A Climate of Corporate Control

The report analyzes 28 S&P 500 companies to determine how they engage with climate science and policy. It finds a significant divide between companies that consistently support science-based policy and those that obstruct it. A large number of companies are identified as 'contradictory,' maintaining a public image of environmental concern while funding think tanks, trade groups, and politicians that undermine climate science. The authors argue that a lack of transparency in corporate political spending and risk disclosure allows this interference to persist, and they recommend stricter disclosure requirements for corporations and government contractors.

• The study categorizes corporate behavior into three groups: Consistent, Contradictory, and Obstructionist. While some companies align their public relations with pro-science actions, more than half of the sample are 'Contradictory,' meaning they support climate science in some venues but oppose it in others.
• Companies are more likely to express concern about climate change in public-facing venues, such as corporate websites, but are more likely to misrepresent climate science in communications with the federal government or through the funding of outside organizations.
• Energy sector companies are disproportionately represented among those funding anti-climate candidates. Eight of the ten energy companies in the sample donated more than three times as much to 'anti-climate' members of Congress as to 'pro-climate' members.
• Corporate influence is often exerted indirectly through trade groups and think tanks that conceal their funding sources. Examples include the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and the National Association of Manufacturers, which have opposed the EPA's Endangerment Finding.
• There is a significant lack of transparency regarding corporate political spending. The report notes that companies are not required to disclose the specific issues they lobby on, and many donations to politically active groups are made outside of corporate foundations to avoid disclosure.
• Many companies fail to fully disclose the physical risks climate change poses to their business operations in SEC Form 10-K filings, focusing instead only on the risks posed by climate regulations.
• Privately held corporations, specifically Koch Industries, have exerted enormous influence on the climate dialogue through large-scale funding of think tanks and political campaigns that misrepresent climate science.

APA

Union of Concerned Scientists (2012). A Climate of Corporate Control. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/a-climate-of-corporate-control-report.pdf

Chicago

Union of Concerned Scientists. A Climate of Corporate Control. 2012. https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/a-climate-of-corporate-control-report.pdf.

Wikipedia

{{cite report |author=Union of Concerned Scientists |title=A Climate of Corporate Control |date=May 2012 |url=https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/a-climate-of-corporate-control-report.pdf |access-date=23 October 2026 |via=Climate Insights Directory}}

BibTeX

@techreport{unionofconcernedscientists2012climate, author = {{Union of Concerned Scientists}}, title = {{A Climate of Corporate Control}}, institution = {Union of Concerned Scientists}, year = {2012}, month = may, url = {https://www.ucs.org/sites/default/files/2019-09/a-climate-of-corporate-control-report.pdf}, urldate = {2026-10-23}, note = {Indexed by Climate Insights Directory} }