BP, clash at shareholders' meeting over withdrawal of climate commitments: ISS urges shareholders to vote against
Proxy advisor ISS opposes BP's board of directors' decision to cancel resolutions on environmental reporting, creating divisions among investors.
The review of the ESG policies and environmental targets becomes a contentious assembly in BP.
The proxy advisor Institutional Shareholder Services (ISS) recommended voting against the BP board's decision to revoke corporate resolutions on climate reporting. A recommendation that will now divide the shareholders' meeting over two different visions of business, profitability and social responsibility.
It is relatively rare for large shareholder advisory groups such as ISS, whose recommendations influence a large part of shareholder votes at annual general meetings, to ask investors to vote against the will of the board of directors.
The reverse on the environment
BP is returning to focus on oil and gas after an ill-fated foray into renewable energy, in a major shift in strategy led by Meg O'Neill, who took over as CEO this week, becoming the company's fourth chief executive since 2023.
The BP board of directors called for a vote at its meeting on 23 April to repeal two resolutions from 2015 and 2019 that required company-specific climate reporting.
