Ethical Funds has joined a global coalition calling for a major oil company to assess the risks associated with drilling in the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

A group of British, European, Canadian and American investors announced today the filing of a shareholder resolution on environmental and cultural risk with BP, the world’s third-largest oil company. The resolution calls on the company to analyze risks to shareholder value from operating in environmentally or culturally sensitive areas, such as the coastal plain of the Arctic National Wildlife Refuge.

The resolution asks BP to apply Association of British Insurers criteria on risk assessment to sensitive areas like the coastal plain of the Arctic Refuge. The ABI guidelines state that a company can put itself at risk if it fails to respond appropriately to social, ethical and environmental matters. Shareholders will vote on the resolution at the BP annual meeting on April 18 in London.

Two years ago, more than 13% of BP shareholders voted in favor of an Arctic Refuge resolution supported by PIRG, Greenpeace, and Trillium Asset Management. Last year, BP refused to put an Arctic resolution to a shareholder vote, stating that U.S. owners of American Depository Shares do not have the same rights to file shareholder resolutions as investors with ordinary shares in the U.K. While accepting this year’s resolution, the company challenged several co-filers.

This year PIRG and Trillium Asset Management are joined by Walden Asset Management of Boston, the Green Century Balanced Fund, World Wildlife Fund, Ethos Funds of Switzerland, Joseph Rowntree Charitable Trust, Royal Society for the Preservation of Birds, Ethical Funds Inc. of Canada, Enterprise Foundation of the Rockefeller Family Fund, Clean Yield of Vermont, Catholic Healthcare West, members of the Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility, and more than 115 individual investors based in the United Kingdom. The resolution was also co-filed by shareholder activist Bob Monks.

“Our shareholders have clearly indicated that environmental issues are their number one priority,” said Robert Walker, Ethical Funds vice president of SRI Policy and Research. “We are pleased to advance our shareholders’ values by joining with these SRI and civil society leaders to help bring about an environmentally sustainable economy.”

U.S. PIRG is coordinating a corporate campaign targeting the four oil companies that have expressed interest in drilling in the Arctic Refuge. Similar Arctic Refuge resolutions have been filed with ExxonMobil and Chevron Texaco.