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ExxonMobil Australia

OVERALL

Owned
USA
Rating
Criticisms

Petroleum and petrochemicals

Operations in Australia include oil and gas production in the Bass Strait, gas projects in Victoria and WA, coal seam gas exploration, an oil refinery in Melbourne, and a major distribution network.

Company Ownership

ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd   AUS     website   email      
  Exxon Mobil Corporation   
   owns 100% of ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd  
USA     website   email      

Oil & gas

The world's largest integrated oil company. Global operations include oil and gas exploration, production, supply, transportation, and marketing worldwide.

> About the Ratings

Company Assessment

PRAISE CRITICISM INFORMATION
ExxonMobil Australia Pty Ltd
Business Ethics Tax dodging in Australia
Between 2013 and 2018 this company paid zero tax on a total income of $42.4 billion, earning the number 1 spot on Michael West's Top 40 Tax Dodgers 2020. West calculated which of Australia's largest companies have paid the least tax, or no tax, on the highest incomes using five years of tax transparency data published by the Australian Tax Office.
Source: Michael West (2020)
Business Ethics Environmental claims
This company has a number of environmental claims on its website in the areas of water conservation, oil spill prevention, emissions reductions and environmental responsibility.
Source: Company website (2014)
Business Ethics No tax paid in 2016/7
According to data released by the Australian Tax Office in Dec 2018, this company was one of 2,159 local and foreign-based companies that paid no tax in Australia in 2016-17. Please note however that companies pay income tax on profits, not revenue (total income). While some companies use tax havens and loopholes to avoid paying their fair share of tax in Australia, other companies that paid no tax have perfectly legitimate reasons.
Source: ATO (2018)
Exxon Mobil Corporation
Business Ethics 63.6% at JUST Capital
JUST Capital polls Americans every year to identify the issues that matter most in defining just business behaviour. For their 2021 rankings the public identified 19 issues, which are organised under the headings Workers, Communities, Customers, Shareholders and Environment. JUST Capital then define metrics that map to those issues and track and analyse the largest, publicly traded U.S. companies. This analysis powers their rankings, in which this company ranked 116th of 928 companies, and 3rd of 26 Oil & Gas companies.
Source: JUST Capital (2020)
Environment Carbon reserves
This company ranked 4th on the list of 100 oil & gas companies in the 2016 Carbon Underground 200, a ranking of fossil fuel companies being targeted for divestment. Companies are ranked by the potential carbon emissions content of their proven reserves. The reserves of these companies total almost five times more than can be burned for the world to have an 80% chance of limiting global temperature rise to 2°C.
Source: Fossil Free Indexes (2016)
Environment Top 10 Corporate Criminal of 2016
This company appeared on Global Exchange's list of "10 Top Corporate Criminals of 2016" for suppressing climate science and delaying action on global warming for decades.
Source: Global Exchange (2016)
Environment Corporate Rap Sheet
A litany of environmental breaches and appeals against fines is listed. Recent breaches include contamination of ground water in New York with $104m damages awarded (2009); pipeline rupture in Montana sending crude oil into the Yellowstone River (2011) with slow response making much worse, fine of $1.17m proposed for failing to properly address seasonal flooding risk (2013); over past 5 years, Baytown operation has paid more than $190,000 in Clean Air Act penalties; Exxon Chemical continues to fight efforts to put stricter controls on plasticisers containing phthalates which have been linked to reproductive and developmental hazards.
Source: Corporate Research Project (2019)
Environment Delaying action on plastic pollution
The Talking Trash 2020 report by Changing Markets investigates the corporate playbook of false solutions to the plastic crisis. It found that the industry is actively delaying and derailing ambitious action on plastic pollution in its fight to maintain business as usual for as long as possible. For example, this plastic producing company is signed up to 3 nice-sounding voluntary initiatives to address plastic waste, while also participating in 3 industry associations which lobby against legislation that could restrict plastic, or make corporations responsible for managing the waste they create, financially or otherwise.
Source: Changing Markets (2020)
Social 5.4% in conflict minerals rankings
As You Sow's 2019 report, Mining the Disclosures, is a deep analysis of 215 companies' human rights performance in relation to sourcing conflict minerals from the Democratic Republic of the Congo (DRC). This company's score was 5.4% (Weak).
