Responsible Investor | Oil giant BP suffered a bruising annual general meeting today as investors voted down two management proposals, including one on retiring legacy climate resolutions, and chair Albert Manifold faced substantial opposition.
Pressure has been building on the UK oil giant in the past month, with major investors and proxy advisers coming out against management, which has been seen by many as undermining shareholders’ rights. It follows the firm’s unprecedented decision to block an investor-backed climate proposal filed by Dutch campaigner Follow This.
Just over half of investors voted against the resolution to retire legacy climate proposals. Shareholders also rejected the company’s plan to allow virtual only meetings. Incoming chair Manifold faced 18 percent opposition, with proxy giant Glass Lewis citing BP’s omission of Follow This in recommending a vote against him.
Lindsey Stewart, director of institutional insights at Morningstar, said it is “unlikely that there would have been anything like this kind of dissent against the new chair” had BP not excluded the Follow This proposal.
“The exclusion of the Follow This resolution made the matter less about whether a shareholder agreed with the proposal or not, but more about the message that it sends, that a resolution that appears to have been properly filed has been excluded,” Stewart said.
