About  |   Contact  |  Mongabay on Facebook  |  Mongabay on Twitter  |  Subscribe
Rainforests | Tropical fish | Environmental news | Blog | For kids | Madagascar | Photos | Non-English languages | Tropical Conservation Science | Jobs
SHARE:




ExxonMobil asked to stay out of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by shareholder group
Press Release
May 25, 2005



Green Century Capital Management, U.S. PIRG Education Fund, and Clean Yield Asset Management will be attending the ExxonMobil shareholder meeting later this week in an effort to convince the company to stay out of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge and to improve company policies on operations in other protected and sensitive areas worldwide. The groups have filed a shareholder resolution with the company on this topic and ExxonMobil shareholders will vote on the proposal at Wednesday's annual meeting.

The year's resolution comes amidst ongoing efforts by the Bush Administration and their allies in Congress to open the Arctic Refuge through the federal budget process, a backdoor maneuver that prevents Arctic supporters from using the filibuster to block the controversial legislation. Despite the recent withdrawals of the three other major operators on Alaska's North Slope from Arctic Power, ExxonMobil remains the only major oil company still funding the pro-drilling lobby group.

"It's quite clear that Exxon simply does not get it when it comes to good and responsible environmental policies, and the company's funding of the pro-Arctic Refuge drilling lobby group Arctic power is a perfect example of how far out of the mainstream the company is within the industry," said U.S. PIRG's Justin Tatham.

This year's shareholder resolution on protected and sensitive areas was filed as part of an ongoing campaign led by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund and Green Century Capital Management to protect Arctic Refuge and to convince the major oil companies operating on Alaska's North Slope – BP, ConocoPhillips, Chevron, and ExxonMobil – to abandon any plans to drill there. While the groups are calling on ExxonMobil to stay out of the Arctic Refuge and improve policies on operations in protected areas, the resolution specifically calls on the company to prepare a report for shareholders that would examine the potential risks involved in operating in sensitive and protected areas worldwide.

"As investors, we believe it is critical for companies – especially oil companies – to not only recognize the risks related to exploration and operations in protected areas, but to act upon those risks in a manner that protects the environment and shareholder value," said Michael Leone of Green Century Capital Management. "ExxonMobil is ultimately falling behind on this issue while other oil companies are moving ahead."

In response to recent U.S. PIRG Education Fund sponsored shareholder resolutions, BP has increased its transparency, moved forward with efforts to protect biodiversity, and taken new steps to mitigate operational impacts in protected and sensitive areas. In late 2003, Royal Dutch/Shell established a new policy aimed at reducing company impacts on protected areas when it took a stance against new exploration projects in designated World Heritage sites. The groups also cite a February 2004 report by ISIS Asset Management – now F&C – which evaluated extractive industries' efforts to protect biodiversity, placed ExxonMobil in the "On the Starting Line" category along with China Petroleum and Total.

"The fact that ExxonMobil remains so far outside the mainstream on environmental issues has given me reason to join this year's effort," said David Cunningham, an individual investor affiliated with Clean Yield Asset Management. "Most people don't want to see drilling take place in the Arctic Refuge, and I'm just trying to do something to prevent it from happening."


U.S. PIRG is the national lobbying office for the state Public Interest Research Groups. PIRGs are nonpartisan, nonprofit environmental and consumer advocacy organizations that are active across the country.

Green Century Capital Management (GCCM) is an environmental investing firm which focuses on environmentally progressive companies and uses shareholder advocacy to improve environmental responsibility.

Clean Yield Asset Management is an SEC-registered investment and advisory firm working exclusively with social investors.

