Exxon Mobil accuses Andrew Forrest of unlawful and sour grapes behaviour in plastics recycling war

United States energy goliath Exxon Mobil is using a defamation lawsuit to claim Andrew Forrest planned to act unlawfully and has put the billionaire’s charity arm in its crosshairs.

The lawsuit filed in Texas overnight has “delighted” Mr Forrest, who believes it is a “desperate” attempt by the oil and gas industry to maintain a “toxic grip on society”.

A litany of environmental groups and California’s attorney general Rob Bonta are being sued by Exxon over claims about the company’s plastic recycling venture.

Exxon says statements by the defendants, including that the company’s plastic polymers “are poisoning waterways, wildlife and people”, are false and have caused significant reputational damage.

Among those being sued is the Intergenerational Environment Justice Fund, which Exxon says is a wholly-controlled subsidiary of Mr Forrest’s Minderoo Foundation.

Mr Forrest said he was “delighted” by the Exxon lawsuit.

“This lawsuit is no surprise and right out of the oil and gas industry playbook. I am personally delighted Exxon has walked themselves into the court and opened themselves up to cross-examination,” he said.

“The fossil fuel industry is getting increasingly desperate at maintaining its toxic grip on society.

“Their only priority is to maximise their profits and produce as much oil and gas as possible.”

Mr Forrest had his own plastic recycling business idea and even pitched it to Exxon, according to the company, but those plans were allegedly illegal.

Exxon says Mr Forrest’s idea was called “Sea the Future” and focused on ending plastic waste through a “levy” on virgin plastic.

“Mr Forrest’s idea was that plastic resin manufacturers should jointly agree to artificially inflate the price of virgin plastic resin derived from fossil fuels through a self-imposed levy. Funds raised by the levy would then be managed by Forrest’s charity to address plastic pollution,” Exxon’s court submission states.

“During that visit, representatives of Exxon Mobil explained that, while perhaps well intended, a voluntary agreement among industry competitors to inflate the price of their goods would be a clear violation of US antitrust law.

“Undeterred, Forrest continued to promote his campaign to other industry participants, culminating in another meeting among plastic resin manufacturers and major retail brands.

“At this meeting, ExxonMobil representatives again explained why Forrest’s scheme was unlawful, and those present refused to participate in Minderoo’s plan. Undeterred, Forrest publicly launched this campaign at a United Nations sponsored TED Talk in New York in September 2019.”

Exxon says that after Mr Forrest failed to woo the industry to adopt his “collusive proposal” the mining billionaire and his organisations, including Fortescue and Minderoo, became “strident critics of the plastics industry in general, and . . . Minderoo has made several false and deceptive statements concerning ExxonMobil, plastics waste, and advanced recycling”.

It pointed to Minderoo’s “Plastic Waste Makers Index” as an example.

“Incidentally, it (the Index) alleges ExxonMobil is the largest producer of plastic polymers which are then turned into single-use plastics. However, ExxonMobil does not make single-use plastics.”

A Minderoo spokesman rejected Exxon’s assertions that the Foundation has made false claims about plastic recycling.

“Minderoo stands by both Plastic Waste Makers Index reports which were prepared in conjunction with respected research and analysis partners, with the application of the research methodology independently reviewed,” the spokesman said.

Exxon’s defamation lawsuit is an escalation of a bitter battle between the US’ 12th largest company and environmentalists.

California’s Democratic Party-led government kicked off legal proceedings against Exxon in September for allegedly lying to the public about the recyclability of plastics.

The lawsuit stated Exxon had deceived the public into believing recycling plastic is a viable option to combat the global plastics pollution crisis.