TOXIC FUELS CAMPAIGN
The Co-operative Financial Services launched its Toxic Fuels campaign with WWF-UK in February 2009, outside the Canadian Embassy, London. The campaign aims to combat the shocking global trend of extracting oil from unconventional sources, such as tar sands and shale oil. Read more.
The Motivation
Toxic Fuels, Co-operative Financial Services' campaign with WWF-UK, aims to combat the shocking global trend of extracting oil from unconventional sources, such as tar sands and shale oil. Such exploitation threatens global efforts to avoid dangerous levels of climate change and risks local ecological disaster.
Co-operative Financial Services is campaigning against toxic fuels because we know tackling climate change is important to our customers.
The Co-operative Bank has had an Ethical Policy position on fossil fuels and renewables since 1998. Since then we've declined over £108 million worth of business that conflicts with this position. In our recent Ethical Policy review, 90% of customers voted to support the following statement:
"We will not finance any business whose core activity contributes to global climate change, via the extraction or production of fossil fuels, with an extension to the distribution of those fuels that have a higher global warming impact (e.g. tar sands and certain biofuels)."
The Co-operative Insurance had an Ethical Engagement Policy since 2005, which includes a statement on environmental sustainability, supported by 94% of customers:
"The Co-operative Investments will encourage business to: Reduce reliance on fossil fuels - which contribute to climate change - and increase their use of renewable energy and energy efficiency."
The Policy directs how The Co-operative Insurance and Investments use their influence to push for positive change within the businesses in which they invest.
The Opportunity
Increasing investment by oil companies in unconventional oil, such as Canadian tar sands and US shale oil, risks dangerous levels of climate change and local ecological disaster. It also poses a major financial risk to banks, pension funds and other investors. The Co-operative Financial Services is therefore engaging directly with both the oil companies themselves and other investors to highlight the risks involved in exploiting these Toxic Fuels and requests that companies reduce social and environmental impacts.
The Impact
In December 2009, a coalition of institutional investors, including The Co-operative, filed shareholder resolutions at Royal Dutch Shell plc and BP plc regarding their tar sands operations. The resolutions request that the companies report on the investment risks associated with Canadian tar sands projects and their plans to address them, citing high levels of greenhouse gas emissions, environmental damage and impacts upon indigenous communities. The Royal Dutch Shell plc resolution received the backing of 141 investors, including fund managers, pension funds, foundations and faith groups, making it the largest ever mobilisation of investors in support of an independent resolution in the UK.
