Members of the Investors & Indigenous Peoples Working Group today delivered a statement to the banks (PDF) that provided financing for the Line 3 pipeline and other oil sands projects. The statement raised concerns about the tremendous risks and costs that arise from underwriting such projects, and especially the “threats they pose to the rights of Indigenous Peoples, the cultural survival of Indigenous practices, the long-term health of local water systems, and the climate.” Background on the troubling history of the Line 3 pipeline project can be found in this investor brief (PDF).The statement was signed by 158 global investors and their representatives, representing over $2 trillion in assets under management or advisement.

The Unitarian Universalist Association is a signer of the statement and was part of the drafting team. The UUA is leading the engagement with JPMorgan Chase, one of four US banks addressed by the statement.

The Investors & Indigenous Peoples Working Group (IIPWG) brings together investors and Indigenous Peoples to forward the human rights of Indigenous Peoples through the capital markets. The Native name of IIPWG is Yethiya wihe’, meaning “We all give to them/We all invest in them” in the Oneida language. IIPWG is a project of First Peoples Worldwide, housed at the University of Colorado, Boulder.

The Unitarian Universalist Association, along with other investors and members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, recently co-filed a shareholder resolution with Chevron (PDF) triggered by human rights abuses in Myanmar. The lead filer of the resolution is the International Brotherhood of Teamsters. Today, Chevron, along with its partner Total, the French oil giant, announced that they would be leaving the country.

In February 2021, Myanmar’s military mounted a coup that overthrew the democratically elected government of the country. Since the takeover, the military has cracked down brutally against dissent, abducting young men and boys, killing health care workers and torturing prisoners. Revenues from Chevron’s natural gas business have helped to fund the military regime.

In December, the Teamsters, UUA and other investors filed a resolution asking the company to consider adopting a policy of not doing business with governments that are complicit in genocide and/or crimes against humanity. In meetings following the filing, shareholders urged the company to cut off payments to the illegitimate government. Shareholders will vote on the resolution at Chevron’s annual general meeting later this year.

Simon Billenness, director of the Campaign for a New Myanmar, said this: “Clearly, both oil companies felt the pressure from the Blood Money Campaign and from shareholders. The investor group should be proud to be a part of this successful movement.” Simon served on the UUA’s Socially Responsible Investing Committee for eight years.

For more, see:

• Reuters: Oil majors TotalEnergies and Chevron withdraw from Myanmar
• ABC News: Chevron, Total to exit Myanmar over human rights abuses

Shareholder proposals on climate change, political spending and racial justice met with unprecedented success this year. Some of the largest shareholders, such as Blackrock, State Street, Vanguard, and Fidelity, who had previously voted against such proposals or abstained, supported them this year. Most of the resolutions were filed by faith-based and socially responsible investors.

There were five climate-related majority votes at US oil and gas companies on the topics of Paris-Aligned Lobbying and GHG targets, more than doubling the cumulative number of majority votes on climate proposals at O&G companies from recent decades. In addition, many proposals received high levels of support, many exceeding 40%.

Perhaps more importantly, there were a record number of withdrawals for agreement. This means that the companies agreed to take action on the shareholder requests to the satisfaction of the filers. The most groundbreaking moment of this proxy season occurred at ExxonMobil when three board candidates, nominated by Engine No. 1 through the Reenergize Exxon Campaign, were elected to Exxon’s board of directors. These directors ran explicitly on Exxon’s failure to develop a strategy to manage the transition to a low-carbon economy.

In her Forbes column, Mindy Lubber, CEO of Ceres, said, ““A sea change is happening before our very eyes in investor action on the climate crisis.” The UUA is a long-time member of the Ceres investor network.

This article from Forbes by Bhakti Mirchandani provides an excellent summary of the year’s developments. Bhakti is Director of Responsible Investing at Trinity Church Wall Street, a member of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility.

In the upcoming proxy season, companies will feel extra pressure to be responsive to shareholder concerns. In recent years some climate activists have questioned the effectiveness of shareholder activism. This season demonstrated what can happen when shareholders work together and make a compelling case for action. It is truly a new day.

After a multi-year engagement with Climate Action 100+ investors, Devon Energy announced a commitment to achieve net zero emissions from operations and purchased energy by 2050 with an interim goal of a 50% reduction by 2030. Such emissions are often referred to as scopes 1 and 2. In so doing, Devon becomes only the third US oil company to make such a pledge. This is a significant step towards moving the energy sector towards a future that mitigates the harm from climate change. The Unitarian Universalist Association is the lead investor in the Devon engagement.

