STATE OF PLAY
Over a decade ago, the United States agreed to new standards to cap sulfur emissions in shipping fuels set by the International Maritime Organization (IMO). These standards, called IMO 2020, lowered the limit of sulfur emissions from 3.5 percent to 0.5 percent. The industry had invested more than $100 billion to prepare for the change. However, The Wall Street Journal reported in 2018 that the Republican Administration was considering a delay of IMO 2020, which sent the stocks of several U.S. refiners into a tailspin.
ACTION
Narrative quickly helped set up a coalition to educate policymakers on the benefits of IMO 2020 standards and to respond to false rumors in the media.
Coalition Building. Narrative recruited more than 20 refiners, shippers, unions, liquid gas organizations, and others to join the Coalition for American Energy Security, which we established and named. Narrative built a modern website that served as a clearinghouse to store earned media, economic research, and talking points about the economic and environmental benefits of the IMO standards.
Message Development. Narrative reframed the IMO 2020 standards as a win for American energy security to generate thousands of well-paying union jobs. From the national security perspective, U.S. refiners had invested billions into infrastructure upgrades to comply with IMO 2020, while our geostrategic rivals Russia and Venezuela had not. Research. Commissioned economic research and a white paper on the costs and benefits of the IMO 2020 standards. Narrative also drafted and designed one-pagers and talking points for use by coalition members in the media and meetings with key policymakers.
Earned Media Outreach. Developed and executed media strategies to build a drumbeat of articles on the issue that Administration officials would read. This included the placement of more than 30 op-eds and earned media items from coalition members. Additionally, Narrative engaged the same Wall Street Journal reporter who first covered the Administration’s hesitancy in implementing the IMO 2020 standards. Our team helped bring the reporter to a refinery to demonstrate firsthand how the investments made by the energy sector were already creating jobs and positioning the U.S. to dominate the production of low-sulfur maritime fuel. Our work resulted in the publication of a follow-up story detailing how the IMO 2020 standards were on track to be implemented.
IMPACT
Despite the Administration’s concerns, the IMO 2020 standards were implemented on time. Through our coalition, refiners, shippers, unions, liquid gas operators, and other organizations successfully conveyed to policymakers that the IMO 2020 standards would help promote American companies who had made the investments to upgrade their infrastructure to meet the criteria.
