BP shareholders back climate change disclosures

The shareholders of oil giant BP voted overwhelmingly to mandate that the company report regularly on how it is affecting climate change.

Ninety-eight percent of investors voted for the resolution Thursday at BP’s annual shareholder meeting in London, making it one of the first major oil companies to require such detailed disclosures, Reuters reported.

{mosads}“This resolution is about disclosure, it’s not about setting targets,” BP Chairman Carl-Henric Svanberg said at the event.

The resolution was crafted by a group of shareholders and outside environmental groups, without input from company management, Reuters said.

“I suspect that these will be the first of many board-supported shareholder resolutions on this topic during the critical 2015-20 climate policy making window,” said Helen Wildsmith, head of ethical and responsible investment at CCLA, which manages investments for charities.

Shareholders at Royal Dutch Shell will vote in May on a similar resolution.