H/Advisors Cicero was commissioned to support thyssenkrupp Steel (tk Steel) in their lobbying efforts around the European Green Deal. We were tasked with helping the business push for reforms that make the necessary decarbonisation process commercially viable for the steel industry. The brief covered a wide array of policy areas ranging from state aid to sustainable finance and the hydrogen economy.

Strategy & Execution

H/Advisors commenced the engagement with several insight and analysis sessions to bring tk Steel up to speed on all areas of the Green Deal that would impact their business. This was followed by several strategy and messaging sessions to set out objectives, a detailed and live 600+ stakeholder powermap of tiered and prioritised targets across all EU institutions and a message house with positioning on key policy areas.

We then developed detailed position papers, which were shared with Commission and Parliament targets, we prepared pre- and post- engagement briefings for C-Suite level Commissioner meetings setting out goals and next steps, and we kept our client abreast of the latest state of play on all relevant policy areas. This provided the appropriate groundwork for our direct engagement programme.

Recognising the necessity of these green reforms whilst also ensuring that they were fit for industries such as steel-making was critical for legislative success. tk Steel recognised the balance that needed to struck across the public affairs strategy, messaging and tactical approach. It was this awareness that ultimately led to the significant cut-through we achieved – outlining tk as a fair and considered stakeholder, rather than a market actor looking to create favourable market conditions.

Helena Walsh, Managing Director Brussels

Results

tk Steel has met with 4 Commissioners inputting directly into the EU’s Green Deal policy agenda and is well placed to continue engagement throughout the first reading of the ‘Fit for 55’ package files. EU Taxonomy developments and new reporting requirements were flagged to the relevant compliance teams ahead of schedule, providing an increased timespan for internal transition and allowing for positioning to be revised and circulated to legislators prior to final adoption.

If you wish to discuss any of the issues mentioned in this article, please contact Helena in H/Advisors Cicero’s Brussels team on helena.walsh@h-advisors.global