Amazon says women earn as much as men in response to investor query
Women working for Amazon.com in the US earned 99.9 cents for every $1 men earned doing the same jobs in 2015, the company has reported, responding to activist investors pushing technology companies to close the gender pay gap. Arjuna Capital, the activist division of Massachusetts-based investment firm Baldwin Brothers, submitted a proposal to a number of tech companies asking them to conduct reports on gender pay this year. Amazon wrote to the US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) seeking permission to omit the resolution, arguing it was “vague and indefinite”, but the SEC disagreed. Arjuna said Amazon was the only technology company that sought to block the resolution. Apple and Intel reported earlier this year that their gender pay gap either is already closed or will be shortly. “This is exactly what we asked them to do,” said Natasha Lamb, director of equity research and shareholder engagement at Arjuna. “We are very pleased that Amazon is stepping up to investor concerns about gender pay equity, and we will withdraw our resolution”. (Bloomberg)
Exxon Mobil must allow climate change vote, says SEC
The US Securities and Exchange Commission has ruled Exxon Mobil Corp must include a climate change resolution on its annual shareholder proxy, a defeat for the world’s largest publicly traded oil producer, which had argued it already provides adequate carbon information for shareholders, including a 2014 report on its website entitled, “Energy and Carbon – Managing the Risks”. But the SEC found those reports do not go far enough. “It does not appear that Exxon Mobil’s public disclosures compare favourably with the guidelines of the proposal,” Justin Kisner, an attorney-adviser with the SEC, wrote to the oil producer. If the proposal is approved, it would force Exxon to outline specific risks that climate change or legislation designed to curb it could pose to its ability to operate profitably. “Investors need to know if Exxon Mobil is taking necessary steps to prepare for a lower carbon future, particularly now in the wake of the Paris agreement,” said New York state Comptroller Thomas DiNapoli in a statement. (Reuters)
Strategy
Media giants Sky and Bloomberg join RE100 clean power campaign
Two of the world’s largest media firms, Sky and Bloomberg, have joined the RE100 initiative, which encourages businesses to source 100 per cent renewable power. Sky announced it had joined the initiative with a pledge to source 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2020 “where available”, while Bloomberg joined late last week with a promise to source 100 per cent renewable electricity by 2025. Sky said most of its electricity already comes from renewable sources. Meanwhile, Bloomberg will increase its use of renewable electricity, with an interim target to source 35 per cent of its power from renewable sources by 2020, before meeting the 100 per cent goal by 2025. Curtis Ravenel, global head of sustainable business and finance at Bloomberg, said increasing the company’s use of renewable electricity will help cut emissions and diversify its energy supply to protect against price shocks. (Business Green)
Energy
Report: European clean tech industry in decline
Europe’s clean technology industry has fallen into a rapid decline, with investment in low-carbon energy last year plummeting by more than half to $58 billion, the lowest level in a decade, analysis shows. The plunge comes as renewable energy is burgeoning around the world, with China in particular investing heavily. In 2010, Europe made up 45% of global clean energy investment, according to Bloomberg New Energy Finance (BNEF). But after peaking at $132bn in 2011, investment fell to $58bn in 2015. Michael Liebreich, chairman of the BNEF board, said the global financial crisis and its aftermath were to blame only in part. He also pointed to mistakes made by policymakers in member states, which initially showed strong support for renewables then rapidly rowed back as they feared the expense of successful subsidies. Employment in solar photovoltaics in Europe fell by more than a third to 165,000 jobs in 2013, according to the International Renewable Energy Agency. (Guardian)
Image source: Solar energy absorbing panels on the sound barrier next to the Munich airport by Isofoton.es / CC BY 3.0
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