Both BP and Shell are likely to face resolutions at their next AGMs which will raise the issue of climate change. A coalition of investment groups including ShareAction and the Local Authority Pension Fund (LAPF) are looking for signatories to a requisition for a resolution to require more reporting by these companies on various aspects of their approach to carbon reduction and emissions management. See http://www.lapfforum.org/news/co-filers-sought-for-2015-shell-and-bp-agm-resolutions for more information.
Comment: Some investors feel that the Annual Reports of such companies are already long enough and there is already adequate reporting of such matters. Investors are also wary of resolutions with a political slant to them. But it is surely good that investors do raise concerns by the use of such resolutions. The UK lags far behind the USA in the number of investor resolutions that are requisitioned and it should be used more frequently in the UK as a way of obtaining more “shareholder democracy” in general. Whether individual investors should support such resolutions is surely for you to decide.
Roger Lawson
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