National Fuel Gas Co

Sign up to access all our data and the evidence and analysis underlying our overall scores. Once you've created an account, we'll get in touch with further details:

Sign Up

Direct Lobbying Transparency

Overall Assessment	Comment	Score
Comprehensive	National Fuel Gas Company provides comprehensive transparency around its climate lobbying. It explicitly discloses that it “utilizes contract lobbyists or employee lobbyists when advocating our positions at the local, state and federal levels with elected representatives and other government officials,” coordinated by the Company’s Government Affairs Department and directed by its operating divisions. It identifies specific engagement mechanisms—technical conferences, comments, and meetings with Department of Public Service staff, consultants, and the Public Service Commission—to shape its Long-Term Plan. On policy, it clearly names and engages with the Climate Leadership and Community Protection Act, the New York Public Service Commission’s Gas Planning Order, and New York’s cap-and-invest program. It also details the outcomes it seeks, including reducing greenhouse gas emissions by at least 40% by 2030 and 85% by 2050, promoting hybrid heating systems, energy efficiency programs, renewable natural gas and hydrogen deployment, and ensuring at least 35% of clean-energy benefits flow to disadvantaged communities. This level of specificity across policy goals, mechanisms, and intended outcomes demonstrates a comprehensive disclosure of its climate lobbying activities.	4

Lobbying Governance

Overall Assessment	Comment	Score
Limited	National Fuel Gas Co. appears to have a foundational yet limited governance framework for its lobbying activities. The company sets out its "Political Activities Principles," stating that "Direct corporate political contributions ... require the prior approval of the Company’s General Counsel," and that lobbying efforts are "coordinated by the Company’s Government Affairs Department," requiring contract and employee lobbyists to comply with internal procedures for "tracking and reporting activities and related expenses." However, the company does not disclose any policies or processes for aligning these activities with its climate or sustainability goals, and we found no evidence of a board-level committee or named executive overseeing lobbying alignment. Additionally, the framework does not detail how National Fuel addresses trade association positions that may conflict with its climate objectives, indicating a lack of strategic climate-focused lobbying governance.	1