BHP Shareholders demand consistent climate policy

September 2, 2022

The Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility has tabled three resolutions.

BHP Group is facing shareholder resolutions demanding greater consistency around its engagement with climate change.

Tabled by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility (ACCR), the three resolutions have been put forward for consideration at BHP’s 2022 annual general meeting.

The ACCR is urging BHP to embrace “consistency with limiting warming to 1.5 degrees” and aligning with the Paris Agreement’s objectives.

Here, it is argued that BHP has significant influence it can exert and take advantage of Australia’s recent change in government.

Earlier in 2022, Australia voted in a new government that has explicitly made climate change a key tenet in its policy agenda.

Specifically, ACCR wants BHP to now advocate against Australia’s powerful fossil fuel lobby.

This could include supporting an enhanced renewable energy rollout, advocating for the government’s safeguard mechanism, and lobbying for the introduction of enabling policies for a global green iron and steel industry.

In another resolution, the ACCR is also calling for BHP to begin including climate sensitivity analysis within its financial statements.

Specifically, ACCR supports this resolution by highlighting BHP’s sensitivity to climate change – both in terms of risks from extreme climate events and sharp fluctuations in commodity prices such as coal.

The ACCR has also tabled a special resolution to amend the company’s constitution, so shareholders are able to table member resolutions at general meetings.

Currently, the constitution of BHP does not allow shareholders to place “ordinary resolutions on the agenda”, something the ACCR argues “is contrary to the long-term interests of our company, our company’s board, and all shareholders in our company”.

BHP recently completed a merger with Woodside Energy, the country’s largest energy producer.

The soaring price of oil and gas has caused Woodside’s 2022 half-year profits to rise fivefold to A$2.4bn ($1.6bn).

Though shareholders approved the merger, the ACCR was opposed and argued the merger would gloss over climate change commitments.