Health super fund HESTA in push for Woodside Energy chair Richard Goyder to back climate action directors

One of Australia’s most powerful superannuation funds is pitching for a seat on the board of Woodside Energy.

HESTA, which holds a stake of less than one per cent of the $57.4 billion WA-headquartered energy giant, said it had been “constructively engaged” with the company over the past few months about its existing board members and had nominated directors of its own to chair Richard Goyder.

“We have shared with Woodside for their consideration, independent and highly credentialed potential director candidates, whose new energy and business transformation skills we believe would add to the board’s current capabilities,” the fund told the Australian Financial Review.

The super fund — backed by more than 950,000 members in the health and community services sector and with more than $80 billion under management — already has Woodside and one-time potential merger partner Santos on a so-called watch list and has been reviewing how they are working to improve emissions reduction targets. Failure to act could see HESTA pull its investments.

HESTA’s moves to flex its financial muscle to secure a seat on the board comes on the same day that Woodside is set to hold a climate strategy briefing for investors ahead of its annual general meeting later next month.

The Meg O’Neill-led oil and gas major copped a 49 per cent protest vote against its climate action plan in 2022.

Its latest climate plan progress report — released with its full-year results last month — underscored the challenges it faces in balancing shareholder and public expectations, showing emissions across its portfolio rose 15 per cent last year, though emissions at the projects it operates were 4 per cent lower.

Ms O’Neill told an AFR business summit in Sydney on Monday that Woodside had been talking to investors about its latest climate reduction action plan, which includes first targets for so-called scope three emissions — which are those that are produced further down the chain from its own production facilities once its oil and gas have been sold.

“We’ve spent a lot of time since that last climate vote meeting with investors really listening to understand what was it about our last report that left them unsatisfied,” she told the newspaper.