U.S. investors announced today they have filed shareholder resolutions with nine oil and gas companies, pressing them to disclose their plans for managing water pollution, litigation and regulatory risks that are increasingly associated with ever-expanding natural gas hydraulic fracturing operations, also known as "fracking." Resolutions were filed with a number of the natural gas industry's significant players including Exxon Mobil, Chevron, Ultra Petroleum, El Paso, Cabot Oil and Gas, Southwestern Energy, Energen, Anadarko and Carrizo Oil and Gas.
The shareholder proposals ask companies to disclose their policies and strategies for reducing environmental and financial risks from chemical use, water impacts and a host of other environmental concerns. The resolutions also request adoption of best management practices including: recycling and reusing waste water; reducing the volume and toxicity of chemicals; disclosing the chemicals used in fracturing operations; and, assuring the integrity of well cementing through pressure testing and other methods.
This initiative is a collaborative effort supported by The Investor Environmental Health Network (IEHN) and Ceres. IEHN, a partnership of investment managers, encourages companies to adopt policies to continually and systematically reduce and eliminate chemicals in their products. Ceres is a leading coalition of investors and environmental groups working together to address sustainability challenges such as climate change.
The text of the resolutions is available at the IEHN website at http://iehn.org/resolutions.shareholder.php.