Black Rock Boldly Pushes Nonbinding "Sustainability" Votes W. Exxon, Chevron; Failure Rate Of 50%
Wealth behemoth BlackRock Inc. leveraged its extraordinary shareholder power yesterday against Exxon Mobil Corp. and Chevron Corp. in an effort to signal its climate concerns with the supermajors. The world's largest money manager threw its weight behind several climate-related shareholder proposals and voted against two corporate directors during the companies' annual meetings, held virtually yesterday.
At Chevron, BlackRock cast its shares in favor of a stockholder resolution that called on the company to issue a report describing if — and how — its lobbying activities align with the goals of the Paris climate agreement. Fifty-three percent of shares were cast in support of the nonbinding proposal — with BlackRock's whopping 6.7% stake pushing the vote past a majority threshold.
Ed. - Emphasis Added
BlackRock, which has been criticized by environmentalists for historically voting against key environmental resolutions, promptly disclosed and explained its vote online, noting that the decision wasn't meant to be "punitive."
EDIT
Despite BlackRock's support, the proposal drew only 32% of shareholders' votes, and all of the board members were reelected. The votes come on the heels of years of pressure from finance-savvy climate advocates — and BlackRock CEO Larry Fink's recent commitment to use the firm's muscle to hold corporations accountable for their progress on major sustainability issues (Greenwire, Jan. 14).
EDIT
https://www.eenews.net/climatewire/2020/05/28/stories/1063250919
