If you’re reading this, chances are, you’re someone without much good to say about large oil companies. Their ties to the current administration—which hasn’t exactly been a friend to the environment—make you uncomfortable. The memories of past environmental disasters, like the damage they leave behind to this day, are difficult to leave behind. They’re pumping greenhouses gasses into the atmosphere while obfuscating scientific research to try and cover up the damage they’re doing. And the utterly unprecedented profits they’re recording, while most Americans are struggling to just fill the tank, is the icing on the cake.

You might be surprised to learn, then, that there are significant numbers of oil company shareholders—at least shareholders at ExxonMobil—who share your consternation. Upset with senior management’s apparent lack of interest in slowing global warming, or exploring cleaner and more renewable energy sources, a group of dissidents has managed to rally interest in two new proposals—one to curb greenhouse emissions, and a second to invest more heavily in greener energy—along with a third proposal, normally presented each year, to split the roles of CEO and chairman of the board, thus allowing outside perspectives into the boardroom.

The revolt was lead by ancestors of John D. Rockefeller, the founder of Standard Oil Company—which was later broken into a dozens of smaller companies, including Exxon. “Part of John D. Rockefeller's genius was in recognizing early on the need and opportunity of a transition to a better and cheaper fuel” wrote Neva Rockefeller-Goodwin, a professor at Tufts University, pointing out the need for Exxon to diversify. Peter O’Neill, another Rockefeller relative, agreed, saying “all of ExxonMobil's acknowledged strengths are no guarantee it will remain flexible and visionary in light of the changing energy realities that lie ahead.”

At a recent shareholder meeting, however, the historic moves proved unsuccessful, almost certainly a result of the massive profits brought in by the company over the past several years, under current chairman and CEO Rex Tillerson. A statement from the CEO read "The past year was an outstanding year and a record for our corporation by nearly every measure. Millions of people have benefited financially by holding Exxon Mobil shares either directly, or indirectly through their pension, insurance, and mutual funds."

But despite the widespread prosperity and profit—pegged at over 40 billion dollars in the last year alone—between a quarter and a third of all Exxon-Mobil shareholders still voted in favor of the changes proposed by the Rockefeller descendants, and the yearly question of splitting the CEO and chairman offices polled almost forty percent. Such large numbers of shareholders willing to stand up for the common good, even if it runs contrary to their immediate monetary interest, could bode well for increased corporate responsibility from the petrochemical giants in the future.