Shareholder Activism and a Big Win for the Climate
One of the cornerstones of the services we offer at Chicory Wealth is socially responsible investing (SRI), and an important component of that is voting proxies for our clients in shareholder meetings in a manner in keeping with environmental and social considerations.
We have always believed in the power of shareholder advocacy, and recent developments related to three major oil companies certainly underscore that. On May 26, 2021, Engine No. 1, an investor group promoting alternate business strategies at Exxon won multiple places on the board at Exxon’s shareholder meeting. At the Chevron board meeting the same day, a majority of shareholders voted in favor of a proposal to cut its carbon emissions. The next day a Dutch court ordered Shell to cut carbon emissions from its oil and gas by 45% by 2030, pushing the company further on its existing targets. You can read more about these major developments HERE.
Chicory Wealth was able to participate in the Exxon proxy vote for new board members and supported Engine No. 1’s board candidates and what we perceive as a better trajectory for the company. Up until now Exxon’s strategy has been to continue to invest heavily in additional oil production, which many see as a strategy that is blind to the changing energy landscape and to environmental considerations. Two of the new members elected to the board have experience in steering large oil companies from a focus on additional production to a focus on downstream refining and other business lines. One of the new directors previously was on the executive team of Neste, the largest producer in the world of renewable diesel fuel. We believe these kinds of bold leadership changes are critical if we are going to realistically address the problem of climate change the world is facing, and we are trying to do our part.
If you’re a client of Chicory Wealth and would like to learn more about shareholder activism, ask your advisor. If you are not yet a client, reach out to us at [email protected] to set up a complimentary get-acquainted call, and we can tell you about all our investment and financial planning services.
Photo by Markus Spiske of Unsplash
