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Drax AGM Day of Action Toolkit
This guide should have everything you need to take action on the day of Drax’s AGM! Please contact stopburningtreescoalition@gmail.com if you have any questions.
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This toolkit is designed to help people to take action against Drax on the day of their Annual General Meeting (AGM), which is happening at 12:30pm on the 26th April 2023 at 200 Aldersgate street (EC1A 4HD) in London.
You do not need to be London based to take part. We are encouraging both local actions, which can be organised with small groups of volunteers, as well as digital and remote actions, which can be carried out individually. This toolkit contains ideas, information and general guidelines, but is by no means prescriptive. Please feel free to adapt these ideas and take on your own ideas for action! If you’d like help organising anything, please contact us at stopburningtreescoalition@gmail.com.
An AGM is a yearly meeting between a company and shareholders. At the meeting, the board of directors present a report outlining information about the company’s strategy, performance and results. There are also votes on resolutions and sometimes company roles.
There is usually an online and an offline element, both of which shareholders are invited to. Typically, major shareholders will vote in line with the board, despite the thin veneer of democracy.
This year, Drax has enjoyed record profits of £732 million. Meanwhile, the company is estimated to have received £11 billion from the UK government by 2027. Drax is also lobbying the government for even more money to install unproven technology at an estimated cost of £31 billion.
Drax is the UK’s single biggest carbon emitter and the world's largest tree burner. The AGM is an opportunity to stand with frontline communities, whilst letting the public know how Drax harms people and the planet for profit. Additionally, financial journalists from mainstream media outlets tend to cover the AGMs of large companies, giving us the opportunity to shape the narrative towards climate justice.
If you would like to take part in our day of action, please register here:
https://actionnetwork.org/event_campaigns/drax-2023-agm-day-of-action-26th-april
Call on your MP to halt the £billions of subsidies given to Drax and re-allocate the money to genuine renewables and climate action.
https://actionnetwork.org/letters/demand-an-end-to-biomass-subsidies
https://actionnetwork.org/petitions/axe-drax-demands?source=linktree
https://www.biofuelwatch.org.uk/2022/defund-climate-chaos-and-tell-barclays-to-drop-drax/
Schroders holds 9% of Drax’s shares and is a major shareholder. They have publicly called on Drax to not pursue category 2 licences in British Columbia following BBC panorama’s expose and pressure from their clients. Call on Schroders to divest approximately £220,000,000 worth of shares from Drax: https://actionnetwork.org/letters/tell-schroders-to-divest-from-drax
01707 263892
Action taker: Hello can I speak to Grant Schapps?
Representative: (Likely to say no)
Action taker: Okay I understand
Action taker: Will you pass on my message? I’m urging Grant Schapps to prevent Drax from being given the dual CFDs for BECCS. Drax knows their technology doesn’t work, and they are using this as an excuse to keep receiving subsidies for burning trees. Green subsidies going to Drax need to be redirected to real climate action, like insulating homes… Today, Drax is hosting their AGM to celebrate record profits, which is supplemented by £millions of tax-payer’s money. I am extremely worried about the harm that burning trees for electricity causes to people and the planet.
01482 679 687
Action taker: Hello can I speak to Graham Stuart
Representative: (Likely to say no)
Action taker: Okay I understand
Action taker: Will you pass on my message? I’m urging Graham Stuart to prevent Drax from being given the dual CFDs for BECCS. Drax knows their technology doesn’t work, and they are using this as an excuse to keep receiving subsidies for burning trees. Green subsidies paid to Drax should be redirected to real climate action, like insulating homes. Today, Drax is hosting their AGM to celebrate record profits, which is supplemented by £millions of tax-payer’s money. I am extremely worried about the harm that burning trees for electricity causes to people and the planet.
Primary target: Andrew Howard, Global Head of Sustainable Investment
0800 182 2399
Action taker: Good morning/afternoon, could I speak to Andrew Howard?
Representative: (Likely to say no)
Action taker: Could I speak to anyone responsible for shares held by Schroders? Or a relevant department?
Representative: (Responds)
Action taker: I’m calling to urge Schroders to divest from Drax. Today, Drax is hosting their AGM to celebrate record profits from burning trees. This is an unsustainable practice that harms people and the planet and that is held together by lies. Your investors already know that Drax destroys forests. This prompted Schroders to call for category 2 licences to be dropped. You already know that Drax’s business practices are wholly unsustainable. You need to divest.
Roles
