Investors seek ouster of Exxon board member over climate change

Noam Chomsky has made the point that public corporations often have immense amounts of political power, and yet are not accountable to the public. They are partially accountable to their shareholders, but the shareholders can't tell the company how to run the business (and probably shouldn't, in most cases). And most shareholders don't vote against management.




A group of institutional investors and shareholder activists Wednesday called on Exxon Mobil Corp. shareholders to vote against the reappointment of a board member in protest of the company's stance on climate change.

The group, which includes the California State Teachers Retirement System, labor funds and the treasurers of six U.S. states, is pushing for the removal of Michael Boskin, who is chairman of Exxon's (Charts, Fortune 500) public issues committee.

"While Exxon Mobil's competitors are moving aggressively on climate change, this company - one of the world's largest refiners and marketers of oil products - continues to hide its head in the sand rather than acknowledge the business implications of climate change," Connecticut State Treasurer Denise Nappier said on a conference call with reporters.

Shareholders backing the moves own nearly 100 million Exxon shares, according to a spokesman for the group, less than 2 percent of the more than 5.6 billion shares outstanding the company had at the end of the first quarter.

The group said that Boskin, a Stanford University economist, has refused five times to meet with investors about climate change issues.

But Exxon Mobil spokesman Gantt Walton said that Boskin "has invested substantial time and resources over the past year addressing the concerns of Ms. Nappier and other shareholder groups."

He said Boskin had personally responded to all of Nappier's letters and had arranged for shareholders, including a representative for Nappier, to meet with management on climate change issues.

"Dr. Boskin has been very forthcoming in providing the position of the board," Walton said.

Exxon - the world's largest publicly traded oil company and the biggest company by market capitalization - has long been a lightning rod for environmentalists who claim the company has worked to mislead the public about the causes of climate change.

Scientists believe the use of fossil fuels causes global warming.

But the company, which must manage its public image alongside other oil giants such as BP (Charts), Chevron (Charts, Fortune 500) and ConocoPhillips (Charts, Fortune 500) also caught up in the issue, has recently worked to improve its image, dropping its funding of some companies that have downplayed the risks of greenhouse gas emissions and saying its position on climate change has been misunderstood.

Still, the investors behind the attempt to remove Boskin remained unmoved by the company's about face.

"It's time that shareholders and investors hold Exxon Mobil accountable," said California State Controller John Chiang. "It is our money on the line. It is absolutely up to the board of directors to respond to the people they are responsible for serving."

Exxon's annual meeting is scheduled for May 30.