Absa Group Ltd – Lobbying Governance & Transparency

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Lobbying Governance

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Limited	Absa Group has articulated a high‐level commitment to align its external engagement with climate goals, answering “Yes” when asked if it has a public position statement to conduct engagement activities in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. It also explains that “AGL’s role is to participate in all BASA committees … to ensure that AGL’s views on, including but not limited to, legislation, regulation, and social and economic issues that affect the industry encapsulate the best interests of AGL.” However, the company does not disclose any specific governance process for overseeing or reviewing its direct or indirect lobbying activities, no named individual or committee tasked with approving lobbying positions, and no defined procedure for monitoring or enforcing alignment of its policy advocacy with its climate commitments. We found no evidence of a formal climate lobbying review, board sign‐off on lobbying plans, or mechanisms to engage or exit trade associations based on their climate positions. View Sources	D

Overall Assessment

Analysis

Score

Limited

Absa Group has articulated a high‐level commitment to align its external engagement with climate goals, answering “Yes” when asked if it has a public position statement to conduct engagement activities in line with the goals of the Paris Agreement. It also explains that “AGL’s role is to participate in all BASA committees … to ensure that AGL’s views on, including but not limited to, legislation, regulation, and social and economic issues that affect the industry encapsulate the best interests of AGL.” However, the company does not disclose any specific governance process for overseeing or reviewing its direct or indirect lobbying activities, no named individual or committee tasked with approving lobbying positions, and no defined procedure for monitoring or enforcing alignment of its policy advocacy with its climate commitments. We found no evidence of a formal climate lobbying review, board sign‐off on lobbying plans, or mechanisms to engage or exit trade associations based on their climate positions.

View Sources

Lobbying Transparency

Overall Assessment	Analysis	Score
Limited	Absa Group offers only limited transparency on its climate-related lobbying. The company notes that it "continues to engage with numerous stakeholders on the matters referenced within the PRB" and that it "advocate[s] for regulations that support sustainable development," but it does not clearly name the specific bills, regulations or drafting processes it has attempted to influence, mentioning only broad areas such as the South African Carbon Tax, the Renewable Energy Independent Power Producer Procurement Programme and Africa’s wider energy transition. Its description of how it lobbies is equally high-level: references to participation in forums like COP28, providing input to organisations such as Green Cape and the Council for Scientific and Industrial Research, and engagement with domestic regulators are made without explaining whether these involved meetings, letters, consultations or other concrete channels, nor are the particular decision-makers targeted identified. Finally, the purpose of these activities is framed in general aspirations—financing R100 billion in ESG projects, supporting a “just, orderly and equitable transition” and achieving net-zero emissions by 2050—rather than stating the specific legislative or regulatory outcomes Absa seeks. As a result, the disclosures leave significant gaps around the exact policies, lobbying methods and objectives involved in the bank’s climate policy engagement.	D