Global giants to oppose Woodside director elections at AGM as activists sharpen climate critique

In the absence of a vote on Woodside’s climate action plan, the election of three directors has become an outlet to express dissatisfaction with the oil and gas company for bolstering fossil fuel production.

Some of the world’s largest pension funds will vote against the election of three Woodside directors when the gas giant holds its annual shareholder meeting this week as its commitment to growing gas production inflames climate-minded investors.

Woodside shareholders will assemble to vote on the re-election of two directors and the election of a third on Thursday in what has emerged as a de facto referendum on the company’s emissions profile in the absence of a vote on climate strategy.

US pension fund CalPERS, which manages more than $US500bn ($782bn), the near $US350bn CALSTRS and the 1.2tr Norwegian Krone ($178bn) Norwegian Storebrand Asset Management pension funds have said they intend to oppose the oil giant on several resolutions backed by the board.

Storebrand said it would vote against Ann Pickard due her role as chair of the committee responsible for climate risk oversight at a time when the company has embarked on sustained fossil fuel production growth.

“The company is not aligned with investor expectations on net zero by 2050 targets and commitments,” said Storebrand.

CALSTRS has declared it will vote against the re-election of Ben Wyatt and the election of Anthony O’Neill. The Australian understands the decision was not motivated by concerns on emissions reduction, but its proxies will nonetheless add to opposition from other climate-led voters.

CalPERS has already said it voted against the re-election of Mr Wyatt.

While enormous in assets under management, the three funds are not substantial Woodside shareholders in their own right.

A Woodside spokeswoman said the nominees are regarded as excellent contributors to the company.

“The three Woodside directors offering themselves for re-election or election – Ann Pickard, Ben Wyatt and Tony O’Neill – bring complementary skills which contribute to ensuring the board has a balance of expertise, experience and tenure to deliver future value for shareholders,” the spokeswoman said.

Proxy giant Glass Lewis has recommended to clients they vote against the re-election of Ms Pickard.

Woodside is no stranger to shareholder showdowns.

The WA-headquartered company has positioned itself to meet a rapid increase in LNG demand through new developments and potential acquisitions, and it expects to double gas production within six years.

The expansion has been cheered by some investors, but it has placed it in the crosshairs of environmentalists and climate conscious shareholders.

In a bid to placate concern, Woodside in March released a revised climate action plan — including a Scope 3 emissions target for the first time — and chief executive Meg O’Neill mounted a steadfast defence of the company’s commitment to reducing greenhouse gas emissions.

Speaking at the time, Ms O’Neill stressed the role of gas in replacing higher emissions coal.

“It is the tightrope that we are walking and the balance that we’re trying to strike,” Ms O’Neill said.

“We are striking a balance of making sure that we are doing the three things we’ve said we’ll do, which is to produce energy products for customers now and into the future to create and return value to shareholders, and to operate our business sustainably.”

Woodside is used to shareholder pressure. The company was last year hit with a near 42 per cent shareholder vote against its climate strategy, while some 16 per cent of investors opposed the re-election of chair Richard Goyder.

In the months since, Woodside has accelerated its expansion plans.

Woodside last week gave the green light to the construction of the $US17.5bn Louisiana LNG mega project, which Will van de Pol, chief executive of Market Forces – a climate activist investor – said illustrates how the company refuses to listen to its shareholders.

“Woodside has thumbed its nose at shareholders, responding to last year’s world record rejection of its climate plan by doubling down on gas expansion that will cause massive real-world emissions growth,” said Mr van de Pol.

“Some of the world’s largest investors are fed up with Woodside and have already declared they will vote against directors standing for re-election at the company’s annual general meeting.”

The project will bolster production already poised to be swelled from the $12.5bn Scarborough LNG development in WA, and others in the United States.

Ms O’Neill said Woodside is on track to cut its Scope 1 and 2 greenhouse gas emissions by 15 per cent by 2025 and 30 per cent by 2030, while it maintains an “aspiration” of net zero by 2050 or sooner.

Originally published as Global giants to oppose Woodside director elections at AGM as activists sharpen climate critique