UK Major Backs Call on Carbon Reporting

After "constructive engagement," the UK major BP is backing institutional investors who call for it to describe how its corporate strategy is consistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement, it said February 1. 

Lobby group Climate Action 100+ has proposed a resolution to be put to shareholders at the company's annual general meeting (AGM) in May 2019 and if adopted, BP will include the new methodology in its reporting from this year onwards. However it will not back rival plan put forward by Follow This, which Anglo-Dutch major Shell has also rejected. 

The 2015 Paris Agreement calls for rapid cuts in greenhouse gas emissions in the context of sustainable development and eradicating poverty.

BP chairman Helge Lund said BP is committed to helping solve the dual challenge of providing more energy with fewer emissions while also growing shareholder value. "This additional reporting will give investors better clarity about how BP can continue to deliver value through the energy transition in a way consistent with the Paris goals. And only by remaining a world-class investment can we most effectively play our part in advancing a low carbon future," he said.

BP also announced February 1 that greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions reductions have now been included as a factor in the reward of 36,000 employees across the group and around the world, including executive directors. In 2018 BP introduced a target to achieve 3.5mn metric tons of sustainable GHG emissions reductions in its operations worldwide by 2025. This will apply to the assessment of BP's performance in 2019 and will be reflected in staff bonuses. Shell has also introduced a similar scheme. Both are among the founder members of the Oil and Gas Climate Initiative.