Hill Heat: Sapping ALEC's Power: Software Giant SAP Dumps Group Over Climate DenialScience Policy Legislation Actiontag:hillheat.com,2005:TypoTypo2014-11-06T14:23:05-05:00Brad Johnsonurn:uuid:8de20cde-e4b8-4950-a6b3-0276290a9d0f2014-11-06T00:01:00-05:002014-11-06T14:23:05-05:00Sapping ALEC's Power: Software Giant SAP Dumps Group Over Climate Denial<p><img src='/files/sap_large.jpg' alt='SAP' style='float:right;margin-left:10px;width:40%' />The tech exodus from the American Legislative Exchange Council continues, with German software giant <span class="caps">SAP</span> ending its membership in the anti-climate lobbying group. The blow is especially harsh as <span class="caps">ALEC</span>’s corporate board was chaired by <span class="caps">SAP</span> lobbyist Steve Seale. <span class="caps">SAP</span>’s departure comes in the wake of <a href='http://www.hillheat.com/articles/2014/09/23/google-drops-american-legislative-exchange-council-over-climate-denial-theyre-literally-lying'>Google</a>, Microsoft, <a href='http://www.hillheat.com/articles/2014/09/24/following-googles-lead-facebook-plans-to-cut-ties-to-alec'>Facebook</a>, and other tech companies leaving in quick succession this fall.</p>
<p>German business journal <em>Manager Magazin</em> <a href='http://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/artikel/sap-verlaesst-rechte-lobbyorganisation-alec-a-1001275.html'>reported</a> the departure on Wednesday. “We have decided that we will leave the organization today,” an <span class="caps">SAP</span> spokeswoman told the magazine.</p>
<p>The spokeswoman told <em>Manager</em> that the company abandoned <span class="caps">ALEC</span> because of its “merkwürdigen” (strange) positions—such as its support for Stand Your Ground laws, climate denial, and opposition to solar energy deployment. Germany’s state-supported solar-power revolution (part of its “<a href='http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/wwf-partner-zone/2014/aug/21/energiewende-energy-transition-in-germany'>Energiewende</a>” transition) is in stark contrast to the United States, in no small part because of the work <span class="caps">ALEC</span> has done for decades to oppose renewable energy.</p>
<p><span class="caps">SAP</span>, which touts its <a href='http://www.news-sap.com/sap-lauded-sustainability-leadership-worldwide/'>sustainability leadership</a>, is a major producer of <a href='http://www.osisoft.com/resources/articles/articles-content/SAP_for_Utilities__Leading_the_Charge_for_Long-Term_Energy_Efficiency.aspx'>smart-grid</a> and <a href='http://www.sap.com/solution/lob/sustainability/software/energy-management-environmental-compliance/index.html'>energy-efficiency</a> solutions. Unlike <span class="caps">ALEC</span>, SAP is unambiguous about the threat of fossil-fueled climate change, saying that “with the dangers and costs of global warming and rising carbon dioxide levels, and it’s clear that increased energy efficiency is an absolute must.”</p>
<p>At the UN Climate Summit in New York City this September, <span class="caps">SAP</span> signed on to the World Bank effort calling for a <a href='http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTSDNET/Resources/carbon-pricing-supporters-list-092114.pdf'>global price on carbon pollution</a>.</p>
<div style='float:right;margin-left:10px;width:40%;font-size:x-small'><img src='/files/steve_seale.jpeg' alt='Steve Seale' style='width:100%' /><br /><span class="caps">SAP</span> lobbyist Steve Seale, former <span class="caps">ALEC</span> corporate board chair</div><span class="caps">SAP</span>’s membership in <span class="caps">ALEC</span> came under pressure when <em>Manager</em>’s Nils-Viktor Sorge noted in a piece entitled “<a href='http://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/it/sap-unterstuetzt-rechte-us-politorganisation-alec-a-1000899.html'>How <span class="caps">SAP</span> Supports a Right-Wing Hardliner in the US</a>” that <span class="caps">SAP</span> America state lobbyist C Stevens Seale has been the chair of <span class="caps">ALEC</span>’s influential corporate board, known as the Private Enterprise Advisory Council, since March 2013. Seale, a former Republican Mississippi legislator, had also served as the chief counsel for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott in the 1990s.
<br /><br />
<span class="caps">SAP</span>’s union representatives in Germany were quick to decry the corporation’s involvement in <span class="caps">ALEC</span>. “SAP has no place in a political organization that represents the positions of the Tea Party,” a representative told Sorge. His article also noted Google chair Eric Schmidt’s excoriation of <span class="caps">ALEC</span> as a group of “liars.”
<br /><br />
“SAP America’s <a href='http://www.alec.org/new-private-sector-advisory-council/'>strong commitment</a> to the American Legislative Exchange Council is due to the nonprofit’s significant impact and the opportunities it creates for the exchange of ideas,” Seale said upon his appointment to the <span class="caps">ALEC</span> board a year ago.
