Most companies aren’t in the practice of suing their own shareholders. But ExxonMobil isn’t most companies. This week, news broke that the multinational oil and gas producer is suing two activist investor groups, Arjuna Capital and Follow This, to keep them from even raising the question of whether Exxon should do a little more to cut its greenhouse gas emissions.
Specifically, Exxon is looking to get a declaration from a judge supporting its decision to remove a proposal from the ballot for the next season of proxy voting this spring, when shareholders vote on questions about corporate operations. The nonbinding resolution in question, first brought by Follow This, asks shareholders to ask ExxonMobil to “go beyond current plans, further accelerating the pace of emission reductions in the medium-term for its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions across Scope 1, 2, and 3, and to summarize new plans, targets, and timetables.”