The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), a shareholder advocacy group, has filed members’ statements with Woodside Energy Group Ltd, dissenting against the election of all directors standing at the upcoming annual general meeting (AGM).
Woodside Energy – one of Australia’s largest oil and gas companies – had faced an unprecedented degree of shareholder opposition to its climate transition plan with more than half of shareholders voting to oppose the board's proposals in 2024. This was the first energy firm to have its climate strategy rejected by shareholders.
Yet in the year since this record vote, the ACCR says the firm has made "no material change” to its climate strategy. Now Woodside’s entire board “shares collective responsibility for the company’s failings”, which also include “chronically poor shareholder returns”.
Woodside has significantly underperformed relative to the local market and the global oil and gas sector; 168% lower total shareholder returns than the ASX100 and 83% lower than the MSCI World Energy over 15 years. ACCR pins the company’s underperformance on its “high-cost, high-risk, fossil fuel growth strategy”.
Alex Hillman, lead analyst at ACCR said: “The board continues to back Woodside’s strategy – which means it is not grappling with the magnitude of the company’s underperformance or investor feedback on management of climate risk. Investors should now be asking if their directors are acting in the best interests of the company.”