<p>As of publication, Seale is still <a href='http://www.alec.org/about-alec/private-enterprise-advisory-council/'>listed</a> as the chair of the <span class="caps">ALEC</span> corporate board on the group’s website.</p>
<p>[UPDATE] “SAP has decided to <a href='http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/major-tech-company-severs-ties-with-alec-20141106'>immediately disassociate itself</a> from <span class="caps">ALEC</span>,” a company representative said in a statement given to the Center for Media and Democracy. “The membership had been under review for some time and is now being canceled.”</p>
<p>When asked if the decision was because of <span class="caps">ALEC</span>’s climate denial, the representative replied, “Not only [that] position, on gun control and voter rights as well.”</p>
<p>“In the wake of the elections where a clear mandate for limited-government, state-based policies was offered by the American people,” an <span class="caps">ALEC</span> spokesperson told <em>National Journal</em>, “it is too bad that companies like <span class="caps">SAP</span> are making short-sighted decisions based on misinformation.”</p><p><img src='/files/sap_large.jpg' alt='SAP' style='float:right;margin-left:10px;width:40%' />The tech exodus from the American Legislative Exchange Council continues, with German software giant <span class="caps">SAP</span> ending its membership in the anti-climate lobbying group. The blow is especially harsh as <span class="caps">ALEC</span>’s corporate board was chaired by <span class="caps">SAP</span> lobbyist Steve Seale. <span class="caps">SAP</span>’s departure comes in the wake of <a href='http://www.hillheat.com/articles/2014/09/23/google-drops-american-legislative-exchange-council-over-climate-denial-theyre-literally-lying'>Google</a>, Microsoft, <a href='http://www.hillheat.com/articles/2014/09/24/following-googles-lead-facebook-plans-to-cut-ties-to-alec'>Facebook</a>, and other tech companies leaving in quick succession this fall.</p>
<p>German business journal <em>Manager Magazin</em> <a href='http://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/artikel/sap-verlaesst-rechte-lobbyorganisation-alec-a-1001275.html'>reported</a> the departure on Wednesday. “We have decided that we will leave the organization today,” an <span class="caps">SAP</span> spokeswoman told the magazine.</p>
<p>The spokeswoman told <em>Manager</em> that the company abandoned <span class="caps">ALEC</span> because of its “merkwürdigen” (strange) positions—such as its support for Stand Your Ground laws, climate denial, and opposition to solar energy deployment. Germany’s state-supported solar-power revolution (part of its “<a href='http://www.theguardian.com/global-development-professionals-network/wwf-partner-zone/2014/aug/21/energiewende-energy-transition-in-germany'>Energiewende</a>” transition) is in stark contrast to the United States, in no small part because of the work <span class="caps">ALEC</span> has done for decades to oppose renewable energy.</p>
<p><span class="caps">SAP</span>, which touts its <a href='http://www.news-sap.com/sap-lauded-sustainability-leadership-worldwide/'>sustainability leadership</a>, is a major producer of <a href='http://www.osisoft.com/resources/articles/articles-content/SAP_for_Utilities__Leading_the_Charge_for_Long-Term_Energy_Efficiency.aspx'>smart-grid</a> and <a href='http://www.sap.com/solution/lob/sustainability/software/energy-management-environmental-compliance/index.html'>energy-efficiency</a> solutions. Unlike <span class="caps">ALEC</span>, SAP is unambiguous about the threat of fossil-fueled climate change, saying that “with the dangers and costs of global warming and rising carbon dioxide levels, and it’s clear that increased energy efficiency is an absolute must.”</p>
<p>At the UN Climate Summit in New York City this September, <span class="caps">SAP</span> signed on to the World Bank effort calling for a <a href='http://siteresources.worldbank.org/EXTSDNET/Resources/carbon-pricing-supporters-list-092114.pdf'>global price on carbon pollution</a>.</p>
<div style='float:right;margin-left:10px;width:40%;font-size:x-small'><img src='/files/steve_seale.jpeg' alt='Steve Seale' style='width:100%' /><br /><span class="caps">SAP</span> lobbyist Steve Seale, former <span class="caps">ALEC</span> corporate board chair</div><span class="caps">SAP</span>’s membership in <span class="caps">ALEC</span> came under pressure when <em>Manager</em>’s Nils-Viktor Sorge noted in a piece entitled “<a href='http://www.manager-magazin.de/unternehmen/it/sap-unterstuetzt-rechte-us-politorganisation-alec-a-1000899.html'>How <span class="caps">SAP</span> Supports a Right-Wing Hardliner in the US</a>” that <span class="caps">SAP</span> America state lobbyist C Stevens Seale has been the chair of <span class="caps">ALEC</span>’s influential corporate board, known as the Private Enterprise Advisory Council, since March 2013. Seale, a former Republican Mississippi legislator, had also served as the chief counsel for U.S. Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott in the 1990s.
<br /><br />
<span class="caps">SAP</span>’s union representatives in Germany were quick to decry the corporation’s involvement in <span class="caps">ALEC</span>. “SAP has no place in a political organization that represents the positions of the Tea Party,” a representative told Sorge. His article also noted Google chair Eric Schmidt’s excoriation of <span class="caps">ALEC</span> as a group of “liars.”
<br /><br />
“SAP America’s <a href='http://www.alec.org/new-private-sector-advisory-council/'>strong commitment</a> to the American Legislative Exchange Council is due to the nonprofit’s significant impact and the opportunities it creates for the exchange of ideas,” Seale said upon his appointment to the <span class="caps">ALEC</span> board a year ago.
<p>As of publication, Seale is still <a href='http://www.alec.org/about-alec/private-enterprise-advisory-council/'>listed</a> as the chair of the <span class="caps">ALEC</span> corporate board on the group’s website.</p>
<p>[UPDATE] “SAP has decided to <a href='http://www.nationaljournal.com/tech/major-tech-company-severs-ties-with-alec-20141106'>immediately disassociate itself</a> from <span class="caps">ALEC</span>,” a company representative said in a statement given to the Center for Media and Democracy. “The membership had been under review for some time and is now being canceled.”</p>
<p>When asked if the decision was because of <span class="caps">ALEC</span>’s climate denial, the representative replied, “Not only [that] position, on gun control and voter rights as well.”</p>
<p>“In the wake of the elections where a clear mandate for limited-government, state-based policies was offered by the American people,” an <span class="caps">ALEC</span> spokesperson told <em>National Journal</em>, “it is too bad that companies like <span class="caps">SAP</span> are making short-sighted decisions based on misinformation.”</p>