A major shareholder advisory firm is urging investors to reject BP’s proposal to eliminate certain climate disclosure requirements, calling the move unprecedented in the United Kingdom.
Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS), whose guidance influences significant portions of shareholder voting at corporate annual meetings, issued the recommendation against BP’s board proposal in a Friday analysis.
The oil giant is seeking approval at its April 23 shareholder meeting to eliminate two climate disclosure commitments dating back to 2015 and 2019. These original resolutions mandated company-specific environmental reporting and were initially approved with nearly unanimous shareholder support.
“A particularly compelling argument would be required to justify such a legal revocation, which we believe is unprecedented in the UK context,” ISS stated in explaining its position.
To successfully remove these environmental reporting obligations, BP must secure support from at least 75% of its shareholders.
The advisory firm criticized BP’s justification for the change, stating: “We do not consider the Board’s argument that the prior resolutions detract from the clarity of reporting and standardised disclosures to constitute a sufficiently compelling case to offset the concerns for ‘retiring’ the relevant disclosures.”
BP’s leadership argues that newer mandatory disclosure frameworks have made the targeted requirements obsolete, providing more standardized and comparable environmental data. The company maintains it will continue reporting climate information through broader systems including the Task Force on climate-related Financial Disclosures and climate-related Financial Disclosure Regulations.
This ISS recommendation comes amid growing pressure from European investors involved in a climate-focused campaign against BP. The effort is spearheaded by Dutch activist shareholder organization Follow This, though participating investors represent less than half a percent of BP’s total ownership.
Additionally, ISS is advising shareholders to oppose a separate BP proposal that would permit the company to conduct online-only shareholder meetings.
