Engine No. 1 Shows Activist Hedge Funds Can Be Allies In Climate Activism Fight

Engine No. 1 Shows Activist Hedge Funds Can Be Allies In Climate Activism Fight AOC Sustainability

By Mark DesJardine, Assistant Professor of Strategy and Sustainability, Penn State; and Tima Bansal, Canada Research Chair in Business Sustainability, Western University. First published on The Conversation.

One of the most expensive Wall Street shareholder battles on record could signal a big shift in how hedge funds and other investors view sustainability.

Exxon Mobil Corp. has been fending off a so-called proxy fight from a hedge fund known as Engine No. 1, which blames the energy giant’s poor performance in recent years on its failure to transition to a “decarbonizing world.” In a May 26, 2021 vote, Exxon shareholders approved at least two of the four board members Engine No. 1 nominated, dealing a major blow to the oil company. The vote is ongoing, and more of the hedge fund’s nominees may also soon be appointed.

While its focus has been on shareholder value, Engine No. 1 says it was also doing this to save the planet from the ravages of climate change. It has been pushing for a commitment from Exxon to carbon neutrality by 2050.

As business sustainability scholars, we can’t recall another time that an energy company’s shareholder – particularly a hedge fund – has been so effective and forceful in showing how a company’s failure to take on climate change has eroded shareholder value. That’s why we believe this vote marks a turning point for investors, who are well placed to nudge companies toward more sustainable business practices.

Update June 2, 2021: Exxon Board to Get a Third Activist Pushing Cleaner Energy

Tom Ford and 52HZ Launch a $1.2 Million Prize for Biodegradable Poly Bag Replacement

Tom Ford and 52HZ Launch a $1.2 Million Prize for Biodegradable Poly Bag Replacement AOC Sustainability

Everywhere we look, humans exist in a metaphorical sea of plastic. While that plastic comes in many forms, designer Tom Ford’s focus is “thin-film” and the estimated 300 billion polybags and single-use, resealable sandwich and storage bags (SRPBs) used every year.

If you believe that your plastic bags are recylced - because you dump them in the recycle bin — reality is that they probably are not recycled. All of those plastic bags end up in landfills or on the ground and in our oceans. Reality is sobering — so sobering that Tom Ford has launched the Plastic Innovation Prize in partnership with 52HZ.

The Deadly Statistics Around Plastic in our Oceans

Plastic films make up 5 million metric tons of ocean leakage, or a full 46% of all ocean plastic leakage.

• It is estimated that there are 14 million metric tons of plastic on the ocean floor today that will be nearly impossible to extract.

• 11 million metric tons of new plastic enters the ocean every year. That number is expected to almost triple to 29 million metric tons by 2040 — the equivalent of 241 Washington Monuments.,

• Plastic in the ocean will only continue to endanger countless species and ecosystems already affected by increased warming, acidification, and other stressors.

Read more about Tom Ford’s challenge to innovators who can solve the biodegradable thin film plastic problem. Read on in Sustainability.