I am an Exxon Mobil shareholder and I have been speaking out for more than ten years about my concerns regarding Exxon Mobil’s blatant disregard for the impact its operations are having on climate change and public health. Some people ask, “If you don’t like what the company is doing, why don’t you just sell your shares?” My answer is that I have chosen to keep my shares in Exxon Mobil and try to make a difference from the inside. If I sell my shares, I have no power to change the largest, most profitable energy company in the world.
While we are grateful for shareholder profits and the economic growth U.S. citizens enjoy, we have to be vigilant and speak out about the tremendous negative impact Exxon Mobil’s way of doing business is having on the planet and the health of the people living near its facilities. This company has the power and the resources to lead the way to a more sustainable energy future. We as shareholders can have a voice in the direction Exxon Mobil takes in this very critical time.
It is my responsibility to stay and work for the changes I believe must be made to help reduce toxic pollution and greenhouse gas emissions. These changes will also help Exxon Mobil be sustainable as a business. Unlike the hapless passengers on the Titanic, shareholders must stand up and demand that Exxon Mobil change its course before it is too late.
“Climate change is a critical economic issue that will impact the lives of billions of people,” Mindy Lubber, president of Ceres, a coalition of investors, environmental organizations and other public interest groups, said in a presentation to the United Nations recently. “Savvy investors already know that smart companies with a strategic vision are reducing their exposure to climate change risks and are seizing the opportunities it is creating, especially in clean energy and clean technology.” Would I be financially better off to sell my shares in Exxon Mobil? Probably so if the company continues to keep its head in sand tars and refuses to look toward the wind and the sun for fuel sources.
What will happen when Exxon Mobil loses it’s good friend in the White House, the price of oil and gas continue to rise and U.S. citizens grow weary of paying the high price of war for oil? Analysts and brokers I’ve talked with say it is likely that the future enactment of an excess profits tax applicable to big oil companies such as Exxon Mobil would cause the share price to fall over time. However, the limited opportunities to develop new oil fields with sizable production, the pressure of the shrinking oil and gas supplies and the development of alternative sources of energy will have greater economic consequences for Exxon Mobil.
Over the coming years, the value of equity interests in Exxon Mobil and other big oil companies are likely to decline as people learn to use less oil and gas, which is happening today. As the energy business becomes more competitive and regulated, free market forces will reflect these events in the reduced value of the stock. I am not the only shareholder that works for change inside ExxonMobil. The Rockefeller family made valiant efforts through news conferences, to call attention to Exxon Mobil’s lack of a plan to reduce greenhouse gases. They also sponsored a resolution to separate CEO and board chair’s roles. That resolution received almost 40 percent of 4.4 billion shareholder votes.
A more sustaining effort has been made by investors who are members of the Interfaith Council on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR). They represent investing billions of dollars for 275 faith- based institutional investors including some of the largest pension funds. The ICCR and groups affliated with them have been presenting resolutions for improving Exxon Mobil’s performance regarding the environment every year for more than 10 years.
ICCR reported in March that “investors filed a record number of global warming resolutions with U.S. companies” this year.
"Scientific consensus of the potentially destructive impacts of climate change on the global economy is clearer now than ever. Companies in every industry, especially energy sectors, should be acting now to assess and mitigate climate change risks," said Jack Ehnes, chief executive officer at the California State Teachers' Retirement System (CalSTRS), the nation's second largest pubic pension fund. CalSTRS filed climate-related resolutions for the first time this year, according to the ICCR report.
The moral imperative when it comes to what to do as an energy company calls for Exxon Mobil to take steps to reduce greenhouse gas emissions by investing and retooling for alternative fuel sources. Doing the right thing also is the best thing for business to do in the long term. Joe Romm, author of “Hell or High Water: The Solution and the Politics--and What We Should Do,” says “The greatest challenge of the 21st century is the decarbonization of fuel.”
To be a sustainable company, decisions and practices must be ethically grounded. All the best information science and experience have to offer must be considered with a top priority being the protection of human health and the environment. Finally, decisions and practices must be economically viable.
Instead of looking at the evidence that the planet is in peril if we don’t reduce carbon dioxide emissions drastically and immediately, Exxon Mobil looks for more places to drill for oil and makes deals with the Iraqi oil ministry and other unholy alliances. I will continue to be a shareholder in Exxon Mobil and work to increase the shareholder vote on climate change resolutions. I do this in honor of my grandfather, for my children and for future generations.
Owen, a Houstonian, is president of Citizens League for Environmental Action Now (CLEAN). She is granddaughter of Robert Lee Blaffer, co-founder of Humble Oil.
