Responsible Policy Engagement in the EU
Forward-looking European business leaders have long engaged constructively with EU policymakers, helping build the political consensus for ambitious climate targets as and the policies needed to deliver them.
Constructive voices remain essential as the EU adapts to a changing geopolitical and economic context, especially as climate and industrial policy face growing political pressure and increasingly loud but inflated calls to weaken regulation.
Developed together with Corporate Leaders Group Europe, this guidance explores how European businesses can support a stable policy environment for growth, investment and competitiveness – and what policymakers can do to make responsible corporate engagement the norm.
Responsible Policy Engagement in the EU
A shifting policy landscape
In early 2026, a letter presented to EU leaders at the Antwerp Summit called for cuts to carbon costs, a veiled request to weaken the EU Emissions Trading System. The demand was presented as having the backing of more than 1,300 companies, but was later republished displaying the logos of only 17 trade associations.
Forthcoming analysis by InfluenceMap and Transparency International EU has found that while there were widespread business calls for simplification, only a small portion of tracked entities agreed with the most significant scale backs of CSDDD and CSRD, yet those were the positions eventually adopted.
Similar dynamics have emerged in debates around the EU Methane Regulation, truck emissions standards and industrial decarbonization requirements, where lobbying positions advanced by trade associations and industry coalitions may not reflect the views of their broader membership. A trade association’s loudest position is not always its most representative one.
A shifting policy landscape
What’s at stake?
Europe can have a policy environment that favors those with the most to lose from transition, or the companies that have invested in Europe’s clean economic leadership – and the jobs, export opportunities and strategic autonomy that come with it.
This raises two central questions:
For policymakers: how do you distinguish genuine business consensus from over-inflated pressure from minority laggard interests?
For business leaders: does the advocacy being conducted in your industry’s name reflect where your business actually stands?
The case for responsible policy engagement
Some companies are now working outside traditional trade associations to engage EU policymakers on climate and industry policy. Initiatives such as Corporate Leaders Group Europe, the Nordic Near Zero Emissions Steel project and Business for CBAM are helping amplify business voices in support of ambitious EU climate, energy and industrial decarbonization policies.
There are also signs that corporate appetite for climate ambition is far greater than current EU dynamics suggest. In 2025, 94% of business leaders said stable clean energy and net-zero policies are critical to investment decisions.
InfluenceMap data shows 23% of EU firms are actively advocated for climate-aligned policy in 2025, up from 3% in 2019, though far greater participation is still required.
To support companies, We Mean Business Coalition introduced the RPE Framework, offering practical steps for engaging both internal and external stakeholders on corporate advocacy. And now with CLG Europe, we are releasing tailored guidance for companies that operate in Europe.
The case for responsible policy engagement
A Blueprint for action
This new guidance from WMBC and CLG Europe presents a blueprint for putting Responsible Policy Engagement into action in the EU context, highlighting the actions of a selection of leading companies.
It additionally reviews the corporate advocacy regulatory requirements and best practice available in the EU today and how companies should engage with them. It also offers recommendations for both trade associations and policymakers that could help raise the bar for responsible corporate advocacy in Europe.
A Blueprint for action
