Proxy Advisor Urges BP Shareholders to Reject Climate Vote

Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommended on April 4 that BP shareholders vote against a board-backed proposal that would remove specific climate reporting commitments. The recommendation applies to BP’s annual general meeting scheduled for April 23 in London.

BP is asking investors to approve the retirement of two shareholder resolutions adopted in 2015 and 2019. Those resolutions require company-specific climate reporting, and BP’s board is seeking to revoke them through a vote at the AGM.

According to the information provided, BP needs at least 75% shareholder support to eliminate the commitments. The resolutions the company wants to retire originally received nearly 100% backing from shareholders.

ISS said a strong justification is needed to support a legal revocation of this kind. It described such a step as unprecedented in the UK context, and said the board’s case did not meet the threshold it believes is required.

ISS reviewed BP’s stated rationale that the earlier resolutions reduce clarity in reporting and complicate standardized disclosures. The proxy adviser said that argument was not sufficient to outweigh concerns about ending the disclosures tied to the 2015 and 2019 commitments.

BP’s board has argued that the targeted requirements have largely been overtaken by mandatory disclosure frameworks that provide more comparable information. The company has also said it would continue to publish climate-related data under broader reporting structures, including the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures.

The ISS recommendation comes as BP faces a wider climate-focused investor campaign in Europe. That effort has been led by the Dutch activist shareholder group Follow This, according to the information provided.