Republic Services Inc – Lobbying Governance & Transparency

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Lobbying Governance

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Strong	Republic Services discloses a clear governance chain for ensuring its climate-related lobbying is aligned with company policy, stating that the board-level Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility Committee is responsible for “overseeing and guiding public policy engagement” and receives “quarterly updates from management on topics such as… our Climate Leadership goals.” The company identifies management ownership, noting that an “EVP – Chief Development Officer… reports to the board directly” and has duties that include “Managing public policy engagement related to environmental issues,” with quarterly reporting. For process detail, Republic explains that “employees responsible for policy engagement actively participate in conversations… ensuring that we advocate for aligned with our policy positions (e.g. supporting the Paris Agreement), including engagement with positions of trade association,” and that it “engage[s] with trade associations… to align on best practices for reporting and regulations.” The disclosure shows active monitoring of indirect lobbying; for example it reports that with the National Waste & Recycling Association “We regularly evaluate positions of the organization with respect to those positions of our company, and where there are gaps, we voice our opinion… and they have changed their position.” Direct lobbying is also brought within the same oversight framework, with the company documenting engagement on the Renewable Fuel Standard and affirming that “we have evaluated, and it is aligned” with the Paris Agreement. These statements indicate a defined policy, coverage of both direct and indirect lobbying, and named oversight bodies, demonstrating strong governance. However, the company does not disclose a standalone public climate-lobbying alignment report or a third-party audit, and the mechanics of how reviews are conducted (criteria, frequency beyond quarterly board updates, consequences for misalignment) are not fully described, suggesting room for greater transparency. View Sources	B

Overall Assessment

Analysis

Score

Strong

Republic Services discloses a clear governance chain for ensuring its climate-related lobbying is aligned with company policy, stating that the board-level Sustainability & Corporate Responsibility Committee is responsible for “overseeing and guiding public policy engagement” and receives “quarterly updates from management on topics such as… our Climate Leadership goals.” The company identifies management ownership, noting that an “EVP – Chief Development Officer… reports to the board directly” and has duties that include “Managing public policy engagement related to environmental issues,” with quarterly reporting. For process detail, Republic explains that “employees responsible for policy engagement actively participate in conversations… ensuring that we advocate for aligned with our policy positions (e.g. supporting the Paris Agreement), including engagement with positions of trade association,” and that it “engage[s] with trade associations… to align on best practices for reporting and regulations.” The disclosure shows active monitoring of indirect lobbying; for example it reports that with the National Waste & Recycling Association “We regularly evaluate positions of the organization with respect to those positions of our company, and where there are gaps, we voice our opinion… and they have changed their position.” Direct lobbying is also brought within the same oversight framework, with the company documenting engagement on the Renewable Fuel Standard and affirming that “we have evaluated, and it is aligned” with the Paris Agreement. These statements indicate a defined policy, coverage of both direct and indirect lobbying, and named oversight bodies, demonstrating strong governance. However, the company does not disclose a standalone public climate-lobbying alignment report or a third-party audit, and the mechanics of how reviews are conducted (criteria, frequency beyond quarterly board updates, consequences for misalignment) are not fully described, suggesting room for greater transparency.

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Lobbying Transparency

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Moderate	Republic Services provides a moderate level of transparency around its climate-related lobbying. It identifies several climate policy areas it engages on, including the Renewable Fuel Standard, broader “clean fuel standards” for medium- and heavy-duty vehicles, and a suite of electrification policies, giving readers a reasonable sense of where its advocacy is focused. The company also discloses the main channels it uses – regular meetings, participation in working groups and public forums, written submissions, and indirect advocacy through the National Waste & Recycling Association – but it does not consistently name the specific government bodies or officials it targets, so the mechanism disclosure remains partial. On objectives, Republic Services explains that it lobbies to secure policies that “transition medium and heavy-duty vehicles to cleaner fuel standards and electrification” and to “increase the beneficial reuse of biogas,” linking these desired outcomes to its own fleet-electrification and landfill-gas goals; however, the company stops short of detailing concrete legislative amendments or numeric policy targets. Altogether, the disclosures paint a clearer picture of what the company supports than how and with whom it advocates, resulting in a moderate level of overall transparency.	C