Our sustainability frame
Our new sustainability frame links our strategy to our purpose – to reimagine energy for people and our planet
There is a need for organizations like ours to think about sustainability holistically, encompassing climate and environmental concerns as well as a broader set of issues that impact society. There is also the need to follow through on our commitments and aims with timely efforts and transparency on progress.
Our new sustainability frame helps us to do that.
The frame includes our net zero ambition and aims and our wider approach to environmental and social issues. It also helps to concentrate our efforts and resources where we believe we can make the most difference. It has three focus areas:
- get to net zero
- improve people’s lives
- care for our planet.
These include prioritised themes linked to the UN Sustainable Development Goals:
- Aims and objectives – we will set aims and objectives for our focus areas on people and planet, as we have done with net zero.
- Embedding into our DNA – we plan to actively drive the sustainability frame through our operating model, our governance and our culture.
- External collaborations – we plan to continue the search for partnerships that can help us drive progress, provide skills we may not have, and help us shape the future together.
Get to net zero
Become a net zero company by 2050 or sooner and help the world get to net zero
Improve people’s lives
Support a just energy transition, promoting wellbeing for our workforce and communities where we work
Our three priorities:
Provide more clean energy for more people. Access to energy is essential for economic growth, reducing poverty and improving communities’ health and wellbeing. This is core to our new strategy.
- We plan to rapidly increase our low carbon energy portfolio; including aiming to have developed 50 gigawatts of renewables by 2030.
Respect human rights, promote equality and sustainable livelihoods. We believe that everyone deserves to be treated with fairness, respect and dignity, yet that is not a reality for many people around the world.
- We have launched a new diversity framework in the US and the UK.
- We have developed Labour Rights and Modern Slavery principles for our operations, that we will use with our business partners and supply chains.
- We will aim to promote sustainable livelihoods through a range of initiatives.
- We will focus on driving our updated human rights policy into action.
Promote wellbeing, with a focus on mental and physical health. Care for physical and mental wellbeing has always been a priority for bp, but the COVID-19 crisis has posed new and serious challenges.
- We are working to tackle the stigma around mental health issues within bp.
- We are proud to support mental health charity MIND in the UK as they provide help to people in this difficult time.
- We’re looking at other potential collaborations to increase the focus on mental health and wellbeing in the training of future leaders.
Care for our planet
Make a positive difference to the environment in which we operate
Our three priorities:
Promote cleaner environments, enhance biodiversity and promote natural climate solutions (NCS). The continued decline in biodiversity and the degradation of our environment poses a serious risk to the natural resources upon which we all depend.
- Our new strengthened position on biodiversity is taking action to help restore, maintain and enhance nature.
- We believe that NCS will be needed for the world to deliver net zero and that we are well placed to help enable NCS to play this role.
- We have supported over 50 million tonnes of forestry offsets in the US, originated projects in more than 10 countries and we're building integrated partnerships.
Use resources responsibly. We are looking at ways to adopt circularity principles across bp – reducing waste and keeping materials in use for longer.
- For example, in Europe, we aim by 2025 for bp-owned food brands – including our Wild Bean coffee cups – to use packaging that is either reusable, recyclable or bio-degradable.
Promote sustainability in our supply chains and with our business partners. We will work with our contractors and suppliers on:
- carbon emissions and use of renewable energy
- circularity provisions including waste reduction or elimination
- natural resource management, including water consumption and sustainable sourcing of materials.
“We have a track record on sustainability, but now is the time to enhance our approach. Our new sustainability frame, with three focus areas, puts sustainability at the heart of what we do. We want to keep engaging and listening as we detail our frame and our aims and objectives, as well as continuing to share our progress on sustainability as we move forward.”
Giulia Chierchia
EVP, strategy and sustainability
A call to action
We recognize that the world is on an unsustainable path, and that urgent action is needed on climate, environmental and societal issues. We believe that the private sector has an important role to play.
We are listening to the call for action from society, governments and shareholders for a greater focus on sustainability from businesses. Watch this video to find out what they are telling us.
A call to action