For Immediate Release: May 25, 2005

For More Information: Michael Leone – 617-426-5566

















CITATION:
Press Release (May 25, 2005). ExxonMobil asked to stay out of Arctic National Wildlife Refuge by shareholder group. http://news.mongabay.com/2005/0525a-gccm.html


Tags:
Greenland-Arctic biodiversity animals wildlife education united states fossil fuels green

print


News index | RSS | News Feed | Twitter | Home


Advertisements:


Organic Apparel from Patagonia | Insect-repelling clothing




Mongabay Store
Wildlife of Madagascar T-shirt
Wildlife of Madagascar T-shirt
Bold and Dangerous - Pygmy tyrant t-shirts
Bold and Dangerous - Pygmy tyrant
Love me before I'm gone - Gladiator frog t-shirts
Love me before I'm gone - Gladiator frog
Licking this frog may make you crazy t-shirts
Licking this frog may make you crazy





WEEKLY NEWSLETTER
Email:





SUPPORT
Mongabay.com seeks to raise interest in and appreciation of wild lands and wildlife, while examining the impact of emerging trends in climate, technology, economics, and finance on conservation and development (more)

Help support mongabay.com when you buy from Amazon.com



POPULAR PAGES
Rainforests
Rain forests
Amazon deforestation
Deforestation
Deforestation stats
Why rainforests matter
Saving rainforests
Deforestation stats
Rainforest canopy

News
Most popular articles
Worth saving?
Forest conservation
Earth Day
Poverty alleviation
Cell phones in Africa
Seniors helping Africa
Saving orangutans in Borneo
Palm oil
Amazon palm oil
Future of the Amazon
Cane toads
Dubai environment
Investing to save rainforests
Visiting the rainforest
Biomimicry
Defaunation
Blue lizard
Amazon fires
Extinction debate
Extinction crisis
Blackwashing
Industrial deforestation
Save the Amazon
Rainforests & REDD
Brazil's Amazon plan
Malaysian palm oil
Avatar story
New Guinea
Sulawesi
Amazon ranching
Madagascar
Borneo

News topics
Amazon
Biofuels
Brazil
Carbon Finance
Conservation
Climate Change
Deforestation
Energy
Happy-upbeat
Indonesia
Interviews
Oceans
Palm oil
Rainforests
REDD
Solutions
Wildlife
MORE TOPICS



Non-English Sites
Chinese
French
German
Greek
Indonesian
Italian
Portuguese
Spanish
Other languages

Nature Blog Network









Photos
Alaska photos
Alaska

Argentina photos
Argentina

Australia photos
Australia

Belize photos
Belize

Brazil photos
Brazil

Cambodia photos
Cambodia

China photos
China

Colombia photos
Colombia

Costa Rica photos
Costa Rica

Deforestation photos
Deforestation

Frog photos
Frog

Gabon photos
Gabon

Grand Canyon photos
Grand Canyon

Honduras photos
Honduras

India photos
India

Indonesia photos
Indonesia

Kenya photos
Kenya

Laos photos
Laos

Lemur photos
Lemur

Madagascar photos
Madagascar

Malaysia photos
Malaysia

Monkey photos
Monkey

New Zealand photos
New Zealand

Panama photos
Panama

Peru photos
Peru

Peru photos
Rainforest


Sunset

Suriname photos
Suriname

Tanzania photos
Tanzania

Thailand photos
Thailand

Uganda photos
Uganda

United States photos
United States

Venezuela photos
Venezuela



HIGH RESOLUTION PHOTOS / PRINTS


CALENDARS
  • Mount Kenya
  • East Africa Safari Wildlife
  • Kenya's Turkana People
  • Peru
  • African Wildlife
  • Alaska
  • China
  • Madagascar Chameleons


    CANVAS BAGS

  • Hallucinogenic frog bag
  • Madagascar wildlife bag








  • Copyright mongabay 2010

    Carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions generated from mongabay.com operations (server, data transfer, travel) are mitigated through an association with Anthrotect,
    an organization working with Afro-indigenous and Embera communities to protect forests in Colombia's Darien region.
    Anthrotect is protecting the habitat of mongabay's mascot: the scale-crested pygmy tyrant.