Follow This activist shareholder to broaden climate campaign against BP
Follow This, a group of European investors led primarily by Follow This, urged BP to abandon plans to scrap?climate reporting commitments on Thursday and called for shareholders to vote against this move at the?oil firm's annual meeting later?this?month.
Investors published an 'open letter' opposing a BP backed resolution which would rescind the two decisions taken in 2015 and 2019. These required detailed climate strategy, emissions reporting and linked climate performance with executive pay. BP must have at least 75% of shareholders support in order to cancel the commitments.
Follow This, a Dutch company, and an investor group that has about $1 trillion in assets under?management (including Bernische Pensionskasse, West Yorkshire Pension Fund and Bernische Pensionskasse) have also warned of legal action if BP refuses to put a shareholder resolution separate on the agenda for its annual general meeting of April 23.
The resolution,?which according to Follow This was filed by a group with a combined BP share of approximately 0.27%?, asks the oil company if it will disclose its long-term strategy in scenarios of declining demand for oil and gas. Follow?This gave BP until a Wednesday to include the information, threatening to take the oil company to court if they didn't.
"BP responded confirming that it will not conform, and stating its arguments. The shareholder group, Follow This's lawyers and institutional investors, are studying BP’s response, and discussing the legal options.
BP's Board has stated that the climate-reporting?"requirements" targeted by its proposal are largely superseded with mandatory disclosure frameworks which provide more comparable data.
"Following extensive dialogue with our biggest investors, we are fully devoted to building a stronger, simpler and more valuable BP. This is why we'recommend' these?recommendations to ensure transparent, standardised disclosures which support clear comparisons between companies," a BP spokeswoman said.
Follow This claims that BP told it its resolution was acceptable, but BP denies this and says it never agreed to submit the resolution.
Follow This uses shareholder resolutions regularly to pressure oil companies to publish more detailed energy transition strategies. Shareholders in Europe find it easier to place resolutions on AGM Agendas than Americans.
The group filed a resolution similar to Shell's AGM, scheduled for May 19, ahead of the event. Shell has not yet published its agenda. Reporting by Shadia Naralla. Mark Potter (Editing)
(source: Reuters)
