Cogeco Communications Inc – Lobbying Governance & Transparency

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Lobbying Governance

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Strong	Cogeco Communications demonstrates a strong governance framework to ensure its climate-related lobbying is aligned with its broader climate strategy, centrally overseen by its Senior Vice President Public Affairs, Communications and Strategy Officer who "has the highest responsibility both for engagement activities that could influence policy, and for sustainability topics, including climate change." The company has established a defined process whereby "there are monthly meetings between the Sustainability and Communications teams, to ensure consistency between direct and indirect activities that could influence policy and Cogeco’s overall climate change strategy," illustrating concrete mechanisms to monitor and manage both forms of advocacy. Cogeco also affirms a public commitment to conduct engagement in line with the Paris Agreement, and details active direct lobbying where its "public affairs team has engaged with key Canadian political and department officials to advocate for better programs" on electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, as well as indirect engagement through initiatives such as signing on to the Net-Zero Challenge. While this governance structure highlights clear oversight and alignment processes, the company does not disclose a dedicated climate-lobbying audit or report, nor a formal mechanism for evaluating and aligning the positions of trade or industry associations with its climate policy. View Sources	3

Overall Assessment

Analysis

Score

Strong

Cogeco Communications demonstrates a strong governance framework to ensure its climate-related lobbying is aligned with its broader climate strategy, centrally overseen by its Senior Vice President Public Affairs, Communications and Strategy Officer who "has the highest responsibility both for engagement activities that could influence policy, and for sustainability topics, including climate change." The company has established a defined process whereby "there are monthly meetings between the Sustainability and Communications teams, to ensure consistency between direct and indirect activities that could influence policy and Cogeco’s overall climate change strategy," illustrating concrete mechanisms to monitor and manage both forms of advocacy. Cogeco also affirms a public commitment to conduct engagement in line with the Paris Agreement, and details active direct lobbying where its "public affairs team has engaged with key Canadian political and department officials to advocate for better programs" on electric vehicles and charging infrastructure, as well as indirect engagement through initiatives such as signing on to the Net-Zero Challenge. While this governance structure highlights clear oversight and alignment processes, the company does not disclose a dedicated climate-lobbying audit or report, nor a formal mechanism for evaluating and aligning the positions of trade or industry associations with its climate policy.

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Lobbying Transparency

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Moderate	Cogeco Communications provides a moderate level of transparency about its climate-policy lobbying. It discloses that it has engaged on Canada’s Zero Emission Vehicle (ZEV) mandate—“by 2026, 20 percent of all new light-duty vehicle sales in Canada will be ZEV, at least 60 percent by 2030 and 100 percent by 2035”—and references forthcoming government work on a parallel mandate for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles to be zero-emission by 2040. On lobbying methods it explains that it “has met directly with government representatives at both the provincial and federal levels in Canada” to discuss climate commitments and also participates in the Corporate Knights Action Declaration, demonstrating both direct and coalition-based engagement and identifying the target level of government. The company is reasonably clear on the outcomes it seeks, stating that it “supports mandates that would drive increased production of electric vehicles to meet corporate demands,” wants “financial incentives for fleet electrification,” and advocates collaboration to expand charging infrastructure, especially outside dense urban areas. Taken together, these disclosures give a useful but not exhaustive picture of the specific policies, mechanisms and objectives guiding the company’s climate lobbying activities.	2