BHP Can Afford to Go a Lot Greener
With iron ore driving earnings higher, the mining giant’s incoming chief has no reason to be more timid than his counterpart at BP.
BHP earnings still have more of a reddish tinge.
Photographer: Ian Waldie/BloombergMike Henry has kicked off his tenure at the helm of the world’s largest miner with a 29% increase in first-half earnings. That laudable result was fueled by iron ore, a steelmaking ingredient. BHP Group’s promised climate targets remain a work in progress. It’s a striking contrast with BP Plc’s Chief Executive Officer Bernard Looney, who started in the top job this month with a green splash. BHP would do well to seize the initiative as details unfold in the critical months ahead.
Looney and Henry are, in a way, brothers in arms. Both are company veterans, at the top of $120 billion-plus resources heavyweights. Both took over this year from chief executives who came in to tackle crises, and start in a better financial position than their predecessors. Both are trying to juggle competing demands for stable production, generous payouts and the need to prepare for a carbon-light future. For both, that’s how success will be measured.