Whitehaven Coal | Re-election of Mark Vaile

Status
Filed
AGM date
Previous AGM date
Resolution details
Company ticker
WHC:AU
Submitted by
Resolution ask
Amend board structure
ESG theme
  • Environment
  • Governance
ESG sub-theme
  • GHG targets / emissions
  • Remuneration or pay
Type of vote
Director vote
Filer type
Management
Company sector
Materials
Company HQ country
Australia
Supporting materials
  • Whitehaven-Coal-briefing-September-2024.pdf Download
  • Whitehaven Coal 2024 - Shareholder statement on remuneration.pdf Download
Resolved clause
Investors are urged to vote against the reelection of Mark Vaile and Fiona Robertson in their capacity as members of the remuneration committee.
Supporting statement
Whitehaven’s remuneration plan stands out amongst its coal mining peers due to its outsized emphasis on coal production growth and the complete omission of total shareholder return (TSR) metrics.

In recent years, TSR has been progressively stripped out in favour of coal growth metrics, and Whitehaven’s latest remuneration plan is largely unchanged from last year despite 41% of shareholders voting against the plan.

This is a significant risk, as Whitehaven’s coal expansion plans are by far the most aggressive compared to both pure-play and diversified peers. Emissions from Whitehaven’s coal build-out are 23 times the cumulative emissions reductions expected to be made under the Australian government’s Safeguard Mechanism by 2030.

Whitehaven’s coal growth strategy, fuelled by its remuneration plan, significantly exacerbates shareholders’ exposure to unacceptable transition risk.

With almost no changes made to the scorecard despite a strike against the remuneration report last year, investors are urged to vote against the reelection of Mark Vaile and Fiona Robertson in their capacity as members of the remuneration committee.

For more information and sources please see the attached presentation, also linked here:

https://investorbriefings.marketforces.org.au/view/694424262/25/

Shareholder statement on remuneration also attached.

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