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“Unprecedented Change”? What does a corporation in transition look like? – notes from the Shell AGM 2016
Blog post -
Jun 9, 2016
“Innovation and care are in our DNA”, says the soft female voice-over that accompanies the new promotional video by Shell. We, the attendees at the corporation’s 2016 Annual General Meeting in the Circus Theater, Scheveningen, sit comfortably in our red velvet seats watching the massive screen above the heads of the Shell directors on the...
Drawing Red Lines – from Paris to Ffos-y-fran
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Apr 29, 2016
I watched the twitter feed and followed the news early last December filled with a mixture of excitement at what unfolded in Paris and mild envy of companions who were immersed in the ebb and flow of events around COP 21, the 21st Conference of the Parties to the UNFCCC. As the reports of the...
Stranding the Leviathan – a report from the Shell AGM in Den Haag, Netherlands
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May 22, 2015
We are in the dim light and red velvet of the Circustheatre in Den Haag for the Shell AGM. Up on the podium are the assembled bishops of the company. Eight in the back row all non-executives. Five in the front row: the Chief Financial Officer, the Chief Executive, the Chairman and two non-excutives. Behind...
The Management of Democracy – a report from the BP AGM 2015
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May 5, 2015
The low hanger of the ExCeL building – the London Exhibition Centre – squats grey and devoid of windows on the northern quayside of the former Royal Victoria Dock which was closed and privatised in 1981. Despite having visited this hall for most of the BP Annual General Meetings of the past decade, the place...
Canadian museum accepts oil sponsor despite censorship
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Dec 2, 2013
Last week the Canadian Museum of Civilisation announced it had struck a sponsorship deal with the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers. It’s easy to see why this will be a PR coup for CAPP. But the Museum CEO’s beaming acceptance of oil money seems like an announcement that no lines will be drawn and no...
Toxins in the rivers and toxins in the body politic – the battle over Line 9 in Canada
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Nov 6, 2013
Mika Minio-Paluello, Anna Galkina and James Marriott travelled in North America as part of a tour over September and October to promote The Oil Road – Journeys from the Caspian to the City of London. The fourth of a series of blogs on the journey comes from James Marriott in Ontario. York University, Toronto, Ontario...
Oil City begins
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Jun 10, 2013
Oil City’s first performances took place today, the start of its two week run. We don’t want to give too much away about this new work by Platform, but let’s just say this spy thriller is bringing out the spook in us all! Part of Artsadmin’s Two Degrees festival, Oil City is a piece of...
Growing unease in Norway over Statoil and cultural sponsorship
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May 13, 2013
A few months ago we published a blog post from someone who felt that they could no longer engage with the Bergen International Festival because of Statoil sponsorship. It’s now turned into a more sustained debate in Norway about the role that the oil company plays in the cultural sector. Here’s some more info from...
Volunteer quits Bergen International Festival over Statoil sponsorship
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Mar 15, 2013
Controversies around oil sponsorship of the arts aren’t confined to the UK. This is a translation of an article by Ragnhild Freng Dale printed in Bergens Tidende on March 1st, which you can find online here in its original Norwegian. The Bergen International Festival, an annual festival of arts and contemporary music in Bergen, released their...
Has RBS stopped financing the tar sands? (Spoiler: No)
Blog post -
Feb 12, 2013
Last week RBS chairman Philip Hampton took part in a live Q&A session on the Guardian in response to the Libor-rigging scandal. One of the questions that was put to Hampton by a reader was How do you continue to justify continued your role in financing the Canadian tar sands, arguably a greater crime than...
Thirty national & international groups call for support of tar sands blockade
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Oct 6, 2012
We’re honoured to be one of the groups to be standing in solidarity with this inspiring direct action taking place in Texas attempting to block construction of the Keystone XL oil pipeline. The activists have been facing a variety of awful police responses, including pepper spray, choke holds and tasers. For more information on the...
Risking ruin: Shell’s investments in Tar Sands, the Arctic and Nigeria
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May 18, 2012
This article first appeared as an introduction to a report, Risking Ruin: Shell’s dangerous developments in the Tar Sands, Arctic and Nigeria, published on 18 May 2012 by Indigenous Environmental Network and Athabasca Chipewyan First Nation. As economic austerity bites, major oil companies are making staggering profits. A high oil price in 2011 made Shell $30.92 billion in annual...
