Conservationists Visit London to Present Concerns to BP Board

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London, UK —Conservationists from Canada and the US attended the British Petroleum (BP) annual general meeting on Thursday to present their concerns that BP-Canada management may not be listening to local concerns about drilling for coalbed methane (CBM) near their Rocky Mountain communities.

Representatives from Wildsight and their partner groups met with some of BP's biggest UK-based investors, including leading socially responsible investment (SRI) and institutional funds owning billions of dollars of BP stock.
 
"Citizens of the communities in the Elk Valley of British Columbia and Flathead Valley, Montana have had concerns that BP-Canada's proposed CBM project will effect water quality, wildlife populations, and our outdoor heritage," said Dave Hadden, President of the Flathead Coalition.

"Because BP-Canada has chosen not to deliver on promises of openness and transparency with respect to the Mist Mountain Project, we felt it necessary to travel to London to deliver our message directly to BP's board of directors and its CEO," said Wildsight Program Manager Katarina Hartwig.

Hadden and Hartwig traveled with a third colleague and consultant, Bart Naylor, of Virginia-based Capital Strategies. Naylor helped arrange meetings with stock fund management firms holding significant BP stock.

"We met with 11 fund managers or their teams and had good, frank discussions about BP's Mist Mountain Project and the possible adverse impacts on our wild backcountry," Hartwig continued.

"Without exception, fund managers expressed interest and concern about the impacts to the Waterton-Glacier International Peace Park, a UN World Heritage Site and UN International Biosphere Reserve," she stated.

The trio's efforts culminated on Thursday when they attended the BP annual general meeting at the ExCel Center in east London.

"We were each able to ask questions of BP's full board and its CEO," said Hadden. "In addition, some 500 or so stock holders present at the meeting got to hear our concerns."

"I think the board heard our concerns clearly," said Hartwig. "We were able to have a one-on-one with BP’s CEO Mr. Tony Hayward following the AGM.  He gave us the time to present our materials.  He gave us his personal assurance that BP-Canada would follow its own internal environmental processes."

This was a key concern for Wildsight, in addition to BP's determination to proceed with exploration and development prior to completion of three to five years of strategic environmental and social impact analysis.

In addition, the BP board chairman promised that the board would consider the conservationists’ request that the board send a committee to independently assess the appropriateness of the Mist Mountain Project location within the internationally important Water-Glacier Peace Park ecosystem.

"We received assurances from one executive board member that, in his words, 'you can consider your mission a success,'" added Hartwig.

When asked what steps Wildsight and the Flathead Coalition will take next, Hadden said that they will follow up with BP-Canada in Calgary and Washington, D.C. to understand how BP will proceed with more transparency and environmental accountability.

"It may be that the B.C. government will ultimately allow part of this project to proceed," said Hartwig. "If it gets to that stage, we need to be sure that everything leading up to that decision is done to protect our world-class water, wildlife, and outdoor heritage."

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Casey Brennan

Wildsight Southern Rockies and Flathead Program Manager

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