Exxon

Every so often, a company comes along that is so egregiously awful it earns a single-digit score in the UNFK database, and ExxonMobil is one such company. 

Unfortunately, Exxon’s abysmal score is unsurprising considering the fact that the multinational oil and gas company was aware of climate change as early as 1977 and spent the decades since then (until very recently) denying the existence of climate change and investing millions into concerted misinformation campaigns.

As if that weren’t enough to make you buy an EV, Exxon continues to be one of the worst climate actors in the global economy today. Case in point: just last year, the company’s political action committee contributed a whopping $318,000 to some of the worst climate offenders in Congress. On top of that, an additional $117,889 flowed into the pockets of these politicians from Exxon employee contributions. And since at least 1998, Exxon has given over $30 million to other climate-denying groups. That means that every time you fill up at an Exxon, your money is likely ending up in the coffers of climate-destroying legislators and organizations. 

Exxon is also a member of many anti-environmental industry groups, including the U.S. Chamber of Commerce and Business Roundtable, both of which have been challenging good climate policies for years. As we speak, both groups are publicly opposing a historic new SEC proposal that if adopted would require big companies like Exxon to report their greenhouse gas emissions. 

And we’re not the only ones who think Exxon could stand to clean up its act (along with its oil spills). Climate policy watchdog Influence Map gave the company a D for its anti-environmental lobbying efforts and backward climate messaging. The CDP (formerly the Carbon Disclosure Project) also gave the company a bevy of Fs for its climate change, forest, and water security submissions just last year. Finally, Exxon earned a -8.6 percent—that’s right a negative score—from corporate accountability watchdog As You Sow for a slew of climate-destroying actions, many of which disproportionately affect BIPOC communities. 

We’re not expecting an oil and gas company to be at the top of the UNFK list by any means, but even among its peers, Exxon truly puts the ick in this already slick industry.