The resolutions call on ExxonMobil and Chevron to avoid claiming unwarranted credit for reducing emissions when selling polluting assets that will continue operating.

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

MEDIA CONTACT: Stefanie Spear, sspear@asyousow.org, 216-387-1609

BERKELEY, CALIFORNIA—MAY 25, 2023—At the May 31 annual shareholder meetings of ExxonMobil and Chevron, the two largest American oil and gas companies, shareholders will vote on a resolution asking each company to begin accurately disclosing the role of asset transfers in their reported greenhouse gas emissions reductions.

As You Sow represents individual shareholders who filed these resolutions. The resolutions ask Exxon and Chevron to provide accurate greenhouse gas target reporting by not counting emissions from assets that are transferred but go on polluting. By recalculating their emissions baselines to exclude such transfers, companies will no longer count them as progress toward their emissions reduction targets.

“Corporate greenhouse gas targets only matter to the extent they represent real reductions in climate-warming emissions,” said Danielle Fugere, president of As You Sow. “Shareholders seek clarity and accuracy in emissions reporting.”

The resolutions come in response to growing concern about the problem of “transferred emissions” from a wide range of stakeholders, from large asset managers like BlackRock and State Street Global Advisors to the House Committee on Oversight and Reform. These stakeholders agree that transferring assets will not get the world to net zero. 

“When polluting assets are transferred from one company to another but continue to emit greenhouse gasses, that transfer should not be counted toward the selling company’s emissions reduction goals,” said Thomas Peterson, climate coordinator at As You Sow. “To do so would be to take credit for climate progress where none has occurred.”

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As You Sow is the nation’s leading shareholder advocacy nonprofit, with a 30-year track record promoting environmental and social corporate responsibility and advancing values-aligned investing. Its issue areas include climate change, ocean plastics, pesticides, racial justice, workplace diversity, and executive compensation. Click here for As You Sow’s shareholder resolution tracker.