Source: As You Sow (2019)
Business Ethics Fracking impacts disclosure
As You Sow's 2019 report, 'Disclosing the Facts: Transparency and Risk in Hydraulic Fracturing Operations', benchmarks 28 companies engaged in hydraulic fracturing ('fracking') against investor needs for disclosure of operational impacts and mitigation efforts. This company only succeeded in disclosing information on 4 of the 43 indicators related to management of toxic chemicals, water and waste, air emissions, methane leakage and community impacts.
Source: As You Sow (2019)
Environment Fined for pollution in USA
In 2015 Exxon reached a settlement with New Jersey officials in a long-running legal battle over contamination caused by the company's facilities in the northern part of the state. The settlement amount, $225 million, was far less than the estimated $8.9 billion in damages the state had been seeking, prompting allegations that the administration of Gov. Chris Christie had let Exxon off too easily.
Source: New York Times (2015)
Social Human Rights Benchmark
The 2019 Corporate Human Rights Benchmark assessed 200 of the largest publicly traded companies in the world from the Agricultural Products, Apparel, Extractives and ICT Manufacturing sectors on 100 human rights indicators. This company's score was in the 20-30 band range. The overall average score was a disappointing 24%.
Source: CHRB (2019)
Business Ethics 44.0% in Newsweek Green Ranking 2017
This company received a score of 44/100 in the Newsweek Green Ranking 2017, which ranks the world's largest publicly traded companies on eight indicators covering energy, greenhouse gases, water, waste, fines and penalties, linking executive pay to sustainability targets, board-level committee oversight of environmental issues and third-party audits. Ranking methodology by Corporate Knights and HIP Investor.
Source: Newsweek (2017)
Business Ethics Climate Accountability Scorecard
In 2018 the Union of Concerned Scientists published their Climate Accountability Scorecard, which measures the progress of major fossil fuel companies to stop spreading climate disinformation and to fix their business plans to achieve dramatic reductions in global warming emissions. This company rated Egregious for disinformation, Poor for business planning, Good for policy and Fair for disclosure.
Source: Union of Concerned Scientists (2018)
Business Ethics 37/100 S&P Global ESG Score
This company received an S&P Global ESG Score of 37/100 in the Oil & Gas - Upstream & Integrated category of the 2019 SAM Corporate Sustainability Assessment, an annual evaluation of companies' sustainability practices. The rankings are based on an analysis of corporate economic, environmental and social performance, assessing issues such as corporate governance, risk management, environmental reporting, climate strategy, human rights and labour practices.
Source: S&P Global (2019)
Environment Multinational Monitor's '10 Worst Corporations of 2007'
Named one of Multinational Monitor's '10 Worst Corporations' in 2007. [noted as information due to age of report]
Source: Multinational Monitor (2007)
Environment Exxon Valdez 25 years on
On 24 March 1989 Exxon's supertanker Valdez ran aground off the coast of Alaska at Prince William Sound spilling more than 11 million gallons of oil into the pristine water. Twenty five years on Exxon Mobil claims a complete recovery but government scientists have a different view. The Exxon Valdez Oil Spill Trustee Council, a federal-state group set up to oversee restoration of the area affected considers that some species have recovered, some are still struggling to recover, but herring (a vital species for the ecosystem), killer whales and pigeon guillemots are not recovered; there is a continued presence of relatively fresh oil; compensation payments for those who made their living in the affected area were too little and too late; legal issues remain unresolved; and the courts are dismayed that so few of the projects set up for the recovery have been completed.
Source: McClatchy DC (2014)
Social Most controversial companies of 2010
This company appeared fourth on RepRisk's top ten "most environmentally and socially controversial companies of 2010". Companies on the list were severely criticised during 2010 by the world's media, governments and NGOs. Criticisms of Exxon include controversial operations in Nigeria and Kazakhstan, pollution in Guam and Saipan, and human rights abuses in Indonesia and Chad. [Listed under Information due to age of report]
Source: RepRisk (2010)
Business Ethics Excessive CEO pay
As You Sow's 2019 report, 'The 100 Most Overpaid CEOs', reveals the 100 most overpaid CEOs from USA's 500 largest public companies (as determined by the S&P 500 list). This company's CEO, Darren Woods came in at number 52 on the list, having been paid US$17,466,133 in 2018. According to the report, "Most CEOs have come to be grossly overpaid, and that overpayment is harmful to the companies, the shareholders, the customers, the other employees, the economy, and society as a whole."
