Woodside Energy Group Ltd is a major oil and gas company, with operations across Australia and abroad.
Woodside Energy Group Ltd (ASX:WDS), formerly Woodside Petroleum Limited, is the largest listed oil and gas company on the ASX.
ACCR has been engaging with Woodside for several years on its climate change commitments, decommissioning liabilities and its direct and indirect advocacy that conflicts with the goals of the Paris Agreement. At Woodside's 2022 AGM, 48.97% of the company's shareholders voted against its climate transition plan, after Woodside agreed to put it to an advisory 'Say on Climate' vote. At that same AGM, Woodside finalised its merger with BHP Petroleum.
Along with institutional investors Vision Super and Betashares, ACCR co-filed members’ statements with Woodside Energy Group, calling on directors to be held to account for the board’s repeated failure to present a credible climate strategy - a failure that raises genuine governance concerns.
This is the first time institutional investors have sought to bring climate accountability to board level by using members’ statements to dissent on a resolution for the re-election of directors at an ASX100 company.
All Woodside directors share responsibility for the board’s failings with regard to governance and climate change. With three-year director terms in Australia, this concern should be expressed with a vote against the long-standing directors facing re-election in 2023, being:
Ian Macfarlane
Swee Chen Goh
Larry Archibald
The director re-elections will be voted on at Woodside Energy's AGM on Friday, 28 April 2023 at 10:00 AWST / 12:00 AEDT (21:00 CDT Thursday, 27 April) in Perth, Western Australia.
A coalition have co-filed members’ statements with Woodside Energy Group (ASX:WDS), calling on directors to be held to account for the board’s repeated failure to present a credible climate strategy.
The ACCR is commenting on Woodside’s 2022 Climate Report released today. This report follows the dismal Say on Climate vote at Woodside’s AGM last year, where 49% of Woodside shareholders voted against the company’s 2021 Climate Report.
It is ACCR’s view that there is sufficient reason to vote FOR the approval of Origin’s 2022 Climate Transition Action Plan and to vote AGAINST the re-election of non-executive director Greg Lalicker.
In the face of escalating climate threats, the WA EPA has buried its head in the sand and recommended that Woodside (ASX:WDS) be licensed to unlock this carbon bomb out to 2070.
At 48.97% against, Woodside has surpassed Santos (36.93% against) as the company with the lowest level of shareholder support for a transition plan since the inception of the Say on Climate mechanism.
The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR) has filed shareholder resolutions asking Woodside (ASX:WPL) to cease advocacy of its industry associations and disclose decommissioning liabilities.
ACCR has filed shareholder resolutions with Santos Limited (ASX:STO) and Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL), calling on both companies to improve their disclosures on decommissioning liabilities, and to cease direct and indirect advocacy for oil and gas expansion.
ACCR has filed shareholder resolutions with Santos Limited (ASX:STO) and Woodside Petroleum Ltd (ASX:WPL), calling on both companies to improve their disclosures on decommissioning liabilities, and to cease direct and indirect advocacy for oil and gas expansion.
ACCR commenting on Woodside Petroleum’s (ASX:WPL) announcement that it has reached a final investment decision (FID) on Scarborough and Pluto Train 2 developments.
This vote suggests institutional investors are easily cowed by big companies like BHP and they’re unwilling to force them to adhere to the Paris Agreement.
ACCR welcomes BHP’s support for the shareholder resolution on climate-related lobbying. BHP must use its unique position of leadership to push for more ambitious emissions reductions before 2030.
Woodside’s targets do not address the much larger issue of Scope 3 emissions, ignoring the demands of half of its shareholders to take responsibility for the emissions from the gas it sells.
The Woodside and BHP Scarborough project is at odds with the expectations of investors for companies to align their capital expenditure and decarbonisation strategies with the Paris Agreement.
“The board has made the right decision to move Peter Coleman on, allowing the new CEO the clear air to determine a new strategy less focused on growing gas production."
We welcome the move by Woodside Petroleum (ASX:WPL) to adopt the Say on Climate initiative and provide shareholders with a non-binding vote on the company’s Climate Change Report at next year’s AGM.
An annual Say on Climate will provide shareholders with a non-binding advisory vote on Woodside's plan to reduce emissions and its performance against that plan.
“The Say on Climate framework will provide shareholders with the opportunity to send a clear signal to the board about whether the company is effectively managing the risks of climate change.”
ACCR has filed Shareholder Resolutions to Woodside Petroleum (ASX: WPL) asking for an annual vote on the adoption of a Climate Report consistent with the recommendations of the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures (TCFD) and the Climate Action 100+ Net-Zero Company Benchmark as developed by institutional investors.
Woodside’s newly announced climate targets are a disappointment to the investor community, demonstrating that the existing Board and Executive are simply not capable of delivering a transition consistent with limiting global warming to well below 2 degrees celsius.
