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Foe questions abi decision to reject shell shareholders' resolution
1 May 1997
Friends of the Earth (FOE) today questioned yesterday's (30/4/97) announcement by the Association of British Insurers (ABI) that its members will not support a shareholders'resolution to promote better environmental and ethical standards in Shell. ABI has not consulted its membership over its decision not to support the resolution and in fact some ABI members are known to support the resolution while others are undecided.
Tony Juniper, Campaigns Director at Friends of the Earth, said:
"The ABI's decision represents a failure for corporate democracy, especially since some of its members do support the Shell shareholders' resolution or are undecided. For an umbrella body to speak for all its members (many of whom have ethical policies of their own) before the Shell AGM has actually happened either implies that ABI's member companies have no views of their own or that the stated commitment by some of them to ethical investment has no bearing on how they actually behave."
He continued:
"ABI's members should remember that Shell is a leading firm in a consortium that plans (with World Bank assistance) to open new oil fields in politically and ecologically sensitive areas in southern Chad where environmental and human rights groups predict that the explosive mixture of oil dollars, economic crisis,political strife and corruption will lead to a 'new Ogoniland'. If commitments to ethical standards are evaded now, does ABI expect Shell to remain a good investment in ten years' time when its impacts in Chad are apparent?"
ENDS
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Published by Friends of the Earth Trust
Last modified: Dec 2008
