NGOs Protest Exxon-Mobil Sponsorship of New “Green” Stadium

June 20th, 2008

The newly opened ballpark in southwest Washington, DC - in the shadow of the nation’s capital - is LEED Silver Certified - the first environmentally friendly stadium in the country. But plastered inside the Washington Nationals ballpark are prominent advertisements for one of the most polluting corporations on the planet - ExxonMobil.

Activists are trying to insure that the company is not given naming rights to the stadium - that it doesn’t become “Exxon-Mobil National Stadium” and that the company’s prominent ads are replaced by those of a more environmentally-friendly company - or at least one not as complicit in global warming as Exxon-Mobil.

The Oblate JPIC Office joined in expressing concern about the message being sent by this advertising. ExxonMobil is a company that has done all in its power to spread doubt about the dangers posed by human-induced global warming. In our view, Exxon-Mobil has a lot to answer for and needs to do a great deal to warrant being associated with a ‘green’ stadium. A first step would be to accept the Shareholder resolution simply to set CO2 emissions targets that the Oblates and others co-filed with the company this past season. ExxonMobil spent millions fighting this and a resolution to separate the positions of Chairman of the Board and CEO.

More information:

Strike Out Exxon Coalition
ExxonMobil Emissions Reduction Resolution 2008 (ICCR) - PDF

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