The Turning Point Podcast • Still Point Insight · July 9, 2026
Our very own Deborah McNamara recently joined Still Point Insight for their podcast discussing “Why Good Companies Block Good Climate Policy,” where they dug into how trade associations quietly influence public policy behind the scenes, why corporate sustainability teams and government affairs teams often become misaligned and how employees inside organizations can influence corporate policy positions.
Many of us look at challenges like climate change and wonder why progress seems so slow.
Public support is growing. Companies publish ambitious sustainability goals. New technologies continue to emerge. Yet meaningful policy change often feels frustratingly out of reach.
What explains the gap?
In this episode of The Turning Point, they sit down with Deb McNamara, Executive Director of Climate Voice, to explore one of the least understood forces shaping climate progress today: the hidden influence of corporate lobbying, trade associations, and the powerful role organizations play in shaping public policy.
Rather than reducing the conversation to “good companies” versus “bad companies,” Deb helps us understand something far more interesting—and ultimately more useful.
Complex systems often produce outcomes that don’t reflect the intentions of the people inside them.
Understanding those systems is the first step toward changing them.
In this episode, we explore:
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Why companies sometimes lobby against their own publicly stated climate goals
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How trade associations quietly influence public policy behind the scenes
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Why corporate sustainability teams and government affairs teams often become misaligned
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How employees inside organizations can influence corporate policy positions
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Why local and state policy remain powerful opportunities for meaningful change
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The growing relationship between AI, energy infrastructure, and climate policy
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How understanding systems can move us from frustration toward practical action
Key Takeaways
1. The most important forces shaping policy often operate behind the scenes.
Trade associations, lobbying organizations, and corporate coalitions frequently influence legislation in ways most citizens—and even many employees—never see.
2. Organizational incentives matter as much as organizational values.
Many companies genuinely care about sustainability while simultaneously participating in systems that undermine those same goals. Understanding that tension requires looking beyond individual intentions and toward institutional structures.
3. Employees possess more influence than they often realize.
Climate Voice is demonstrating that meaningful change can begin inside organizations, as employees organize around shared values, ask difficult questions, and encourage greater alignment between corporate commitments and corporate political activity.
4. Local action remains one of today’s greatest leverage points.
While national politics often dominate headlines, many meaningful policy innovations continue to emerge at the state and local level, creating opportunities for citizens to participate directly in shaping their communities.
5. Understanding creates agency.
One of the central themes of this conversation is that people rarely become more effective simply by becoming more alarmed. They become more effective when they understand how systems actually function and where meaningful leverage exists within them.
Why this conversation matters
This episode is a companion to their recent conversation with Nicole Rom of Good Power. Together, these conversations explore two complementary questions. Nicole examines how public opinion helps create political momentum. Deb explores what happens after that momentum reaches institutions—and why policy outcomes are often shaped by forces most of us never see.
Taken together, they offer a more complete picture of how meaningful societal change actually happens.
Listen to the Conversation→