Essential Utilities Inc – Lobbying Governance & Transparency

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Lobbying Governance

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Moderate	Essential Utilities Inc demonstrates moderate governance over lobbying activities with some attention to climate-related issues but stops short of a fully detailed process. The company states that “our company’s overall climate strategy is aligned with our government affairs activities,” indicating an intention to integrate climate objectives into its advocacy. It also describes a governance mechanism whereby “the PAC is overseen by a board that meets on a quarterly basis” to set budgets, review contributions and track all lobbying expenditures, and notes that “there is very close oversight of all our engagement with public officials by senior management.” Furthermore, Essential reports that it “engages with government and trade associations in order to educate and address issues impacting our service, which includes matters relating to climate change,” suggesting direct engagement on climate topics. However, the firm does not disclose a specific policy or formal procedure for ensuring that its trade association memberships and indirect lobbying align with its stated climate strategy, nor does it name any individual or committee responsible exclusively for reviewing climate lobbying alignment. We found no evidence of a dedicated climate-lobbying review cycle, a third-party audit or a public commitment to the goals of the Paris Agreement. View Sources	C

Overall Assessment

Analysis

Score

Moderate

Essential Utilities Inc demonstrates moderate governance over lobbying activities with some attention to climate-related issues but stops short of a fully detailed process. The company states that “our company’s overall climate strategy is aligned with our government affairs activities,” indicating an intention to integrate climate objectives into its advocacy. It also describes a governance mechanism whereby “the PAC is overseen by a board that meets on a quarterly basis” to set budgets, review contributions and track all lobbying expenditures, and notes that “there is very close oversight of all our engagement with public officials by senior management.” Furthermore, Essential reports that it “engages with government and trade associations in order to educate and address issues impacting our service, which includes matters relating to climate change,” suggesting direct engagement on climate topics. However, the firm does not disclose a specific policy or formal procedure for ensuring that its trade association memberships and indirect lobbying align with its stated climate strategy, nor does it name any individual or committee responsible exclusively for reviewing climate lobbying alignment. We found no evidence of a dedicated climate-lobbying review cycle, a third-party audit or a public commitment to the goals of the Paris Agreement.

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Lobbying Transparency

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Limited	Essential Utilities provides only limited insight into its climate-policy lobbying. It names one specific initiative it is promoting—the Voluntary Emissions Reduction Program (VERP)—and explains that the scheme would create “energy attribute certificate systems” for Pennsylvania natural-gas customers, but it does not mention any other climate-related bills or regulations it has engaged on. The company states that it has been “engaging ‘various state lawmakers and regulators’ in discussions about the VERP” and identifies the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission as the authority whose approval is required, yet it offers no detail on the form these contacts take beyond general discussions. The desired outcome is clear—“approval from the Pennsylvania Public Utility Commission” so customers can purchase carbon offsets—but this is the only objective described. Because disclosure is confined to a single policy, a single broad engagement mechanism, and one stated outcome, the overall transparency of its climate lobbying remains limited.	D