BHP shakes off climate challenge at AGM
Support for corporate climate warriors fell sharply at BHP’s AGM, with votes for resolutions put up by activist groups down strongly on 2019.
Support for Australia’s corporate climate warriors has fallen sharply at BHP’s annual shareholder meeting, with votes for resolutions put up by activist groups down strongly on 2019.
A repeat attempt to change BHP’s constitution to make it easier for shareholders to pass resolutions binding the company’s board won half the support it did in 2019, and support for a motion targeting the miner’s membership of industry associations was also sharply down.
BHP’s board took a major rebuff at last year’s AGM, with 29.5 per cent of proxy votes cast in favour of a resolution calling on the company to quit groups that lobby in a manner “inconsistent with the goals of the Paris Agreement” — effectively targeting its membership of the Minerals Council of Australia and coal industry group Coal21.
The motion was backed by the Australasian Centre for Corporate Responsibility which proposed a similar resolution this year, but it narrowed the focus to lobbying around economic stimulus measures in response to the coronavirus crisis.
This year’s motion won the support of only 20.4 per cent of votes cast at the Australian meeting, well down on last year’s numbers. Proxy votes cast in favour of changing BHP’s constitution also fell, to 5.5 per cent from 9.5 per cent in 2019.
A third motion lodged by the ACCR, which called on BHP cease any activities that would “disturb, destroy or desecrate” heritage sites, was withdrawn after the company reached an agreement about the way it would approach sites important to traditional owners, with the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance — a coalition of key indigenous groups and other organisations across the country.
Although the motion was withdrawn on Tuesday, at the request of the First Nations Heritage Protection Alliance, the results of proxy votes published by BHP on Wednesday suggest it won little support, with only 7.4 per cent of shares cast in favour of the resolution.
ACCR director of climate and environment Dan Gocher said the vote still “kept the pressure” on industry associations.
“Last week, we saw BHP take a long overdue but welcome step by suspending its membership of the Queensland Resources Council, because of its brazen attempt to influence Australian democracy. Despite telling its shareholders for three years that suspension of membership of any industry association was simply not workable, last week BHP did just that,” he said.
“With this vote, investors have demonstrated to BHP that they remain focused on the impact of its industry associations on both Australian democracy and on climate action.”
“The advocacy by key BHP industry associations throughout the COVID-19 pandemic has been fundamentally at odds with the Paris Agreement’s goals. They have demanded taxpayer-funded subsidies and fast-tracked approvals for new fossil fuel developments, and an aggressive deregulation agenda.”
Under its latest environmental plan, BHP is seeking to slash its scope one and two carbon emissions — those directly attributable to its own emissions, and third party providers that power its sites — by 30 per cent by 2030, using 2020 levels as its baseline.
Chairman Ken MacKenzie said BHP accepted the science on climate change and supported the goals of the Paris Agreement aimed at keeping global warming to within 1.5 degrees.
“The challenge here is providing access to reliable and affordable energy while reducing emissions. The reality is that all current plausible scenarios show that fossil fuels will be part of the global energy mix for decades. Yes, renewables are going to grow but petroleum is going to be part of the global energy mix for decades,” he said.
BHP chief executive Mike Henry said the use of petroleum products in industrial processes meant it remained a good business for BHP for some time to come.
“We see oil as being an attractive place to invest for at least the next decade and likely beyond, but it is something we are focused on for the short to medium term,” he said.
BHP shares closed 28c lower at $36.03
