Shell Plc’s return to oil and gas was too much for one of the company’s energy traders.
After the company announced its plan to shift a larger proportion of its investment from fossil fuels in the coming years, Steffen Krutzinna decided to step down, according to a post on LinkedIn. The change in strategy, announced by CEO Wael Sawan last week, showed Shell is putting short-term profits ahead of social and environmental responsibilities, the trader wrote.
“I see this as a fundamental shift in corporate values,” Krutzinna told the publication. “I don’t want to be a part of that, so I’m out.”
In an effort to woo investors, Sawan increased Shell’s dividend and presented a vision for the company that he said would deliver higher returns. At the heart of that plan is the oil and gas business, which helped the company post record profits last year.
Even as it announced the change, the company maintained its long-term climate pledges. “Shell reiterated its commitment to become a net-zero emissions energy business by 2050, that has not changed at all,” a spokesman said by email. “But we also made it clear that we need to accompany our investors on this journey, and that means making sure we are clearly focused on capital discipline, improved performance and delivering shareholder value.”
Shell’s strategy presentation gave no clear plan for how the company would reach that net-zero goal and noted that it could miss the target if the world as a whole does not reduce CO2 fast enough.
Krutzinna heads algorithmic trading at Shell’s renewable energy trading subsidiary Next Kraftwerke GmbH, based in Cologne, Germany. Energy trading is one area of the low-carbon business where executives believe they may have an advantage, but his departure underscores the possibility that Shell will struggle to attract and retain talent in low-carbon businesses as which goes back to fossil fuels.
For Krutzinna, the amount of investment Shell plans to invest in global warming oil and gas, plus the “softened” net zero target, justified his “heartbreaking” decision to leave, according to his post on LinkedIn. When reached by Bloomberg, Krutzinna declined to comment further.
“We are very saddened that Steffen has decided to leave the company,” Hendrik Samisch, CEO of Next Kraftwerke, said by email. “He is an excellent trader and quantitative analyst. We wish him all the best for his future.”
