BlackRock and Vanguard Vote for Climate Denier Over Accountability and Transparency
Duke’s largest shareholders, BlackRock and Vanguard, appear once again to have torpedoed critical investor efforts to ensure boardroom accountability and long-term value creation. Though BlackRock has called upon investors to wake up to the dangers of climate change to businesses, both BlackRock and Vanguard appear to have instead decided to again prioritize business-as-usual over both the climate and the interests of long-term investors.
Majority Action issued an advisory that calls on shareholders to hold Duke Energy’s leadership accountable for their failures to responsibly oversee the company’s political and lobbying activity, putting long-term shareholder value at risk. Three resolutions were voted on this week that demanded transparency and accountability for the company’s extensive lobbying and political spending to undermine responsible climate policy, and for the company to report and deal responsibly with the substantial public health risks of its coal operations.
Pensions & Investment Research Consultants Ltd (PIRC), Europe’s largest independent corporate governance and shareholder advisory consultancy, also joined the call on shareholders to vote in favor of these resolutions as well as to vote against director Daniel DiMicco, lead director Michael Browning and Chair/CEO Lynn Good, all of whom were re-elected to the board at today’s annual general meeting.
Duke Energy has a sordid track record of undermining policy to combat climate change, which harms both the climate and long-term shareholder value. These shareholder proposals demanding true transparency on political and lobbying activity received 35% and 36% support yesterday, showing real hunger from shareholders for accountability. BlackRock and Vanguard together own 15% of Duke Energy and voted against similar proposals in the past — if they had voted for them this year, they likely would have passed. BlackRock and Vanguard also knowingly voted to elect Daniel DiMicco, an outright climate denier and supporter of the Heartland Institute, to Duke’s board of directors to oversee the company’s sustainability and political activity, despite 130,000 individuals signing petitions and dozens making calls demanding they act responsibly.
Duke Chair and CEO Lynn Good is counting on shareholders like BlackRock and Vanguard to have a short term outlook, but Duke is already late to the game for the massive business transformation required to avoid catastrophic climate change. Net-zero emissions by 2050, to which Duke has refused to commit or plan for, is the only path that will permit Duke shareholders to take full advantage of the opportunities that the low-carbon economy will present to power companies. Duke’s refusal to set this net-zero target or provide sufficient oversight of its sustainability and political activities is irresponsible and a risk to its shareholders.
