What happened last week in the Exxon-Mobile Boardroom utterly fascinated me. The descriptions are so colorful and just beg to be turned into a screenplay. Rebel shareholders. Climate activism in fancy suits.

I find it fascinating based on my early career in climate policy (read: utility policy) to see how change can happen for corporate policy in much of the same ways as federal, state, local, or regulatory policy change happens.

I wonder what the repercussions will be in the investor-owned electric and gas utility world:

• Will there be a serious commitment to carbon emission reduction driven by activist investors of utilities? It may be the adrenaline from reading the news talking, but I would venture to say the impacts could be greater than a revamped Clean Power Plan.
• Will there be a focus on a slate of Directors with the urgency and innovation who can shepherd the utility into a true “utility 2.0” model?
• Who will start the domino chain? That in itself will be telling.