Baxter International Inc – Lobbying Governance & Transparency

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Lobbying Governance

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Moderate	Baxter International Inc has established a structured process to align its policy engagement with its climate change strategy, with oversight from its Board and designated executives, though it does not address trade-association lobbying or align with the Paris Agreement goals. The Nominating, Corporate Governance and Public Policy Committee “oversees our Government Affairs program” and “reviews Baxter’s positions on pending legislation and political advocacy efforts,” and the company explains that “the process... is involvement and coordination by Baxter’s executive-level Corporate Responsibility Committee, Corporate Communications Group and Government Affairs Department,” with the “VP, EHS & Sustainability” responsible for reviewing all engagement activities for consistency with its overall strategy. These activities are “reported to Baxter’s upper management and through the annual corporate responsibility reporting process to internal and external stakeholders,” ensuring recurring review and stakeholder feedback. However, we found no evidence of a mechanism to assess or manage indirect lobbying through trade or industry associations, and Baxter confirms that it does not have “a public commitment or position statement to conduct your engagement activities in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement” and “we do not plan to have one in the next two years.” View Sources	C

Overall Assessment

Analysis

Score

Moderate

Baxter International Inc has established a structured process to align its policy engagement with its climate change strategy, with oversight from its Board and designated executives, though it does not address trade-association lobbying or align with the Paris Agreement goals. The Nominating, Corporate Governance and Public Policy Committee “oversees our Government Affairs program” and “reviews Baxter’s positions on pending legislation and political advocacy efforts,” and the company explains that “the process... is involvement and coordination by Baxter’s executive-level Corporate Responsibility Committee, Corporate Communications Group and Government Affairs Department,” with the “VP, EHS & Sustainability” responsible for reviewing all engagement activities for consistency with its overall strategy. These activities are “reported to Baxter’s upper management and through the annual corporate responsibility reporting process to internal and external stakeholders,” ensuring recurring review and stakeholder feedback. However, we found no evidence of a mechanism to assess or manage indirect lobbying through trade or industry associations, and Baxter confirms that it does not have “a public commitment or position statement to conduct your engagement activities in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement” and “we do not plan to have one in the next two years.”

View Sources

Lobbying Transparency

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Limited	Baxter International provides only limited insight into its climate-related lobbying. The company notes that it “works with governments in Eastern Europe, Latin America and Southeast Asia” and that it leads the International Home Dialysis Roundtable, which involves patient advocacy groups, clinical societies and industry representatives, indicating that it uses direct engagement and coalition activity as lobbying mechanisms, but it does not name the specific government bodies or officials it seeks to influence. No particular climate policy, law, regulation or even policy category is identified, leaving readers unable to determine which policy debates Baxter engages in. The company also speaks only in broad terms about seeking greater patient access to home dialysis and fostering innovation, without describing any concrete legislative or regulatory outcomes it is pursuing. As a result, Baxter’s disclosures give only a general picture of its approach and ambitions and do not provide the detail necessary to assess its actual climate-policy lobbying activities.	D