ExxonMobil shareholders will meet in Dallas on May 29. Socially Responsible Investment Coalition members have filed resolutions concerning energy and the environment. Shareholders gained an important victory when the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) issued letters supporting the inclusion of two environmental shareholder resolutions in the company’s 2002 proxy statement. The resolutions were filed by some fifty-six investor groups overall.

For years ExxonMobil has refused to admit global warming is real, refuses to set emissions reductions goals and resists calls to invest in renewable energy. The resolutions call for a report on ExxonMobil’s plans to develop clean energy and ask for executive compensation to be linked to environmental and social performance. ExxonMobil challenged the resolutions at the SEC, seeking to omit them from the annual proxy, but on March 27 the SEC refused their request.

“Rather than address concerns about ExxonMobil’s environmental accountability directly, ExxonMobil chose to go to the SEC to try to cut off debate,” said Father Michael Crosby of the Province of St. Joseph of the Capuchin Order, the primary filer of a resolution on renewable energy. “This company simply refuses to address these issues head on in a responsible manner.”

“In the wake of the Enron scandal, vigilant shareholder oversight and responsibility is more necessary than ever,” said Sister Patricia A. Daly of the Dominican Sisters of Caldwell, New Jersey, the principal filer of a resolution on executive compensation. “Just as Enron’s board members failed to properly oversee their company’s financial dealings, ExxonMobil’s board is failing to oversee their company’s position on vital environmental issues. We are pleased that investors will be able to examine these issues at the annual meeting.”

ExxonMobil’s isolationist position on global warming contrasts with that of its leading competitors. In a March 11 speech to a Stanford University audience, Sir John Browne, Chairman and CEO of BP, reaffirmed his company’s acceptance of the science of global warming. Browne stated, “I believe the American people expect a company like BP, the largest single supplier of oil and gas in this country, to offer answers and not excuses. People expect successful companies to take on challenges, to apply skills and technology and to give them better choices.”

Browne also announced that BP had successfully reached its initial goal of reducing global warming emissions 10% below 1990 levels and publicly announced a new goal of keeping emissions level throughout the next decade. In addition, Browne announced that BP would continue to invest in solar energy. BP’s solar operations have a 17 per cent share of the world market and are expected to grow by 40 per cent this year.

The very different approach taken by ExxonMobil was featured the following day in a Financial Times story (“A Dinosaur Still Hunting for Growth”) in which Chairman and CEO Lee R. Raymond reaffirmed his skepticism about global warming and then insulted Europeans for their emissions reductions efforts. “In Europe you like to tell people what kind of cars they ought to use. Most Americans like to make that decision themselves—that’s why they left (Europe).” ExxonMobil refuses to set goals for reducing its greenhouse gas emissions.

Raymond also sneers at renewable energy. “We’ve been there, done that,” Raymond is quoted as saying in the Financial Times story. ExxonMobil claims to have invested $500 million in solar, wind and battery power in the 1980s before giving up. Renewable energy prices and technologies have come a long way since ExxonMobil looked into it, shareholders point out. “Who can imagine a company rejecting computers because they looked unattractive the last time they looked twenty years ago?” asked Daley.

Many companies agree that global warming is real and are committing to solutions. Royal Dutch Shell has specific emissions reductions goals and is investing $1.5 billion in renewables. DuPont has also committed to reduce emissions and meet its internal energy needs through renewable energy.

“Exxon Immobile is a good description of this company. They refuse to move despite scientific fact and consensus, despite growing demand for clean energy and despite the long-term threat their position poses to the global economy,” said Peter Altman of Campaign ExxonMobil. “It is long past time for ExxonMobil to drop its arrogance and take meaningful action. The company ought to be telling its investors and the public what its emissions reductions goals are and explain how it plans to meet them. ExxonMobil should be a leader in fighting global warming, not a leader in fighting solutions.” Campaign ExxonMobil is a national coalition of religious shareholders and environmental groups working to compel ExxonMobil to take a responsible position on global warming.

(These resolutions can be found at : www.campaignexxonmobil.org/sharehlder/2002_resolutions.shtml)

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