ExxonMobil, long a target of progressive activists for its appalling environmental and human rights record, is now catching flak from more mainstream critics as well. In an unusual move, shareholder advisor Institutional Shareholder Services, Inc., recommended that ExxonMobil’s shareholders vote for two controversial proposals, one to outline plans to promote renewable energy use, and the other to prohibit discrimination against gays and lesbians. ISS said failure to implement the policies could hurt the company’s bottom line. ExxonMobil is subject to a boycott in Europe for its poor renewable energy policies. Shareholders voted down both measures during the company’s annual meeting in Dallas yesterday, but both received more than twice as many votes as last year, when they were also on the ballot but not supported by ISS.
