AT&T

The Dallas-based telecom giant says, “AT&T is where people come to invent the future,” but we’re not sure the future it’s inventing will be a liveable one. 

First, AT&T earned a D from corporate accountability watchdog As You Sow’s in its Road to Net Zero report. It fared worst in the category related to reducing emissions. 

Then there’s the fact that in the 2022 election cycle alone, AT&T’s political action committee (PAC) gave $667,500 to politicians with the worst environmental track records in Congress. That’s a full 447 percent more than the average amount given to that same group by other corporate PACs in the UNFK database. (Only Koch Industries, Honeywell, and Home Depot gave more to that same group.) The company also has relationships with the industry lobbying groups Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable, each with a long history of fighting against climate-protecting policies**. **

AT&T did receive an A for its submission to the CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project), and it has registered short-term emission reduction goals with the Science Based Targets Initiative (SBTi), but again, since the company’s goals were found to be out of alignment with its absolute emissions, AT&T is still phoning it in. 

Finally, AT&T has yet to acknowledge environmental justice as a part of its racial justice commitment. This is a worrisome omission because the telecom industry consumes between 2 to 3 percent of energy globally, mostly from fossil fuels, and fossil fuel pollution disproportionately impacts people of color. 

All this is frustrating when you consider how well-resourced the company is and how much it could be doing to encourage the post-carbon economy. Bad call, AT&T.