Chevron shareholders urged to vote “for the planet” by the ICCR’s Sister Nora Nash

Shareholders in oil major Chevron are being urged to vote “for the planet” by leading investment activist Sister Nora Nash.

“We urge Chevron shareholders and those of other fossil fuel companies to vote their proxies for the planet and for our future before it’s too late,” says Nash, of the Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, who came to wider prominence in her role engaging over executive pay at investment bank Goldman Sachs.

Nash is leading the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility’s (ICCR) engagement with Chevron.

The ICCR, which represents 300 members with over $100bn in assets under management, has filed a shareholder resolution calling for better risk management of its hydraulic fracturing (“fracking”) operations.

The resolution is calling for a report to shareholders by October this year. Last year the company advised shareholders to vote against a similar proposal saying it already has a well-developed risk management systems in place and a “strong public commitment to stakeholder engagement and public disclosure that address theseconcerns”. A special report would duplicate its current communications, it added.

Chevron’s annual shareholder meeting is likely to be held around the end of May.

It’s the fourth year the ICCR has filed the proposal, which is co-filed with 30 member institutions. In 2011 it got more than 40% support.

There are a total of nine resolutions from ICCR members tabled for the Chevron annual meeting, on a range of issues including corporate governance issues, climate risk, human rights (Burma) and lobbying/political spending.

The ICCR says 2013 is a watershed year for the fossil fuel industry and its investors. Nash says: “Our demands are reasonable and in the best interest of the company and its investors. We want to know what the company is doing, beyond regulatory requirements, to minimize the adverse environmental and social impacts from these operations.”

Laura Berry, ICCR’s Executive Director said: “The world is watching these companies closely.” Link