Exxon Sues to Prevent Climate Proposal From Getting a Shareholder Vote
The complaint, filed in a U.S. District Court in Texas, said a proposal by activist investors calling for the oil giant to cut emissions faster would not create shareholder value.
Exxon Mobil is suing two activist investors to prevent their proposal calling for emissions cuts at the oil giant from going to a vote of shareholders.
In a complaint filed in U.S. District Court for the Northern District of Texas on Sunday, Exxon accused the investors, Arjuna Capital and Follow This, of abusing the process for proposing shareholder votes to advance their priorities with votes “calculated to diminish the company’s existing business.”
Arjuna filed a proposal in December for a nonbinding resolution that urged Exxon to accelerate its plans to reduce its carbon emissions and expand the scope of the emissions it measures to include its suppliers and customers. Follow This joined in support of the proposal shortly thereafter, according to the complaint.
The proposal “does not seek to improve ExxonMobil’s economic performance or create shareholder value,” Exxon said in the complaint, but is instead “constraining and micromanaging” the company’s operations.
It doesn’t improve ExxonMobil’s performance literally today, but it does when, you know, the world doesn’t end as fast. Literally “think beyond today”
Have them pretend they produce coal instead of oil. Now you have 2 choices, keep doing what you're doing (and end up where coal is now), or actually diversify into more green energy and stay sustainable long term. Staying around long term seems like a better return to me.
The executives don’t care; their incentives are for short term profits as that’s how they get their bonuses and pay hikes. They would likely dismantle the company tomorrow and sell it for scrap if would mean they would end up pocketing the majority of it. (Obviously considering the size of the company and its importance, and pesky legal regulations, they probably wouldn’t get away with scrapping it but the point is they would if they could)
This is also driven out of a requirement to always maximize returns for shareholders, even if long term it doesn't make sense for the company.
It's almost like capitalism isn't designed with the company or workers in mind, and will devour both for another cent. 😜
Amazing how "increase shareholder value" is in direct opposition to keeping the shareholders, their descendants, and modern civilization itself viable.
Capitalism thinks one quarter at a time man you can’t expect them to care about next decade, much less descendants