Follow this (organisation)

Follow this is an independent Dutch non-profit organization and shareholder advocacy group, founded in 2015. The organization unites environmentally conscious investors - both institutional and private - by filing climate-related shareholder resolutions at annual general meetings of major oil and gas companies. Its aim is to push these companies to align their emission reductions with the targets of the Paris Agreement.

History

Follow this was founded in 2015 by Mark van Baal. Follow this began as a small-scale initiative, born out of frustration over the role of oil companies in the climate crisis and the lack of influence that politics and society had over the corporate sector. Van Baal realized that only shareholders had the formal power to force companies to change course, and he bought a single share in Shell to address fellow shareholders at the company’s 2015 annual general meeting.

The core argument of Follow this is as follows: oil and gas companies significantly contribute to global warming through their emissions. Destructive climate change will endanger the global economy. This poses a major risk to investment portfolios of institutional and retail shareholders across sectors. At the same time, Big Oil has the know-how and resources to accelerate the energy transition. Shareholders therefore have an interest in ensuring that their company invests in renewable energy, rather than in new fossil fuel exploration. This helps safeguard shareholder value in the long term.

In its early days, Van Baal, supported by a few volunteers, personally approached hundreds of private investors to join his mission. This created a collective of private “green shareholders” who could influence fossil fuel companies from within. In 2016, the organization filed its first climate resolution at Royal Dutch Shell, which was still headquartered in the Netherlands at the time.

This first climate resolution received 2.8% of the votes, after, among others, pension fund Actiam and asset manager MN backed the proposal. In addition to the support of private investors, Follow this started to focus on convincing institutional shareholders to use their voting rights to urge Shell toward sustainable investment choices. In 2017, the votes in favor at Shell doubled to 6.3%.

In the years that followed, Follow this grew into a serious player in the international financial world. Each year, Follow this uses its rights as a minority shareholder to table resolutions that put climate issues on Big Oil’s agenda. Breakthroughs came when international institutional investors began backing the resolutions and oil and gas companies, under sustained shareholder pressure, started tightening their climate ambitions. Follow this regularly features in the news when international media report on financial developments in the energy sector.

Organization

Follow this was founded as an association (vereniging) in the Netherlands, and boasts a membership base of several thousand supporters—known as “green shareholders.” Since 2021, Follow this has been recognized by the Dutch Tax and Customs Administration as an official charitable organisation (ANBI). The organisation is governed by a board of voluntary members, led by founder Mark van Baal, and supported by a small core team and a network of volunteers.

Funding for Follow this comes mainly from philanthropic contributions, supplemented by membership fees and donations from supporters. This funding model keeps Follow this independent from government subsidies or corporate sponsorship, helping preserve its grassroots character.

Shareholder votes for climate resolutions

Follow this filed its first shareholder resolution in 2016 at the annual general meeting of Royal Dutch Shell, which received approximately 2.8% support. Since then, it has submitted climate-related resolutions annually at oil majors, including Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, ExxonMobil, and Chevron. Voting outcomes incrementally increased in the first seven years, having stabilised around the 20% mark since. Some highlights include:

• 2016–2020: Incremental support at Shell, rising from 2.8% in 2016 to 14% in 2020
• 2021: ~80% support at Phillips 66, ~60% at ConocoPhillips, ~40% at Equinor, ~30% at Shell, ~20% at BP
• 2022: ~30% support at Chevron and ExxonMobil
• 2023: ~30% support at TotalEnergies
• 2024: ~20% at Shell
• 2025: No resolution filed, but ~24% support at BP against the chairman's re-election over climate strategy U-turn

These outcomes are based on voting records reported by outlets such as Reuters, The Guardian, Euronews, and Capital Monitor.

Impact

Oil majors

Some Follow this resolutions have reached majority support, which in several cases forced the companies in question to take action. For example, its pressure reportedly influenced Shell to adopt Paris‑aligned emissions goals in 2018–19. In 2021, majority support for a resolution at Phillips 66 led the company to announce an ambition to reduce Scope 3 emissions.

At the beginning of Follow This's campaign, no major oil company accepted responsibility for Scope 3 emissions, those resulting from the use of their products. Through persistent shareholder pressure, four of the five supermajors, Shell, BP, TotalEnergies, and Chevron, now acknowledge that Scope 3 emissions fall within their responsibility. ExxonMobil remains the only holdout.

Investors

Follow this works closely with institutional investors such as pension funds, insurers, and asset managers. With climate change increasingly viewed as a risk to both the global economy and the environment, large shareholders use their own voting power to support Follow this resolutions and to mitigate exposure to potential stranded assets.

Follow this also collaborates with institutional investors to co-file resolutions. A notable example was in 2023 at TotalEnergies, where the resolution was co-filed with international investors including Amundi, a leading French asset manager. In 2024, a similar coalition, representing approximately €4 trillion in assets and including NEST, Candriam, Scottish Widows, and Rathbones, co-filed a resolution at Shell.

Anti-ESG backlash

Follow this encountered a major legal conflict in early 2024, when ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit in Texas federal court against Follow this and Arjuna Capital, aiming to block a shareholder resolution on greenhouse gas emissions. Amid a backlash on ESG proposals, Exxon pursued this litigation after the groups had withdrawn their proposal, arguing the matter could recur and seeking to restrict future filings through court orders.

The move sparked widespread investor outrage. Leading institutional shareholders, including CalPERS and Norges Bank Investment Management, denounced Exxon for undermining shareholder rights. CalPERS announced plans to vote against Exxon's entire board in protest, calling the lawsuit "reckless" and "designed to punish two small groups that dared to speak truth to power". Norges Bank publicly opposed the re-election of Exxon director Joseph Hooley, citing concern over the company's "unusual and aggressive tactics". Dozens of asset owners collectively controlling trillions in assets issued statements defending shareholder democracy and urging reliance on SEC processes as the proper mechanism for resolving proxy disputes.

In June 2024 the court dismissed the case against Follow this on jurisdictional grounds, and the case against Arjuna Capital was dropped after the firm committed not to refile the proposal. Follow this welcomed the ruling, warning the lawsuit could have set a dangerous precedent for future climate-focused shareholder activism.

In early 2025, Reuters reported that Follow this would, for the first time since 2016, not file any climate resolutions. The New York Times attributed the decision to legal and political pressure in the United States, including state-level actions against ESG policies at American investors. Despite not filing a resolution, Follow this did successfully rally BP shareholders to vote against re-election of their chairman after a u-turn in the oil major's climate strategy.