors.

Many companies are undermining their own climate efforts by delaying, weakening or obstructing progressive climate policy – either by directly lobbying against it, or doing so via their trade associations. Businesses who have a lot of political sway are also making an impact in this area, as they’re often hesitant to engage or have chosen to stay silent on environmental policy, allocating their lobbying dollars elsewhere.

It’s a global thing

Greenpeace recently revealed that Rio Tinto – despite having made a public commitment to positive climate advocacy – was engaging in covert greenwashing, lobbying against climate change requirements and proposed amendments to Australia’s Environment Protection and Biodiversity Conservation Act.

That is just one example of something that is happening across the globe. Last year, the United Nations’ High-Level Expert Group on Net Zero Emissions Commitments of Non-State Entities released guidance to prevent greenwash.

It clearly states that companies with net zero commitments “cannot lobby to undermine ambitious government climate policies”.

Yet, according to InfluenceMap, 58 percent of the world’s largest corporations have made climate commitments that are at odds with their climate policy influencing activities. The likes of Chevron, Delta Air Lines, Glencore International and ExxonMobil are all at risk of ‘net zero greenwashing’ because of their lobbying activities.

We know that businesses have an outsized influence on ensuring the safety of our planet. To stop the world overheating, we need corporations to take radical steps to decarbonize, alongside strong climate policy at every level of government. Companies play a key role in shifting policies and they can and must leverage their enormous political influence in support of positive climate action.

The unfortunate reality is, companies that have nothing to gain from climate regulation – that is, the fossil fuel industries – will always lobby governments to prevent and delay climate policy. This is why we need to ensure transparency and accountability when it comes to lobbying activities.

As new regulatory standards take effect around the world, exposing this behavior will leave companies at risk of legal action and shareholder advocacy.

Try ‘greenspeaking’ not ‘greenhushing’

This is about more than just not lobbying against positive climate reform; it’s also about your business using its voice for good.

While businesses are being held more accountable for their climate declarations, ‘greenhushing’ – not saying or doing anything climate-positive to avert risk – isn’t the answer.

Companies play an important role in shaping government policy, and government policy is what steers intergenerational change – for good and bad. That means every company can have a direct impact, not just on its own emissions, but on the entire climate movement.

To make progress fast, we need our business leaders to be loudly and proudly advocating for climate action. Here’s what a leading climate policy agenda looks like for companies:

1. Advocate for policies consistent with achieving net zero emissions by 2050

2. Align trade associations advocacy with net zero emissions goals

3. Allocate advocacy and lobbying spending to advance climate policies

Other suggestions from the United Nations include disclosing trade association memberships and outlining specific policies and regulations companies need to cut emissions.

But corporate climate commitments are about far more than just emissions. To back up their claims of real and tangible climate action, companies must undergo advocacy and lobbying efforts that align with their public-facing climate goals. This means publicly and actively advocating for positive climate reform – and never against it.

Opinions expressed by The CEO Magazine contributors are their own.