In addition, Devon has promised to reduce methane emissions intensity by 65% by 2030, achieve flaring intensity of 0.5% or lower by 2025, and eliminate routine flaring by 2030. This is extremely important because methane has a warming effect 80 times more powerful than carbon dioxide in the short term. According to the Stockholm Environment Institute, it is possible to cut methane emissions 45% by 2030. Doing so “would avoid nearly 0.3 degree C of warming after 2040, contributing significantly to keeping the 1.5 degree C Paris Agreement target within reach.” While Devon’s commitment does not extend to emissions arising from the use of its products, also known as scope 3, the Company has previously committed to measuring and publicly reporting these emissions.

Climate Action 100+ is an investor-led initiative to ensure the world’s largest corporate greenhouse gas emitters take necessary action on climate change. CA100+ is made up of 575 investors with $54 trillion in assets. The group is engaging 167 global companies that produce 80% of industrial greenhouse gas emissions. The organization’s 10-point Benchmark calls on heavy emitting companies to set short, medium and long-term emissions targets in alignment with the goals of the Paris Agreement on Climate Change. The UUA and CA100+ investors will continue to press Devon to address all of the issues in the Benchmark.

This week investors filed suit seeking to block rules designed to restrict the ability of investors, particularly small investors, to submit shareholder proposals. The Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility (ICCR) announced the filing of a complaint (PDF) in the U.S. District Court for the District of Columbia challenging the Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC’s) recent amendments to the 14a-8 rule governing the filing of shareholder proposals. The Unitarian Universalist Association is a long-time member of ICCR and was part of the group planning the lawsuit.

Co-filers of the suit included As You Sow, a leading practitioner of corporate engagement and shareholder advocacy; and James McRitchie, a shareholder advocate and one of the most active individuals submitting shareholder proposals related to corporate governance in the U.S.

The revised rule creates impediments to shareholders’ ability to hold corporations accountable for their impacts on the environment, workers and communities. Corporations and their trade associations have pushed the SEC for years to reduce the number of shareholder resolutions submitted at their annual general meetings.

ICCR has engaged a leading law firm with special expertise in regulatory law. They believe the SEC rules are vulnerable to being overturned under the Administrative Procedures Act because of the poor economic analysis presented by the SEC.

Josh Zinner, CEO of ICCR, said “We believe that the rule changes were wholly unfounded, and that they were promulgated due to political pressure from business trade groups that have long been lobbying to restrict the ability of our members, and our many allies, to file shareholder resolutions.”

Link to ICCR’s press release.

Link to complaint filed in DC District Court (PDF).

During the 2021 shareholder season, the UUA, through the UU Common Endowment Fund, engaged 18 companies on climate change, disclosure of political/lobbying spending, and disclosure of diversity data.

• 7 settled for agreement

• 3 ongoing engagements through Climate Action 100+

• 4 proposals were voted on at the companies’ annual general meeting

• 3 achieved 30%+ support; 1 not yet reported

The UUA was able to come to agreement with seven companies who accepted the UUA’s proposals.

• Delta Airlines, Kinder Morgan, and T-Mobile agreed to increase the transparency of their disclosures on election spending in line with the standards recommentded by the Center for Political Accountability.
• Ford Motor Company issued a report on the alignment of its trade associations’ policy positions with the goals of the Paris Agreement. CSX, the railroad company, agreed to do the same.

• Thermo Fisher Scientific agreed to disclose its EEO-1 diversity data as submitted to the US Government. Such data is typically hidden from the public by companies.

• Comcast agreed to set emissions targets consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement and issue a report on the company’s strategy to achieve that.

• As an active member of the Climate Action 100+, the UUA led the engagement with Devon Energy and participated in the investor teams engaging Xcel Energy and Exelon. The coalition is pressing companies to develop plans to achieve net zero emissions by 2050. Xcel and Exelon have both made net zero commitments.

For a complete list of the UUA’s resolutions and other engagements, see the Shareholder Advocacy section of the UU Common Endowment Fund website.

The UUA actively seeks to pursue justice through its investing actions. This includes voting its proxies, filing shareholder resolutions, engaging directly with corporations, and making investments with positive social impacts. Here is the place for the latest news on the UUA’s socially responsible investing.

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