BP’s Board Agrees To Greater Emissions Disclosure

(Photo: Storage tanks and refinery. Credit: BP)

BP’s board agreed to support a call from institutional investors for the company to broaden its corporate reporting and describe how its strategy is consistent with the Paris Agreement goals.

Climate Action 100+, an initiative representing more than 300 investors with over $32 trillion in assets, proposed the resolution be put to BP shareholders at the company’s annual general meeting in May 2019. The investor group works to engage companies on improving governance, curbing emissions, and strengthening climate-related financial disclosures.

“BP has supported the aim of the Paris Agreement, with its call to rapidly reduce greenhouse gas emissions in the context of sustainable development and eradicating poverty, since it was agreed in 2015,” the British multinational oil and gas company said. “In accordance with the proposed resolution, BP will describe how its strategy is consistent with the Paris goals, as well as setting out a range of additional related reporting.”

The resolution, as described by Climate Action 100+, would require BP to set out:

• Its business strategy, which it considers, in good faith, to be consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement on climate change
• How the company evaluates the consistency of each new material capital investment with the goals of the Paris Agreement
• Related metrics and targets, consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement, together with the anticipated levels of investment in oil and gas and other energy technologies; targets to promote operational greenhouse gas reductions; the estimated carbon intensity of energy products; and the linkage of its targets with executive remuneration

If the resolution is approved at the annual general meeting, the company plans to introduce the changes into reporting for 2019 onwards.

“Climate change poses risks and opportunities for investors, companies, workers and their communities who have a shared interest in urgent and bold action to fulfill the Paris Agreement goals,” said Anne Simpson, Climate Action 100+ global Steering Committee chair, and CalPERS director of board governance and strategy. “BP’s spirit of partnership with its share owners shows that real progress is possible, and it is necessary.”

BP also announced that greenhouse gas emissions reductions are now included as a factor in the reward of 36,000 employees across the group and around the world, including executive directors.

Last year BP introduced a target of achieving 3.5 million metric tons of sustainable GHG emissions reductions in worldwide operations by 2025. “Progress towards this target has now been incorporated into the assessment of the group’s performance that is a factor in determining annual bonuses for BP staff worldwide,” the company said.

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