Chevron escapes accountability on tar sands

When Chevron shareholders congregate at corporate headquarters, there will be plenty to talk about -- but a key issue of concern to shareholders has been excluded from the agenda, according to the environmentally responsible investment firm Green Century Capital Management.
The Alberta tar sands, a controversial and unconventional oil reserve where Chevron participates in two major projects, will not be addressed in official materials at the company's annual meeting despite the fact that shareholders owning $ 31.4 bn of Chevron's stock voted for increased disclosure on the company's tar sands projects last May.

Labelled "the most destructive project on Earth" by Canada's Environmental Defence, tar sands development has significant environmental impacts, including heavy water use, clear-cutting of the Boreal Forest, formation of toxic "tailings" lakes, habitat destruction of iconic species such as the woodland caribou, and up to five times higher greenhouse gas emissions than conventional oilextraction. Some shareholders, including Green Century, argue that the company faces regulatory, reputational and competitive risks surrounding the environmental impacts of its projects in the tar sands.
At Chevron's 2008 annual meeting, 28.6 % of shareholders representing $ 31.4 bn of shares voted in support of a resolution filed by Green Century requesting increased disclosure on the environmental impacts of company operations in the oil sands.

Shareholders will not see the resolution on the proxy ballot this year. Chevron argued that shareholders' request for disclosure on the numerous environmental impacts of the oil sands was substantially identical to a request by other shareholders for company-wide goals to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) staff stated that they would not recommend enforcement action against the company if Chevron omitted Green Century's proposal from the proxy ballot.
"In addition to climate-related risks, the resolution that Chevron excluded specifically asks the company to address risks related to: 'water resources... biodiversity... and indigenous populations.' Why does Chevron view these issues as substantially identical to climate change? It makes no sense, and it's especially troubling in the context of the current financial crisis, which was created in part by undisclosed risks," notes Rob Berridge, Program Manager of Ceres' Investor Programs.

Green Century is a member of the Ceres-operated Investor Network on Climate Risk (INCR), a network of 81 members who collectively manage more than $ 7 tn.
"Green Century strongly disagrees with Chevron's assertion that a report on the environmental impacts of the tar sands is identical to a report setting goals for company-wide greenhouse gas reductions. These are two very different environmental risks faced by Chevron," states Emily Stone, Shareholder Advocate for Green Century. "Chevron's eagerness to keep shareholders from voting on this resolution, after 28.6 % of total shares voted in 2008 were in support of the proposal, shows a disturbing lack of transparency and unwillingness to confront the challenges surrounding the company's investments in the increasingly risky tar sands."

Green Century also co-filed a similar resolution on the tar sands at ConocoPhillips Company that received approximately 30.3 % of the shareholder vote recently.
Green Century and other shareholders are requesting a meeting with Chevron executives directly involved with the tar sands to ensure increased transparency around risks the company faces in Alberta.