Bullies and thugs never win in the long run.
For some background: Range Resources issues aggressive attack on shareholder rights
Trillium Asset Management Sells All Holdings in Range Resources
October 2, 2013 // Boston, MA: Trillium Asset Management’s (Trillium) Investment Management Committee recently decided to sell all client holdings in the natural gas company Range Resources (NYSE: RRC) and to remove the company from our “Buy List”.
Given the importance of operational efficiency to Range Resources’ profitability, as well as the regulatory, environmental, and social license risks facing the company, Trillium believes that the company’s current level of disclosure related to methane leakage is woefully inadequate.
Leaking methane also represents lost revenue and raises the potential for increased regulatory and legal expense. Better transparency and the use of best practices to mitigate fugitive emissions would benefit Range Resources’ shareholders.
Earlier in 2013, Trillium filed a shareholder resolution with the company requesting that:
“the Board of Directors publish a report (by October 2013, at reasonable cost, and omitting proprietary information) for investors on how Range Resources is measuring, mitigating, setting reduction targets, and disclosing methane emissions.”
21.7% of Range Resources shareholders voted in favor of this resolution.
In response to the proposal, management submitted an inflammatory SEC filing, attacking shareholder rights and falsely claiming a misalignment between Trillium and the company’s “real stockholders”, despite Trillium’s holdings in the company at the time.
The company’s response is in sharp contrast to some industry peers that appear ready to address the issue of fugitive methane emissions and work with its shareholders. The unexpected reaction from management left us with profound reservations about its ability and willingness to address this critical issue or respect shareholder rights.
“We believe that there is a direct correlation between a company’s environmental, social and governance profile and the quality of its management.” said Matthew W. Patsky, CEO of Trillium Asset Management. “Range Resources’ expressed contempt for its shareholders is of great concern to us. Our loss of confidence in management makes it untenable to continue to hold its shares on behalf of our clients.”
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Spilling is just the beginning…
About Sharon Wilson
Sharon Wilson is considered a leading citizen expert on the impacts of shale oil and gas extraction. She is the go-to person whether it’s top EPA officials from D.C., national and international news networks, or residents facing the shock of eminent domain and the devastating environmental effects of natural gas development in their backyards.
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The dominoes are starting to fall. That giant sucking noise you hear is Range getting flushed down the toilet with the rest of the sh…., Thank you Trillium, who is next to put people, and our environment before profit?
Nice analogy.
Yup, there goes Range … down the toilet with all their chemical secrets.
below from http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/09/27/fracking-chemicals_n_3998319.html
As part of the discovery process in this case, a judge directed Range to release the full list of chemicals used in its drilling operations, including the components of all the products that are used at every stage in the gas drilling process. But Range says in its filing that it has been unable to obtain from its suppliers the ingredients in many of the products. … “Range admits that it does not have an all-encompassing knowledge of the complete chemical formula of every product used at the Yeager Site by Range and/or its subcontractors….”
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“The fact that Range does not know and cannot determine all of the chemicals used at its drill sites and placed into the Pennsylvania Environment is, in and of itself, almost inconceivable,” the plaintiff’s lawyer argues in the filing. They also argue that the DEP is “irresponsible” in not requiring Range to provide that information, and that Range should be found in contempt of the court for failing to do so.
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“How can Range Resources ever claim they aren’t responsible for contaminating the water and air now that they have admitted they don’t even know what chemicals they’re using?” said Jesse White…. “If they don’t know what’s in there, what can they test for?”
Range was one of the first companies to announce, in July 2010, that it would voluntarily disclose all of the chemicals that it uses in the fracking process. “It’s the right thing to do morally and ethically, but it’s also right for our shareholders,”…