As You Sow's Hydraulic Fracturing initiative focuses on reducing the financial, environmental, and community impacts of producing natural gas, including the use of hydraulic fracturing (or "fracking"), a controversial method of drilling for natural gas.

In 2013, investors at Exxon Mobil and Chevron, two of the largest players in the natural gas industry, to report to shareholders, using quantitative data, the results of company practices to reduce harm to the public and the environment from their fracking operations. The requested data would include:

As You Sow is also supporting individual and institutional investors interested in divesting from fossil fuel-based energy and re-investing in carbon-free energies. We provide resources for these investors including research on the risks of fossil fuel-based energy such as coal, documentation that carbon divestment poses minimal portfolio risk, and tools for re-investing carbon-free.

Exxon Mobil

Our 2013 resolution with Exxon Mobil requests a report, using qualitative indicators, on the results of company procedures and practices to minimize any adverse environmental and community impacts from the company's natural gas extraction operations.

This resolution was co-filed with City Comptroller John C. Liu and the New York City Pension Funds. Read our joint press statement or our memo to Exxon shareholders explaining the rationale for supporting this resolution.

Our 2012 resolution, on the effects of community opposition and known regulatory impacts, received support from 29.6% of investors

Chevron

Our 2013 resolution with Chevron requests a report, using qualitative indicators, on the results of company procedures and practices to minimize any adverse environmental and community impacts from the company's natural gas extraction operations.

Our 2012 resolution, on the effects of community opposition and known regulatory impacts, received support from 27% of investors.

Background

As You Sow began filing shareholder resolutions and engaging with companies about their use of hydraulic fracturing in 2010. Among the risks facing companies involved in fracking operations are:

• Legal liabilities: Hydraulic fracturing may expose companies to financial risk from environmental and health impacts caused by their fracking operations, in particular those related to toxic contamination of air and water.


• Regulatory risk: New regulations proposed at the state and federal level to protect health and the environment may impose additional costs to hydraulic fracturing operations.


• Moratoriums: When companies fail to manage the impacts from their hydraulic fracturing operations, community opposition can lead to bans and moratoriums, increasing costs or reducing lucrative opportunities.

Click here to read a fact sheet detailing these risks (PDF).

The use of hydraulic fracturing has changed dramatically since its introduction 60 years ago, and according to industry it is now used in about 90% of operational natural gas wells today. Hydraulic fracturing is a process of injecting a mixture of water, chemicals, and particles underground at high pressure to create fractures in the ground through which gas flows for collection.

While natural gas development is generally viewed as a preferred energy option to coal or oil, and as a source of jobs and economic development to rural communities; investors, regulators and communities are growing increasingly concerned about the environmental and health impacts of this process.

In addition to air pollution and land issues associated with hydraulic fracturing, the impacts to water are raising substantial scientific, political, and public concern and opposition. Hydraulic fracturing fluids are known to include toxic and carcinogenic chemicals:

• A recent report listed 245 chemicals used in the fracturing process. Ninety-two percent of the products had negative health effects.


• Independent tests in Colorado found at least 65 of the chemicals used in fracturing fluids were defined as hazardous under six major federal laws and if these same chemicals were released from an industrial facility, reporting to the EPA would be mandatory.

Further clouding the issue, the EPA, which regulates chemicals used in underground injection under the Safe Drinking Water Act, had its authority to monitor hydraulic fracturing stripped by the 2005 Energy Policy Act to protect natural gas companies from having to comply with national water protection standards. This legislation was shepherded through Congress by former Vice President Dick Cheney, a former CEO of Halliburton - the company which pioneered hydraulic fracturing and one of the leaders in this field.

Read more about As You Sow's resolutions below.

The extraordinary support by investors for these resolutions demonstrates that mainstream investors are aware of and concerned about these issues.