A company’s No. 1 concern should be the best interest of its shareholders. But in recent years, activists have developed sophisticated methods of pressuring companies to ignore that responsibility and instead adopt policies informed by their ideological concerns.

A recent battle between ExxonMobil, America’s largest oil and gas company, and two activist shareholder groups demonstrates that at least some companies have had enough.

In January, ExxonMobil filed a lawsuit to block a shareholder resolution put forward by the groups Follow This and Arjuna Capital. Their objective was to force the company to commit to precipitous CO2 emission cuts, including from the combustion of their products. This resolution would, said Exxon, force the company to “change the nature of its ordinary business or to go out of business entirely.”

That is by design. Exxon quoted Arjuna Capital’s contention that “Exxon should shrink,” and a statement from Follow This that its objective is........

© Calgary Herald