The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) is planning to lodge resolutions at the upcoming May 2019 AGMs of Santos and Woodside Petroleum, asking the companies to set targets for reducing greenhouse gas emissions in line with the Paris Agreement.
ACCR is currently campaigning to attract the 100 shareholder signatures for each company necessary to lodge a resolution at the AGM, and ACCR are confident that they will achieve the target, said Daniel Gocher, director of climate and environment at ACCR. Both companies have announced May AGMs, according to their websites.
“We have engaged with the companies themselves, and we had lengthy conversations with both of them in early December, and are seeking a follow-up meeting ASAP,” Gocher said. “We know that in terms of their own reporting, Woodside haven’t been explicit in what [targets] are included in their reporting, whereas Santos has been more explicit. Santos will include medium-term targets, but they’re not giving us anymore than that. In terms of the actual companies themselves, we will wait and see what they disclose in their 2018 reporting, but we’re not overly confident that what they’re disclosing will satisfy, or give us what we’re looking for.”
In addition to asking the companies to set targets in line with the goal of limiting global warming to below 2°C, ACCR will also raise questions about the role of industry associations in opposing climate policy in Australia. Santos and Woodside are members of a number of groups that take adverse climate positions, including Australian Petroleum Production and Exploration Association (APPEA) and the Business Council of Australia. ACCR believes that both companies should “monitor the activities of these associations and review their memberships.”
Gocher noted that Woodside has committed to report along the TCFD guidelines, but had yet to issue a report with those disclosures.
The possible two resolutions are the first in ACCR’s 2019 AGM campaign season. Gocher said that in addition to their work with Australian companies, ACCR is also working to support international counterparts on their AGM resolutions as well.
- AXA IM develops carbon footpath strategy based on forward climate action - February 28, 2020
- Australian Ethical to cut administration fees, enhance customer experience - February 28, 2020
- J.P. Morgan Asset Management developing ESG scoring framework - February 28, 2020
Rachel Alembakis on Google+