ESG & Investing

Billionaire’s Activist Victory Jolts Boardrooms Across Australia

  • “Take the blame or face a vote,” corporate chiefs told
  • Sweeping changes across boardrooms may herald new green era

The AGL Energy Ltd. Loy Yang Power Station in the Latrobe Valley, Australia.

Photographer: Carla Gottgens/Bloomberg
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Australia’s old-guard corporate directors are getting schooled on climate action and accountability -- as they exit the boardrooms.

Half the board at one of Australia’s biggest polluters, AGL Energy Ltd., said Monday they’d step down in a strategic capitulation to a billionaire climate activist. A day later, the head of one of the nation’s biggest banks was heckled by a 15-year-old over its climate goals. And at least four Star Entertainment Group Ltd. directors have said they’re quitting, ahead of a damning report into the company’s flagship Sydney casino.