🛢️ Is Exxon going green?

PLUS: Starbucks baristas vs. TikTok. June 1, 2021 [The Hustle] [The Hustle]( Honestly, how is it already June? The big idea [Windmill]( ExxonMobil is the largest direct descendant of John D. Rockefeller’s Standard Oil...and it is being forced to go green. The huge shake-up at oil giant ExxonMobil ExxonMobil just lost a huge boardroom battle. At a shareholder meeting last week, 2 green-friendly directors -- who will push for a lower carbon future -- were voted onto the energy giant’s board of directors. According to [The Economist](, it is “extremely rare” for a company of Exxon’s size to have even a single dissenting voice on the board (translation: things are going to change). With climate change concerns… … more pressing than ever, Big Oil is facing pressure from all angles (governments, consumers) to clean up their energy production. The most aggressive moves have come from green-friendly Europe: - BP has plans to reduce the carbon intensity of its products by 50% in the next 3 decades - Shell will be carbon neutral by mid-century While ExxonMobil has carbon-reduction plans in place, critics want more. To wit: The company’s current spending plan calls for $3B on green projects in the next 5 years (vs. ~$100B for its other projects). A defeat has been years in the making In 2013, [ExxonMobil]( was the world’s largest company. Today, the company’s value has fallen ~40% from its peak and -- last year -- it recorded a [$22B]( loss due to the pandemic. A small activist hedge fund named Engine No. 1 started agitating for change in December. It was backed by 2 massive California pension funds (CalPERS, CalSTRS). While they own <1% of ExxonMobil, the funds’ combined $700B of assets make them very influential, per The Economist. To be carbon neutral by 2050… … the world must stop all new oil and gas projects, according to a [report]( from the International Energy Agency (IEA) released in mid-May. While there is much work to do, ExxonMobil’s stunning board defeat is one step toward reaching that goal. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=The+huge+shake-up+at+oil+giant+ExxonMobil%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F06012021-ExxonMobil-green%3Futm_campaign%3DExxonMobil%26utm_content%3D06012021-ExxonMobil-green%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( SNIPPETS NEW! Introducing our new and improved [Snippets](. You can now get extra snippets on your favorite topics. Follow the button below to get started. 11m+ Americans could lose their homes when COVID-related eviction bans are lifted on [June 30](. Intel’s CEO says the semiconductor chip shortage affecting industries from autos to Big Tech [may last years](. The movie “A Quiet Place Part II” had the best box office opening weekend ([$48m]() for North America since the start of the pandemic. Not The Onion: “Massive bitcoin mine discovered in UK after police raid suspected cannabis farm,” per [CNBC](. Join the 41,746 others who are now enjoying extra, personalized snippets. Click the button👇 to choose your favorite topics and see your list grow in tomorrow’s email. [Personalize Your Snippets]( Too much social [TikTok screenshots]( Barista by day and TikTok influencer… also by day (Source: TikTok / BuzzFeed) Starbucks baristas vs. TikTok It wasn’t too long ago -- circa fall 2020 -- that TikTok was facing a permanent ban from the United States. Having survived that corporate scare, the video-sharing platform is facing a new antagonist: Starbucks baristas [say]( TikTok is driving them “insane.” Why? The rise of the ‘Appuccino’ A TikTok trend is to share off-menu recipes -- AKA “Appuccinos” -- and how to order them. For example, get a strawberry frap with vanilla bean powder and white mocha and cinnamon dolce syrups for a “Strawberry Cheesecake Frappuccino.” Recipes go viral, thanks to influencers and even experimental Starbucks employees with their own fan bases. However, some of these [drinks]( are pretty elaborate, take a long time to make, disrupt the shop’s usual rhythm, and use up ingredients. But for all the baristas’ complaints… … Starbucks’ business is increasingly going digital. According to [BuzzFeed](: - From January to March 2021, 26% of orders were mobile (up from 18% in the previous year) - The # of stores where mobile orders accounted for 20%+ of orders at the peak grew from 4.6k to 7.2k It’s not just the volume of orders, either. The Starbucks app lets you add sauces, syrups, and toppings galore. The coffee chain has also [added]( “secret menu” drinks before (e.g., Pink Drink, Medicine Ball). Starbucks says it’s fine with these orders and -- terrifyingly for baristas -- estimates there are [170k+]( ways to customize a drink. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Starbucks+baristas+vs.+TikTok%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F06012021-TikTok-baristas%3Futm_campaign%3DExxonMobil%26utm_content%3D06012021-TikTok-baristas%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Free Resource Let’s talk about your pitch deck Pitch deck ≠long-winded keynote webinar. It leans more like an elevator pitch, except you have the room, your slides, and ~15 minutes. We’re talking about a full but stripped presentation that breaks down your business’ story, state of operations, and stellar solutions into bite-sized bullets. This is where you give it your best shot to get that money... … so you best not miss HubSpot has you covered on this too, with an absolutely sound pitch-deck blueprint. This is simply solid advice that has helped thousands secure the next round. (If you read our emails daily and have been thinking, “Wow, HubSpot always hits with their content”... we know.) Don’t miss the OG pitch decks swiped from Uber and Castle at the bottom of the blog post. [Perfect your pitch deck →]( By the numbers [Wayne Gretzky]( Wayne ‘The Great One’ Gretzky (Source: Bruce Bennett / Getty Images) Digits: Hockey inflation, a condom surge, and $11m wolves - Ice is on fire. A 1979 Wayne Gretzky rookie card sold for a record $3.75m, more than double the previous record of [$1.29m]( for the same version of the card in a December auction. In 2011, the December auction card sold for $94k. - The band is getting back together. [In April](, Walmart luggage sales surged 400%, while partyware sales more than doubled and balloon sales jumped 50% versus a year ago at the retailer. - Wolves are keeping budgets in check. New research analyzing 22 years of data found that wolves in Wisconsin have reduced deer-vehicle collisions by [25%]( and saved Wisconsin $10.9m in losses each year. - Replace lawmakers with AI? A new study found 51% of Europeans surveyed are interested, along with [75%]( of Chinese. Less surprising: 60% of Americans are opposed to the idea. - Airbnb is getting a reno. The company announced 100+ upgrades to its service, including reducing the number of steps to become a host and flexible dates. Check ’em all out [here](. - On the road again. Americans were expected to spend ~$4.7B on gas over Memorial Day weekend, or [~$1.18B]( each day. The national average price was expected to be $2.98, the highest Memorial Day price since 2014’s $3.66 per gallon. [Share on Facebook]( [Share on Twitter]( [Send as email to a friend](mailto:?subject=The%20Hustle%20wrote%20something%20I%20think%20you%27ll%20like...%0A&body=Digits%3A+Hockey+inflation%2C+a+condom+surge%2C+and+%2411m+wolves%0Ahttps%3A%2F%2Fthehustle.co%2F06012021-Digits%3Futm_campaign%3DExxonMobil%26utm_content%3D06012021-Digits%26utm_medium%3Demail%26utm_source%3Ddaily%0A%0AYou%20can%20subscribe%20with%20my%20link%20here%20to%20get%20the%20latest%20in%20tech%20and%20business%20daily:%0A [View on our website]( Sign of the Day [coffee menu sign] Source: Reddit Some coffee shop somewhere was nice enough to make this product board that actually [explains]( what the wacky coffee names mean. SHARE THE HUSTLE [Hustle Cons Greatest Hits ebook]( Over the years, we’ve learned… secrets. The business secrets, tips, and tricks that have helped founders go from zero to millions -- and even billions -- of dollars. Want to see ‘em? 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