BP 2010 Annual Report Download - page 98
Download and view the complete annual report
Please find page 98 of the 2010 BP annual report below. You can navigate through the pages in the report by either clicking on the pages listed below, or by using the keyword search tool below to find specific information within the annual report.Corporategovernance
Theoutcomeoftheseevaluationsisreportedintheworkofcommitteesat
theendofthisreport.
Theresultsofthisevaluationworkwerepresentedinmeetingsof
theboardandeachofitscommitteesinJanuary2011duringwhichthere
werediscussionsofthelessonslearnedastheboardanditscommittees
performedtheirresponsibilitiesduringthemonthsofintenseand
unprecedentedoperational,reputationalandlegalchallengestoBP
followingthe20April2010incident.
Theevaluationhighlightedanumberofstrengthsandidentiedthe
followingareasforfurtherdevelopmentinthecomingyear:
• C onductadditionalsitevisitsandparticipateindetailedbriengson
signicantoperatingactivitiesofthecompany,includingupstream
businesses.
• Reviewand,ifnecessary,revisethecompany’sboardgovernance
principles.
• Clarifytheboard’sroleinthecrisisplanningprocess.
• Buildonthestrongworkingrelationshipswithintheboardtocontinue
andenhancegoodcommunicationandcohesion.
• Co-ordinateandclarifyexternalandstakeholdercommunications.
• Meetmoreoftenwithseniormanagersbelowthelevelofexecutive
directorsaspartoftheboard’smanagementsuccessionoversight
function.
• Remaininvolvedinstrategicplanningandrelatedriskanalyses.
Communication
Shareholderengagement
Giventheeventsoflastyear,communicationwithourshareholdershas
beenparticularlyimportant.Inadditiontocontactwithourlargeand
institutionalinvestors,wehavewelcomedthecommunicationwehavehad
withourprivateshareholders–withmanylettersandemailscoming
throughtothechairman,tothegroupchiefexecutiveandtootherpartsof
thecompany.Whiletheserepresentadiverserangeofviewpoints,both
positiveandnegativeaboutthecompany,theyhavealsoenabledtheboard
tobeinformedaboutthewidershareholderperceptionofeventsandthe
company’sreactiontothem.
Duringtheincidentandbeyond,weattemptedtokeepour
shareholdersandthewidermarketinformedofeventsandprogress
throughvariouschannels–includingpressreleases,webcasts,
teleconferencesandmeetings.Thegroupchiefexecutive,executive
directorsandseniormanagementengagedwithshareholdersacrossa
broadrangeofissues.
Inparallel,thechairmanmetwithinvestorsintheUSandUKona
one-to-oneandgroupbasis,asdidothersenior,non-executivedirectors.
Theviewsandreactionsdiscussedwiththecompanyinthesewebinars
andmeetingsprovidedvaluablefeedbackandinputintotheboard’sthinking
overtheperiodofthecrisisandourdeliberationsonstrategy.
Thecompanymaintainsaprogrammeofengagementwitharange
ofshareholdersonissuesrelatingtothegroup.Presentationsgivenbythe
grouptotheinvestmentcommunityareavailabletodownloadfromthe
‘Investors’sectionofourwebsite.
Weheldourannualmeetingwithourlargestinvestorsandthe
chairmanandchairsofourmainboardcommitteesinMarch2010.Topics
discussedatthissessionincludedtheworkoftheboardandits
committeesovertheyear,keychallengesandthecompany’spositionon
theshareholderresolutiononoilsands.Wendthismeetingausefulway
forinvestorstohearabouttheworkofourcommitteesandforour
non-executivedirectorstoengageindialoguewithinvestors.Itisintended
thatasimilarmeetingwillbeheldinMarch2011.
Theboardgainsindependentfeedbackontheviewsofour
institutionalinvestorsonthecompany,itsperformanceanditsinvestor
relationsprogrammethroughanannualinvestorauditwhichisundertaken
byexternaladvisors.
AGM
WehavestrongparticipationatourAGM,withattendanceusually
exceedingathousandpeople.Withthesizeandgeographicdiversityofour
shareholderbase,wetrytomaketheAGMaccessiblethroughtheuse
ofwebcastingandadvancevoting–eitheronline,bypostortelephone.
Votesonallmatters(exceptproceduralissues)aretakenbyapollatour
AGM–meaningthateveryvotecast,whetherbyproxyormadeinperson,
iscounted.
Thechairsoftheboardcommitteesandthechairmanwerepresent
duringthe2010AGM.Boardmembersmetshareholdersonaninformal
basisafterthemainbusinessofthemeeting.
Averagevotinglevelsatthe2010AGMdecreasedslightlyto60%,
comparedto61%in2009.However,thenumberofwebcastdownloads
forthe2010AGMincreasedover2009levels.Wemakeourwebcast,
speechesandpresentationsfromtheAGMavailableontheBPwebsite
aftertheevent,togetherwiththeoutcomeofvotingontheresolutions.
International advisory board
In2009,BPformedaninternationaladvisoryboard(IAB)whosepurposeis
toadvisethechairman,chiefexecutiveandboardofBPp.l.c.onstrategic
andgeopoliticalissuesrelatingtothelong-termdevelopmentofthegroup.
TheIABadviseson:
• Howglobalandregionaltrendsintheareasofeconomics,politicsand
businessmightaffectthedevelopmentofBP’sbusinessinthelong
term.
• Howtheinternationalbusinesscommunityandindividualgovernments
perceiveBP’splansandprogrammesofactivities.
TheIABischairedbyourpreviouschairman,PeterSutherland.Other
membersoftheBPIABareKoAnnan,JoshBolten,DrErnestoZedillo,
PresidentRomanoProdiandLordPattenofBarnes.DrJavierSolana
willjointheIABin2011.BobDudleyandCarl-HenricSvanbergattendthe
IABmeetings.
TheIABwillnormallymeetinpersontwiceayear,butmembers
alsoprovideadviceandcounseltothechairman,thegroupchiefexecutive
andtheboardofBPp.l.c.whenneeded(includingduringeventsintheGulf
ofMexico).In2010,theIABmetonce(asonemeetingwascancelleddue
totraveldisruptionfollowingthevolcanicashcloud).
96BPAnnualReportandForm20-F2010