18/1/2010
By Sophie Baker
A group of institutional and individual investors, including pension funds, have filed a resolution for the forthcoming AGM of Royal Dutch Shell plc which calls for the company to come clean about investment risks associated with Canadian oil sands projects and their plans to address them.
The resolution, which comes at a time when there are questions from investors, analysts and NGOs regarding the financial, environmental and social implications of the projects, raises "concerns for the long-term success of the company arising from the risks associated with oil sands". It points specifically to anticipated rises in carbon prices, oil price volatility, expected fluctuations in demand, regulation of green house gas emissions and the legal and reputational risks as a result of environmental damage. Operating costs are another issue, particularly for oil sands, in which 30 per cent of Shell's total reserves are invested.
Among the 141 co-filers are the Co-operative Asset Management and the UK's UNISON Staff Pension Scheme, and the initiative is co-ordinated by FairPensions. The public campaign for the ethical investment of UK pension funds is urging investors to vote in favour of the resolution and engage with other energy companies with similar operations to address the financial and other risks involved.
"The coalition of shareholders which FairPensions has galvanised to file this resolution brings together both domestic and overseas shareholders, and the full spectrum of investors from major fund managers to small shareholders," commented Catherine Howarth, chief executive of FairPensions. "All are united in registering concern with the risks involved in Canadian oil sands, and this reflects rising public concerns not just with oil sands but with companies' impact on climate change. We expect that Shell's 2010 AGM could prove a watershed in the history of corporate accountability."
