Proposals to simplify and strengthen bp are being put to shareholders at the company's 2026 AGM. Chair Albert Manifold explains the board's recommendations.

This is your first AGM as bp’s chair. What is your main message to shareholders?

I’ve been speaking to many of our shareholders in recent months to understand their views on our strategy and what we’re working to achieve. Their feedback sharpens our thinking and reinforces our commitment to building a simpler, stronger, more valuable bp. Every action of the board, including our recommendations at the AGM, is ultimately in service of that goal.

One of your first actions as chair was to appoint Meg O’Neill as chief executive. What attributes does Meg bring to bp?

Meg O’Neill is an outstanding leader with a relentless focus on business improvement, as I am sure will become evident over the coming months and years. She understands this industry deeply, and she knows what is required to drive transformation.  She also has a track record for financial discipline, including the use of capital to deliver growth. Those are exactly the qualities needed to drive performance and delivery. 

The bp board has proposed a resolution to retire two climate-related resolutions passed over five years ago. Why and what does this mean for bp’s climate commitments?

This is about providing useful reporting for shareholders, who overwhelmingly tell us they want standardized disclosures that make comparisons easier with other companies. 

The world has moved on since these resolutions were passed in 2015 and 2019. Today, the requirements under these bp-specific resolutions are largely duplicative of what we disclose under current regulations. By retiring the resolutions, the bp teams can focus on work that delivers for bp customers and creates value for bp shareholders. 

Let me be clear: this proposed resolution does not change bp’s net zero ambition. We remain committed to climate reporting through industry-standard frameworks. Retiring these outdated resolutions is an act of simplification, for shareholders and for bp.

ACCR has submitted a resolution asking for more disclosure about bp’s investments into oil and gas projects. Why is the board recommending shareholders vote against this?

The board represents the interests of bp's shareholders as a whole, and we respect the rights of all shareholders to express their views and submit proposals. In this case, our primary view is the ACCR proposal largely duplicates existing disclosures made in bp’s quarterly results reporting, the annual report and presentations to the capital markets. So it would pull the company in the opposite direction to where we want and need to go – which is towards simpler, standardized and comparable reporting. It also cuts across the board's responsibility to decide how to address disclosure for all shareholders.

The bp board did not accept a resolution from Follow This. Why not?

The board is clear that all legally valid resolutions which are properly requisitioned will be put to shareholders. However, the board, having taken legal advice, concluded that the proposal from Follow This was not valid and would be ineffective were it to pass at the AGM.

The board used its discretion in 2023 to allow a resolution from Follow This that was not legally valid to proceed to a vote, where it was comprehensively rejected by shareholders. We made it clear at the time that we would not necessarily continue to table invalid or ineffective resolutions. Given our clear imperative this year to drive focus and discipline, the board concluded that it  should not table an ineffective resolution. 

The bp board has also proposed a resolution that would allow bp to hold virtual AGMs. Why?

Many other large, quoted companies with shareholders located around the world are already using technology to broaden participation in their shareholder meetings and doing so in a streamlined and cost-effective way. These changes simply give bp the option to do the same, should the board decide from time to time that it’s the right thing to do for shareholders.

As shareholders decide how to use their votes this year, what is the one thing you would like them to keep in mind? 

At what is an increasingly volatile and uncertain time for us all, the board is looking to pull every lever – at speed – to enable management to focus its time fully on performance and the delivery of our strategy. Shareholders can play an important role by supporting the board’s proposals and recommendations.

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