Commodities and Futures News

Engine No. 1 rushes to back ESG disclosures at top companies

2022.06.02 14:25

2/2
Engine No. 1 rushes to back ESG disclosures at top companies
FILE PHOTO: Steam rises from chimneys on a cold day in Moscow, Russia, January 18, 2021. REUTERS/Shamil Zhumatov

2/2

By Ross Kerber

(Reuters) – Sustainability-focused hedge fund Engine No. 1 has backed 83% of shareholder resolutions on environmental, social and governance (ESG) topics at top U.S. companies so far this year as it looks to arm investors with more information, leaders said.

Ballot items, such as several at Exxon Mobil Corp (NYSE:XOM) calling for more details around reduced plastic use and emissions-cut scenarios, help investors understand a business, Engine No. 1 founder and executive chairman, Christopher James, said in an interview with Reuters on Wednesday.

“We’re always going be in favor of more data,” James said.

The voting by Engine No. 1 – detailed in disclosures by its $347 million Transform 500 exchange-traded fund – contrast with some corporate election trends during the current proxy season.

The votes also show how James and Chief Executive Jennifer Grancio have shifted focus compared with last year when Engine No. 1 forced out three of four Exxon directors it targeted over what the firm called the company’s slow response to climate change.

For now, James waved off challenges to directors elsewhere.

“We don’t have anything on the docket,” he said. Talks with firm holdings like General Motors (NYSE:GM) Corp on battery technology are “constructive” he said.

At Exxon’s annual meeting on May 25, Engine No. 1 supported all 11 of the company’s director nominees and supported four of seven shareholder resolutions.

Shifts under Exxon’s new board, such as moving its headquarters to Houston and hiring senior leaders from outside show “there has clearly been a huge and fundamental change” in how the firm treats climate risk, James said.

One resolution the firm opposed called for Exxon to set emissions-reductions targets including for “Scope 3” emissions created via use of its products.

Proponent Mark van Baal of activist group Follow This called the vote “an inexplicable U-turn” compared with last year when Engine No. 1 highlighted Exxon’s lack of Scope 3 disclosure.

James said the vote was justified since Scope 3 accounting methods are still uncertain.

James also said he agreed with recent criticism by Tesla (NASDAQ:TSLA) Inc CEO Elon Musk that current systems use to rate corporate ESG performance are flawed, which Musk made after Tesla was dropped from a high-profile ESG index.

“For Tesla not to get credit for the decarbonization drive they’re doing, I think he’s right,” James said.

Source

Related Articles

Leave a Reply

Back to top button
bitcoin
Bitcoin (BTC) $ 75,650.27 0.30%
vested-xor
Vested XOR (VXOR) $ 3,405.08 99,999.99%
ethereum
Ethereum (ETH) $ 2,877.62 6.91%
tether
Tether (USDT) $ 1.00 0.02%
solana
Solana (SOL) $ 195.22 3.33%
bnb
BNB (BNB) $ 598.13 1.21%
usd-coin
USDC (USDC) $ 0.999545 0.11%
xrp
XRP (XRP) $ 0.552777 1.83%
dogecoin
Dogecoin (DOGE) $ 0.19161 3.14%
staked-ether
Lido Staked Ether (STETH) $ 2,876.94 6.92%
cardano
Cardano (ADA) $ 0.401447 11.47%
tron
TRON (TRX) $ 0.160179 1.60%
the-open-network
Toncoin (TON) $ 4.91 3.40%
wrapped-steth
Wrapped stETH (WSTETH) $ 3,415.25 6.99%
shiba-inu
Shiba Inu (SHIB) $ 0.000019 0.52%
avalanche-2
Avalanche (AVAX) $ 27.38 2.43%
wrapped-bitcoin
Wrapped Bitcoin (WBTC) $ 75,603.26 0.12%
weth
WETH (WETH) $ 2,879.48 6.91%
chainlink
Chainlink (LINK) $ 12.54 3.59%
bitcoin-cash
Bitcoin Cash (BCH) $ 381.36 1.46%
sui
Sui (SUI) $ 2.29 0.31%
polkadot
Polkadot (DOT) $ 4.15 1.79%
leo-token
LEO Token (LEO) $ 6.25 0.30%
usds
USDS (USDS) $ 1.00 0.20%
litecoin
Litecoin (LTC) $ 71.68 1.16%
uniswap
Uniswap (UNI) $ 8.95 4.91%
wrapped-eeth
Wrapped eETH (WEETH) $ 3,024.38 6.79%
near
NEAR Protocol (NEAR) $ 4.23 0.76%
aptos
Aptos (APT) $ 9.75 2.41%
pepe
Pepe (PEPE) $ 0.000011 11.07%
bittensor
Bittensor (TAO) $ 509.22 2.79%
internet-computer
Internet Computer (ICP) $ 7.78 0.98%
fetch-ai
Artificial Superintelligence Alliance (FET) $ 1.40 0.84%
dai
Dai (DAI) $ 0.999666 0.13%
stellar
Stellar (XLM) $ 0.101498 4.71%
monero
Monero (XMR) $ 164.83 1.47%
ethereum-classic
Ethereum Classic (ETC) $ 20.14 3.87%
kaspa
Kaspa (KAS) $ 0.114415 4.54%
ethena-usde
Ethena USDe (USDE) $ 1.00 0.20%
whitebit
WhiteBIT Coin (WBT) $ 19.61 1.37%
aave
Aave (AAVE) $ 183.20 6.33%
polygon-ecosystem-token
POL (ex-MATIC) (POL) $ 0.344524 3.33%
blockstack
Stacks (STX) $ 1.67 2.34%
crypto-com-chain
Cronos (CRO) $ 0.091074 6.29%
okb
OKB (OKB) $ 40.26 2.04%
dogwifcoin
dogwifhat (WIF) $ 2.36 1.80%
first-digital-usd
First Digital USD (FDUSD) $ 0.99377 0.54%
arbitrum
Arbitrum (ARB) $ 0.581736 7.13%
filecoin
Filecoin (FIL) $ 3.76 2.25%
mantle
Mantle (MNT) $ 0.663181 11.42%