Environmental Leader

Exxon Mobil Corp. chief executive Rex Tillerson will retain the title of chairman after a shareholder proposal to split the roles, due in part to the company’s failure to commit large-scale capital investment to environmentally friendly technology, was defeated, The Dallas Morning News reports.

Four U.K.-based investors and a British proxy advisory firm joined a group of dissident shareholders in calling for an independent chairman at Exxon Mobil.

Tillerson keeps the two top jobs, despite efforts by members of the Rockefeller family and other shareholders to separate the roles at the Irving-based oil company’s annual meeting in Dallas.

All shareholder proposals failed, with the bid to split the chairman and CEO roles getting 39.5 percent of the vote.

Responding to shareholder concerns about the environmental effects of the oil company’s products, Tillerson said that Exxon does invest in products that address global warming and outlined the company’s investment in new fuels, plastics and chemicals that promote energy efficiency among its customers.

Exxon Mobil said earlier this month that it is building a commercial demonstration plant near LaBarge, Wyo., to test an improved natural gas treating technology that could offer several financial and environmental benefits.