Exxon Shareholders Pressure Company on Climate Risks

By Bradley Olson 

DALLAS -- Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholders delivered a major rebuke to the oil giant Wednesday, calling for the company to share more information about how climate change and regulations could impact its operations.

The climate proposal won the support of 62% of shareholders who cast ballots, a powerful symbol that big investors see climate change as a major risk that warrants greater transparency from oil and gas companies.

Vanguard Group and BlackRock Inc. -- Exxon's two largest shareholders -- supported the climate-related shareholder proposal, people familiar with the votes said. Vanguard, BlackRock and other asset managers last week signaled they were likely to vote for a shareholder proposal at the company's annual meeting Wednesday.

The Exxon vote came amid reports that President Donald Trump was leaning toward pulling out of the 2015 Paris accord to address climate change. The president said on Twitter Wednesday morning he would make his determination "over the next few days."

Exxon has stepped up its climate disclosures in recent years, stated its commitment to the Paris climate agreement, named an environmental expert to its board and worked to reduce emissions in its operations.

At Exxon's annual meeting, an estimated 32% of investors also voted against the company's pay practices. Proxy-advisory firm Institutional Shareholder Services said the company's goals and targets are not specific enough and grants to executives lack performance criteria. The vote tallies were preliminary.

Both votes are nonbinding, but reflect frustration among the company's major investors over the Exxon board policy that doesn't allow shareholders to meet with non-employee directors. Shareholders can communicate with board members by emailing them through the company's Web site. Last year, BlackRock withheld its support for two Exxon directors over the matter.

Sarah Krouse contributed to this article.

Write to Bradley Olson at [e-mail]

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

May 31, 2017 13:15 ET (17:15 GMT)

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