BHP Group
ASX: BHP33Laggard· ProvisionalGlobal diversified miner producing iron ore, copper, and metallurgical coal; divested thermal coal operations in 2022 but retains large met-coal exposure through the BHP Mitsubishi Alliance Queensland joint venture.
Why it's on ClimateTicker
BHP produces iron ore, copper, and metallurgical coal — commodities central to both the steel industry and the energy transition — and has published a detailed Climate Transition Action Plan with a net-zero Scope 3 goal by 2050 and an operational (Scopes 1 & 2) medium-term target of -30% by FY2030. However, BHP retains massive Scope 3 exposure through its 50%-owned BMA metallurgical coal joint venture, which is Australia's largest seaborne met-coal producer, making its 2050 Scope 3 goal explicitly uncertain by BHP's own admission. The company's profile on a climate platform is almost entirely justified by its copper and future-facing minerals exposure and its steelmaking decarbonisation investment partnerships, not by a genuinely low-carbon business model today.
Commitments & Certifications
Controversy & Greenwashing Watch
Climate Action 100+ analysis found that while BHP nominally supports Australia's 2030 and 2050 GHG targets, its May 2023 Climate Policy Principles document favoured market-based approaches and its state and federal advocacy positions reflect a mix of positive and negative climate policy stances.source ↗
BHP's own Annual Report states that achievement of its net-zero Scope 3 goal by 2050 is 'uncertain, particularly given the challenges of a net zero pathway for our customers in steelmaking,' and that BHP cannot ensure the outcome alone — a material caveat on its headline climate commitment.source ↗
BHP's own CTAP 2024 disclosures acknowledge that proven solutions will not address 100% of fugitive methane emissions from the BMA metallurgical coal operations if there is no significant technological progress, leaving a material residual emissions liability unresolved.source ↗
Multiple environmental and human rights groups, including the London Mining Network, have publicly characterised BHP's sustainability communications as greenwashing, citing the gap between stated commitments and on-the-ground outcomes for affected communities.source ↗
The 2015 collapse of the Fundão tailings dam in Brazil released over 40 million cubic metres of iron ore tailings into the Doce River; BHP's UK Supreme Court appeal to strike out the claim was refused in June 2023, allowing 720,000+ claimants to proceed with what is the largest group action ever put before the English courts, valued at approximately £36bn.source ↗
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