Engagement
Engagement
We believe active participation in the political process is essential to our long-term success. Our company advances our public policy agenda through direct lobbying, involvement in various trade associations and the LyondellBasell Political Action Committee (LYB PAC). Transparency and accountability are embedded into our public policy, political spending and lobbying actions. The company maintains policies and procedures consistent with our Code of Conduct that support continued compliance with applicable political laws and regulations. Our engagement, including public policy advocacy directly and through trade associations, is subject to oversight by LYB senior management and CEO. In addition, the LYB PAC Board is responsible for the management of all PAC activities, including the approval of all PAC distributions.
Political contributions
We do not make direct political contributions to political parties or candidates using company resources (including monetary and in-kind services), even where permitted by law. All political contributions are made solely through the LYB PAC, which is funded voluntarily by employees. All financial contributions strictly adhere to federal and state laws regarding contribution limits on amount and source, criteria and reporting requirements. We refrain from making political contributions in any country other than the United States. All political contributions are made without regard to the personal political affiliations or views of any individual LYB employee at any level across the organization.
LYB Political Action Committee (PAC)
As permitted under U.S. law, we operate a political action committee that is registered with the U.S. Federal Election Commission. The LYB PAC is a mechanism to enable eligible U.S. employees to voluntarily support candidates for elected office who share LYB perspectives and approaches to public policy issues. The contributions made by the PAC are not funded by corporate funds but are fully funded by voluntary employee contributions. Contributions to LYB PAC are entirely voluntary and PAC operations are governed by the LYB PAC By-Laws.
Our company provides administrative support to the PAC, as permitted under federal law. The LYB PAC is governed by its Board of Directors that is made up of executive officers and senior management, including the Managing Director of Government Relations. The PAC Board of Directors supervises and directs the PAC's administration, solicitation campaigns, contributions, and compliance with applicable law and LYB PAC’s By-Laws. The LYB PAC is audited by an LyondellBasell internal audit department every four years.
Key factors to be considered for LYB PAC contributions include the following:
- Proven support for industry and company issues
- Effective advocate for industry
- LyondellBasell facility in district
- Leadership positions and key committee assignments
- Integrity and character of the candidate
Compliance, oversight and disclosure
The Department of Government Relations and the LYB PAC Board have oversight for our engagement in the political process. Management of our participation in the political process in the U.S. is overseen by the Executive Vice President, Sustainability & Corporate Affairs, who reports to the company CEO. The LYB PAC Board maintains responsibility for ensuring all company political activities promote ethical and transparent engagement, advance the company purpose, and comply with applicable laws and reporting requirements. The Policy Committee, a duly authorized oversight committee made up of company executives, reviews and approves the company’s U.S. policy on political expenditures.
We are committed to transparency with regard to our political activity, and publish a Political Activity Report semi-annually which discloses:
- LYB PAC contributions
- Corporate contributions to candidates, parties and political action committees;
- Contributions and expenditures made with the intent to participate in any political campaign or referendum;
- Payments to 527 organizations, independent expenditure committees, 501(c)(4) groups and other tax-exempt organizations that may use such funds for political purposes;
- Independent expenditures made by the company itself; and
- The portion of any membership dues and other payments to trade associations that are used for political purposes.
We also file quarterly reports regarding our U.S. federal lobbying activities with the Office of the Clerk of the U.S. House of Representatives and the Secretary of the U.S. Senate. These reports are available by searching for "Lyondell Chemical Company PAC" as a "Registrant" on the U.S. Senate's website.
LyondellBasell is assessed annually by the Center for Political Accountability (CPA) and has received a First Tier score on CPA's Zicklin Index, which measures transparency and accountability in corporate political spending.
Learn more about the CPA Zicklin Index and our score.
Annual summaries of political activity and contributions
Midyear summaries of political activity and contributions
We belong to more than 100 industry associations worldwide, most of which are in the U.S. and Europe. These associations provide a venue for chemical, plastics and refining companies to lend their voices to issues impacting our industry. We also participate in a variety of multi-stakeholder collaborations that help deliver impactful solutions to key global sustainability challenges.
We regularly review our memberships in coalitions, alliances and trade associations to assess their business value and alignment with our policies and priorities.
Learn more about our trade associations and multi-stakeholder collaborations.
Contact our Government Relations team to learn more about LYB public policy positions and disclosures.