Source: As You Sow (2019)
Business Ethics Fines for misconduct
This company is listed on the Federal Contractor Misconduct Database as having 59 instances of misconduct since 1995 amounting to almost US$2,383 million in penalties. Instances include underpayment of royalties, price fixing, safety violations, contamination, and pollution.
Source: Project on Government Oversight (POGO) (2013)
Business Ethics CEO Pay Ratio of 135:1
In 2019 the median pay for a worker at this company was US$173,712. The CEO was paid 135 times this amount. Exorbitant CEO pay is a major contributor to rising inequality. CEOs are getting more because of their power to set pay, not because they are increasing productivity or possess specific, high-demand skills. The economy would suffer no harm if CEOs were paid less (or taxed more). In contrast, the CEO-to-typical-worker compensation ratio was 20-to-1 in 1965 and 58-to-1 in 1989.
Source: AFL-CIO (2020)
Environment Alliance to End Plastic Waste member
This company is a member of the Alliance to End Plastic Waste which aims to eliminate plastic waste in the environment.
Source: Alliance to End Plastic Waste (2019)
Business Ethics GC3 member (Green Chemistry)
This company is a member of the Green Chemistry and Commerce Council (GC3), a business-to-business forum that advances the application of green chemistry and design for environment across supply chains. It provides an open forum for cross-sectoral collaboration to share information and experiences about the challenges to and opportunities for safer chemicals and products.
Source: GC3 (2019)
Business Ethics Sustainability Consortium member
This company is a member of The Sustainability Consortium, an organization of diverse global participants that work collaboratively to build a scientific foundation that drives innovation to improve consumer product sustainability. They develop transparent methodologies, tools, and strategies to drive a new generation of products and supply networks that address environmental, social, and economic imperatives.
Source: Sustainability Consortium (2019)
Environment Funding climate change skepticism
According to Greenpeace's exxonsecrets.org website, ExxonMobil has spent over US$23 million since 1998 funding climate change skeptics.
Source: Greenpeace (2012)
Business Ethics Exxon Mobil and American Power
Steve Coll's 2012 book, "Private Empire: ExxonMobil and American Power" discusses how since it was formed in 1999, Exxon Mobil has grown into one of the world's most hated companies, able to determine American foreign policy and the fate of entire nations. They drill in emergent nation states, frequently leading to poverty and corruption.
Source: The Telegraph (2012)
Information BankTrack profile
BankTrack is a global network of civil society organisations and individuals tracking the operations of the banking sector and the activities they finance. Banktrack aims to promote fundamental changes in the banking sector so that banks adopt just and sustainable business practices. BankTrack also has profiles on companies, such as this one, which have been the subject of civil society campaigns for damaging the environment or society. Follow the link to see this company's profile.
Source: BankTrack (2018)
Information Corporate Rap Sheet
The Corporate Research Project's Corporate Rap Sheets are dossiers summarising the most significant crimes, violations and other questionable activities of the world's largest and most controversial companies. Follow link to see this company's Corporate Rap Sheet. "Environmental groups have targeted the company for supporting climate change denial. The 1999 acquisition of Mobil by Exxon brought together two of the former portions of John D. Rockefeller's Standard Oil Trust that each had racked up a long string of environmental violations and other controversies."
Source: Corporate Research Project (2018)
Information OpenSecrets.org profile
OpenSecrets.org tracks the influence of money on U.S. politics, and how that money affects policy and citizens' lives. Follow link to see this company's record of political donations, lobbying, outside spending and more.
Source: Open Secrets (2014)

> About the Icons

Company Details

Type Wholly-owned subsidiary
Revenue $8.8 billion in 2012
Employees 1831 in 2012
Aus Manufacturing Yes
Subsidiaries Mobil Oil Australia Pty Ltd 

Petroleum products

Exclusive supplier of fuel products to 7-Eleven Stores Pty Ltd, who bought Mobil's entire Australian network of 295 filling stations in 2010.

Contact Details

Address 12 Riverside Quay, Southbank, VIC, 3006, Australia
Website www.exxonmobil.com.au

Products / Brands


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