Old Dominion voters defeat call for greenhouse gas reduction targets

The owners of Old Dominion Freight Line on Wednesday turned aside a shareholder initiative that would have called on the company to set specific goals for cutting trucking emissions and slowing climate change.

The initiative came from As You Sow, a Berkeley, California-based nonprofit group that promotes environmental and social corporate responsibility through shareholder advocacy, and from Amalgamated Bank, a New York financial institution that lends to and invests in mission-oriented businesses such as nonprofits, labor unions, and advocacy groups.

Those partners had organized a resolution that stated: “Shareholders request that the Board issue interim- and long-term greenhouse gas reduction targets aligned with the Paris Agreement's 1.5 degree C goal requiring Net Zero emissions by 2050.”

However, a vote by all shareholders at the trucking company’s annual meeting resulted in a loss for the motion by a count of roughly 23 million in support and 73 million against, according to As You Sow. 

Old Dominion declined to comment on the vote. However, in the Thomasville, North Carolina-based company’s latest environmental, social, and governance (ESG) report, Old Dominion says that it uses modern, efficient trucks with an average age of in-service tractors of four to five years; that it has increased its use of biodiesel and renewable fuels by 45.7% from 2020 to 2022; and that it is conducting driver orientation and testing of a battery-electric class 8 tractor, switcher, and forklifts. In addition, the company participates in the U.S. EPA SmartWay Program, which is a public-private partnership that helps companies advance supply chain sustainability by measuring, benchmarking, and improving freight transportation efficiency.

However, the company’s overall emissions are still substantial, according to As You Sow and Amalgamated Bank. Transportation is the biggest source of greenhouse gas production in the U.S. as measured by carbon dioxide emissions per sector, according to the U.S. Energy Information Administration (EIA), a unit of the U.S. Department of Energy. And Old Dominion operates some 11,000 internal combustion-powered semi-trailer trucks in 48 states across the country.

According to supporters of the failed motion, that stance puts the company at risk of failing to comply with emerging regulations in California and 11 other states (CO, MA, MD, ME, NJ, NM, NY, OR, RI, VA, and WA). For example, the Advanced Clean Trucks rule requires manufacturers to sell 100% zero-emissions heavy-duty vehicles (ZE-HDVs) by 2035.

“Investors expect, at a minimum, best practice when it comes to climate risk management, and Old Dominion’s current efforts fall short,” Danielle Fugere, president and chief counsel of As You Sow, said in a release. “This shareholder proposal sends a strong message to the company that it must accelerate its efforts to align with a net zero economy.”