Eight Percent of ExxonMobil Shareholders Vote in Favor of Sensitive Areas Resolution

Strong support demonstrates that investors believe that drilling in protected areas like the Arctic Refuge is bad for business and bad for the environment

For Immediate Release: May 25, 2005

ExxonMobil shareholders sent a clear message to the company today when 8.1 percent voted in favor of a shareholder resolution asking ExxonMobil to produce a report on environmental and business related risks of oil drilling in sensitive and protected areas worldwide, such as the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge. The U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Ecopledge, Green Century Capital Management, and Clean Yield Asset Management organized the resolution.

"Given the intensity of public support for the Arctic Refuge, ExxonMobil would risk a significant backlash if it decided to operate there," said Michael Leone, an Environmental Advocate at Ecopledge. "We believe that today's vote represents a clear message to the company: shareholders have a right to know why their company is risking shareholder value by publicly promoting a project that is opposed by a majority of Americans."

CalPERS and CalSTRS, two of the largest pension funds in the country, also supported the shareholder resolution. The pension funds made their support for the resolution known to ExxonMobil in separate letters directed to company Chairman and CEO Lee Raymond.

"As a trustee to two pension funds that hold more than 56 million shares, I am calling on ExxonMobil to carefully consider its next step in oil exploration in environmentally protected and sensitive areas," said California State Controller Steve Westly, who is an ex-officio member of both the CalPERS and CalSTRS boards. "It is important for oil companies to act responsibly and do everything possible to avoid damage to the environment."

The shareholder resolution on protected and sensitive areas was filed as part of an ongoing campaign led by the U.S. PIRG Education Fund, Ecopledge, and Green Century Capital Management to protect the Arctic Refuge and to convince the major oil companies operating on Alaska's North Slope -- BP, ConocoPhillips, ChevronTexaco, and ExxonMobil -- to abandon any plans to drill there. Despite recent withdrawals of the three other major operators on Alaska's North Slope from Arctic Power, ExxonMobil remains the only major oil company still funding the pro-drilling lobby group.

BP and Shell, two of ExxonMobil's major competitors, address their operations in sensitive areas by increasing disclosure. The two companies have also adopted policies to address where development is appropriate and which areas should be preserved.

The resolution specifically called for the company to prepare a report for shareholders examining the potential risks to shareholder value involved in operating in sensitive and protected areas worldwide. A similar resolution received 9 percent of a vote of ChevronTexaco shareholders in April 2005.

Ecopledge is a public interest organization that focuses on improving corporate environmental practices. It engages in shareholder advocacy in partnership with investment adviser Green Century Capital Management, Inc. Green Century Capital Management, Inc. administers the Green Century Funds, the first family of no-load, environmentally responsible mutual funds.