BHP today released a Climate Transition Action Plan that outlines the company’s updated approach to reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and managing climate risks across its global value chain. 

BHP’s climate change approach focuses on reducing operational GHG emissions, investing in low emissions technologies, supporting emission reductions in our value chain, promoting product stewardship, managing climate-related risk and opportunity, and partnering with others to enhance the global policy and market response.

The Climate Transition Action Plan comprises five key elements: 

• Performance: BHP’s existing climate change position and commitments for operational and value chain emission reductions as set out in its Climate Change Report 2020 and an update on performance against these commitments.
• Enhanced value chain (Scope 3) position: While BHP cannot ensure the outcome alone, for its reshaped portfolio,¹ BHP is pursuing the long-term goal of net zero Scope 3 GHG emissions by 2050 to support the transition that the world must make. The goal is supported by targets and actions described below and these positions are expressed using defined terms, including ‘net zero’, ‘goal’ and ‘target’.²
• Capital alignment: How BHP’s capital allocation aligns with its strategy and action on climate change. 
• Just transition: BHP’s commitment to ensuring transition impacts are taken into account in life of asset planning in relation to climate and broader economic and technology changes.
• Climate policy principles: The principles that underpin BHP’s views on government and policy action to achieve Paris Agreement goals, and measures BHP has introduced to strengthen its approach to industry associations including delivering on BHP’s commitment announced in 2020 to conduct a full review of material member associations, with the next update to be published in 2022.

To progress towards its long-term Scope 3 goal: 

• BHP will target net zero by 2050 for the operational GHG emissions of its direct suppliers (their Scope 1 and Scope 2 emissions included in BHP’s relevant Scope 3 reporting categories), subject to the widespread availability of carbon neutral goods and services to meet BHP’s requirements.
• BHP will target net zero by 2050 for GHG emissions from all shipping of BHP’s products, subject to the widespread availability of carbon neutral solutions including low/zero-emission technology on board suitable ships and low/zero-emission marine fuels.³
• Recognising the particular challenge of a net zero pathway for customers’ processing of its products, which is dependent on the development and downstream deployment of solutions and supportive policy, BHP cannot set a target, but will continue to partner with customers and others to accelerate the transition to carbon neutral steelmaking and other downstream processes. BHP will also support the value chain by pursuing carbon neutral production of our future facing commodities, such as copper, nickel and potash to provide the essential building blocks of a net zero transition.

BHP Chief Executive Officer, Mike Henry, said: “The Climate Transition Action Plan outlines BHP’s role and actions in helping the world achieve its decarbonisation ambitions, our strategic approach to reducing operational emissions to net zero by 2050, and how we will work with customers and suppliers to support their own reductions to progress towards the long-term goal of net zero in our value chain. 

“It builds on our demonstrated, decades-long commitment to addressing climate change including setting operational emissions targets, undertaking scenario analysis including potential impacts of a transition to a 1.5oC world, and investing in the technologies, products and services that support decarbonisation.

“Our aim is to position BHP to thrive in a low-carbon world by minimising emissions from existing products while providing the commodities the world needs to achieve a net zero future. We are committed to playing our part through meaningful action in our value chain, continued support for low-carbon technology solutions and advocating for policy outcomes that enhance the global response to climate change.”

Refer to the BHP Climate Transition Action Plan 2021, available at bhp.com/climate, for the essential context, definitions, assumptions and drivers for BHP’s new Scope 3 goal and targets (stated in full in section 1 of the Climate Transition Action Plan).

Actions taken in the past year to reduce our operational emissions 

In the past year, BHP has made progress towards reducing operational GHG emissions. BHP’s Queensland coalmines and BHP’s Kwinana nickel refinery in Western Australia will move to up to 50 per cent renewable or low-emissions energy. This follows signing agreements to move its Escondida and Spence copper mines in Chile to 100 per cent renewables by the mid-2020s. BHP will also partner to build two solar farms and a battery storage system – a world first for the company – at the Mt Keith and Leinster nickel mines in Western Australia. 

Actions taken in the past year to support value chain emissions reduction 

BHP will invest up to US$65 million in partnerships for steel decarbonisation pathways with global steelmakers China Baowu, JFE and HBIS, whose combined output equates to around 10 per cent of reported global steel production. BHP has also made progress in collaborating with shipping partners and customers for the reduction of value chain GHG emissions. This included awarding the world’s first LNG-fuelled Newcastlemax bulk carrier tender to reduce emissions by over 30 per cent per voyage and the first LNG supply agreement for those vessels, and a separate trial of marine biofuels. BHP also became a founding member of the Global Centre for Maritime Decarbonisation. 

Footnotes:

¹ Subject to completion of both of the divestment of our oil and gas business and the sale of our interest in Cerrejón. Refer to BHP’s prior announcements on 17 August 2021 and 28 June 2021 respectively, available at bhp.com/investor-centre. 

² ‘Net zero’ includes the use of carbon offsets as required. ‘Goal’ means an ambition to seek an outcome for which there is no current pathway(s), but for which efforts will be pursued towards addressing that challenge, subject to certain assumptions or conditions. ‘Target’ means an intended outcome in relation to which we have identified one or more pathways for delivery of that outcome, subject to certain assumptions or conditions.

³ ‘Shipping’ means BHP-chartered and third party-chartered shipping. The target excludes maritime transportation of products purchased by BHP.