Green activist group Follow This has abandoned its planned legal action against BP after the supermajor excluded a climate-related shareholder resolution from its annual general meeting (AGM) in May. The resolution, co-filed with 16 institutional investors managing over €1 trillion in assets, urged BP to disclose its strategy for maintaining shareholder value amid declining oil and gas demand. Follow This argued that the investor backlash at the AGM already delivered a strong rebuke to the board, and CEO Mark van Baal stated the group will continue its fight in boardrooms rather than courtrooms, expecting BP will not block such resolutions again.

Background and Backlash

The decision to exclude the resolution sparked fury among institutional shareholders. Chair Albert Manifold was fired just weeks after the AGM amid "serious concerns" related to governance and conduct. Follow This had engaged lawyers in April to challenge BP's refusal to include what it considered a validly filed resolution, but has now dropped this action to focus on submitting a new resolution ahead of next year's AGM.

Shareholder Votes and Governance Concerns

At the recent AGM, shareholders concerned about investor rights and transparency voted against a board resolution to scrap climate-related disclosures and move AGMs online. A protest vote against the chair's election garnered support from 18% of shareholders. Follow This noted that two board resolutions requiring 75% support to pass failed to reach even 50%, indicating the board has lost touch with its shareholders. The group called on BP to restore relationships with "all shareholders" and welcomed recent re-engagement after a year of "radio silence."

Call for New Leadership

A search for a new chair to replace Manifold is underway. Follow This urged the new chair to fix BP's broken governance by listening to all shareholders, not only those focused on fossil fuels, such as activist investor Elliott. BP has been contacted for comment.