Whoa, serious impact!
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- Published on Saturday, 28 May 2016 06:30
- Written by editor
A,
We just got home from a WHIRLWIND of shareholder meetings. In the span of one week, we went to AGMs at WestJet, Suncor AND Kinder Morgan -- and some pretty incredible things happened. YOU are the reason we're able to do this amazing work, so we invite you to enjoy some good news on your weekend.
We're helping bring accountability to the oil sector -- starting with Suncor.
When I presented our proposal to a room of 200 executives, investors and the media, I had no idea how it was going to go.
Thanks to some really incredible SumOfUs members (thanks Bruno, Henry and Jason!), we filed our first shareholder proposal ever in Canada at Suncor, the largest company in the tar sands. Our resolution called on Suncor to disclose its lobbying expenses, because there are currently no ways for Canadians to know how much money corporations are spending to influence public policy.
Motions that aren’t endorsed by the company often receive less than 10% of the vote -- but our proposal got an absolutely stunning 40% of votes from shareholders. That’s billions of dollars in shareholder value calling for greater disclosure and transparency at Suncor -- and all because of us!
Over 3,500 SumOfUs members across Canada wrote in to over 130 pension and mutual funds asking them to vote in favour of our proposal -- and it obviously made major impact. Two of the world's biggest shareholder advisory firms supported our proposal, which made a big difference and put the pressure on Suncor.
And even though we didn’t win the vote, we still won this campaign! Suncor agreed to start disclosing some of its lobbying expenses and trade association memberships starting this summer.
Together, we’ve helped start a national conversation about corporate lobbying. We made headlines across the country -- including in the CBC, The Financial Post, The Globe and Mail, and The National Observer -- and were invited to meet with Suncor executives the next day to discuss next steps on the campaign.
We’re holding Westjet to account -- and making sure it protects its employees.
Thanks to SumOfUs members who identified as shareholders, we were able to get into the AGM and ask the CEO tough questions face-to-face.
Together we made sure the entire meeting knew that there are serious consequences for the CEO of a company that fails to protect the safety of its employees. We presented a powerful letter from SumOfUs members that are WestJet shareholders disputing the re-appointment of Greg Saretsky as the company’s CEO.
In response to our campaign and the legal case filed against it, WestJet hired Ernst and Young to audit the company’s sexual harassment policy. We asked a hard-hitting question directly to CEO Gregg Saretsky: will WestJet release the terms of the audit, so the public can be sure the investigation is thorough and not just window dressing? WestJet publicly refused, but not without the media, investors and the public taking notice.
Our campaign made headlines in The Calgary Herald, CBC and many more, and thanks to you, WestJet knows that SumOfUs members are watching closely to make sure it protects its employees.
We’re making sure that all corporations are on notice: protect your employees, or we’ll hold you to account.
We're taking the fight to stop a tar sands pipeline right to the source.
Our Capital Markets Advisor, Lisa Lindsley, was at the Kinder Morgan AGM alongside Rueben George of the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation and Eugene Kung of West Coast Environmental Law.
Finally, we just got back from the Kinder Morgan shareholder meeting in Houston, Texas. Together, we presented two shareholder resolutions on behalf of some of the largest pension funds in the United States.
The shareholder meeting was hostile -- both Lisa and Reuben were interrupted while presenting motions, and they threatened to kick Rueben George out even before he was even finished. It was clear that we were not welcome, but that made our work even more pivotal.
We garnered significant votes on the motions, made some headlines, and helped make sure that Kinder Morgan executives, investors and the public know what’s at stake from this project.
Now, we’re planning major meetings with key investors, credit ratings agencies and portfolio managers to block financing for the Kinder Morgan tar sands project -- and make sure it’s never built. And together with the Tsleil-Waututh First Nation in Vancouver, we can make sure these influential investors and ratings agencies know how much risk, uncertainty and opposition there is to this dangerous project.
And more to come!
Thank you so much for making our incredible shareholder work possible -- together we’re living proof that people power works. Our important campaigns are sustained by everyday people like you chipping in a few dollars. If you can, can you chip in to keep this important work going? Just imagine what we can accomplish together next.
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