MARATHON PETROLEUM CORPORATION | Just Transition at MARATHON PETROLEUM CORPORATION

Status
16.15% votes in favour
AGM date
Proposal number
9
Resolution details
Company ticker
MPC
Resolution ask
Conduct due diligence, audit or risk/impact assessment
ESG theme
  • Environment
  • Social
ESG sub-theme
  • Just Transition
Type of vote
Shareholder proposal
Filer type
Shareholder
Company sector
Energy
Company HQ country
United States
Resolved clause
The shareholders of Marathon Petroleum Corp. (Marathon), ask the Board of Directors to prepare a report stating how Marathon is responding to the social impact of Marathon’s climate change strategy on workers and communities, consistent with the Just Transition guidelines of the International Labor Organization (ILO). The report should be prepared at reasonable cost, omitting proprietary information and be available to investors by the 2023 shareholder meeting. It should include: • Marathon’s commitment to providing a just transition for its workforce and communities in its plans to address its climate-related risks and opportunities; • Marathon’s plans to address the impacts of its climate change strategy on workers and communities. • The integration of these concerns into the governance structure, including executive compensation, stakeholder and workforce engagement processes, and • Board oversight.
Supporting statement
At the 2021 UN Climate Change Conference, the United States and other governments agreed to the Just Transition Declaration. (https://ukcop26.org/supporting-the-conditions-for-a-just-transitioninternationally/.) That Declaration notes the 2015 Paris Agreement underscored the close links between climate action, sustainable development, and a just transition, including the imperatives of a just transition of the workforce and the creation of decent work and quality jobs. The Declaration cites the ILO’s 2015 Guidelines For a Just Transition as establish[ing] a global understanding of a just transition as a process towards an environmentally sustainable economy, which needs to be well managed and contribute to the goals of decent work for all, social inclusion and the eradication of poverty. (https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/ documents/ publication/wcms_432859.pdf.) Guiding Principle E specifies a just transition involves anticipating impacts on employment, adequate and sustainable social protection for job losses and displacement, skills development and social dialogue, including the effective exercise of the right to organize and bargain collectively. (https://www.ilo.org/wcmsp5/groups/ public/---ed_emp/---emp_ent/ documents/publication/wcms_432859.pdf.) The success of this Declaration and the Paris Agreement depend not just on government policies, but also, as the ILO states, on the pivotal role of employers, particularly in carbon intensive sectors. 161 investors, representing $10 trillion in assets, signed the UN PRI’s Statement of Investor Commitment to Support a Just Transition on Climate Change, contending the responsible management of workforce and community dimensions of climate change are increasingly material drivers for value creation. (https://www.unpri.org/ download?ac=10382.) UK energy company SSE published a Just Transition report (see https://www.sse.com/ media/n41jiibk/justtransition-supporting-workers-transition.pdf) stating: The prize of a … just transition … is that the actions and investments required to decarbonize energy systems attract long-term public support and legitimacy. SSE identifies principles to address the social impacts of climate change on workers, consumers, communities and suppliers. Marathon’s 2021 Perspectives on Climate-Related Scenarios discusses its strategy for a lower-carbon future, including impacts on capital investment and refining capacity. That report notes, following its scenario analysis, Marathon ceased crude processing at its Gallup, New Mexico, refinery and retooled its Martinez, California, refinery to align with California’s climate goals. Absent is discussion of the implications for workers and communities.

DISCLAIMER: By including a shareholder resolution or management proposal in this database, neither the PRI nor the sponsor of the resolution or proposal is seeking authority to act as proxy for any shareholder; shareholders should vote their proxies in accordance with their own policies and requirements.

Any voting recommendations set forth in the descriptions of the resolutions and management proposals included in this database are made by the sponsors of those resolutions and proposals, and do not represent the views of the PRI.

Information on the shareholder resolutions, management proposals and votes in this database have been obtained from sources that are believed to be reliable, but the PRI does not represent that it is accurate, complete, or up-to-date, including information relating to resolutions and management proposals, other signatories’ vote pre-declarations (including voting rationales), or the current status of a resolution or proposal. You should consult companies’ proxy statements for complete information on all matters to be voted on at a meeting.