Local investors of both thousands and millions defied the ExxonMobil board’s recommendation and passed a resolution that called for the energy company to analyze what it would take to keep Earth from warming another degree Celsius.

The resolution originated from members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility like the Aston-based Sisters of St. Francis of Philadelphia, which voted on behalf of its 5,900 shares, while Malvern’s Vanguard Group also voted on behalf of its 299 million shares, or 7 percent of all ExxonMobil shares.

[uam_ad id=”51709″]

Advertisement

The end result was 62 percent of votes cast in favor of the “2-degree scenario” analysis, according to a Philly.com column by Erin Arvedlund.

“We know the oil and gas industry isn’t going away, but we’re putting a lot of pressure on them,” said Sisters of St. Francis Director of Corporate Responsibility Sister Nora Nash in the column.

“They have been extremely slow to recognize the 2-degree scenario coming from the Paris climate accord. If we don’t stay below 2 degrees, our world will be more troubled because of greenhouse-gas emissions.”

The resolution, however, is nonbinding.

“This is a safe vote for all the institutional investors like BlackRock and Vanguard, since it doesn’t do very much,” noted Independent Adviser for Vanguard Investors Publisher Dan Wiener.

Read more about Vanguard, the Sisters of St. Francis and the ExxonMobil vote on Philly.com here.

[uam_ad id=”52088″]

Top photo credit: automobileitalia Pressioni di Exxon per boicottare l’auto elettrica nel Regno Unito via photopin (license)