ISP: Shell will provide information on lobbying activities in emerging countries after dialogue with investors

22 April 2024

ISP publishes on its website:

After having been in dialogue with i.a. The Sampension community will give Shell an account of its climate and energy-related lobbying activities in a number of emerging countries.

Shell will now disclose what lobbying the company does in a number of growth countries, also called emerging markets. This happens after Shell has been in dialogue with the Sampension community, the Australian NGO ACCR (Australasian Center for Corporate Responsibility) and KLP (Norway’s largest pension company), who are all investors in Shell.

A report by ACCR recently showed that Shell only discloses its lobbying activities in a small group of developed countries, but not about lobbying activities in emerging countries. And this is despite the fact that, according to the report, it is estimated that almost 60 per cent of Shell’s production of fossil fuels in the period 2024-2050 will come from emerging countries.

Against this background, the Sampension community, ACCR and KLP would put forward a shareholder proposal at Shell’s forthcoming general meeting in May, requiring Shell to account for its climate and energy-related lobbying activities in the developing countries.

However, after having been in dialogue with the three investors, Shell has now committed to – prior to the general meeting – publishing information about its climate and energy-related lobbying activities in 5-10 growth countries, which are important for the company’s strategy. This also means that the shareholder proposal will not be put forward at the general meeting.

“We are very pleased that Shell – after having been in dialogue with us, ACCR and KLP – will now provide information about the company’s lobbying activities in a number of emerging countries, which will play an important role for Shell’s strategy in the fossil sector. towards 2050. Because if we as investors are to contribute to getting the fossil fuel companies to take steps in a greener direction, it first requires that the companies are transparent, so that we can relate to their behaviour. And here this is an important step on the way,” says Jacob Ehlerth Jørgensen, Head of ESG in the Sampension community.

“The successful dialogue with Shell, which has now led to a very concrete result, is also a good example of why, in our opinion, it is generally better to stay at the table and be persistent if you as an investor want to be involved to make a difference in the companies where you like to see change. Many companies are indeed open to working with investors on how they can improve on e.g. climate range. Had we instead sold our investment in Shell, we would not have had the opportunity to contribute to progress in the company or, for that matter, the climate,” says Jacob Ehlerth Jørgensen.

“We are of course aware that there are companies that neither can nor will relocate, and it does not make sense for us to be invested in them. But our experience is generally that in those companies where there is a willingness to .to cooperate with the investors, you as an investor can help create positive changes if you exert your influence together with other responsible investors – although the changes do not happen overnight, says Jacob Ehlerth Jørgensen.

Source: ISP