Berkshire Hathaway Inc. | Interfaith Center on Corporate Responsibility

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<strong>Company:</strong>
<p>Berkshire Hathaway Inc.</p>
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<strong>Year:</strong>
<p>2026 </p>
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<strong>Issue Area:</strong>
<p>Climate Change, Environment </p>
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<strong>Focus Area:</strong>
<p>Climate Change </p>
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<strong>Status:</strong>
<p>Filed</p>
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<h2>Resolution Text</h2>
<p><strong>WHEREAS:  </strong>The United States is facing a national insurance crisis. In 2023, national insurance underwriting losses reached a 10-year high of $38 billion due to more frequent and intense weather-related disasters, reinsurance price increases, and related inflation.[1] To stay profitable amid increasing catastrophe losses, insurers have increased premiums nationwide and ended coverage in high-risk areas,[2] leaving many regions with inadequate protection. </p>
<p>Berkshire Hathaway’s (“Berkshire”) catastrophe losses have also escalated. Its estimated pre-tax losses reached $4.7 billion in 2022 and $1.5 billion in 2024.[3] Early data from 2025 estimates Berkshire’s losses from the California wildfires at $1.1 billion.[4] This follows a global trend: Munich Re reports insured global catastrophe losses reached $140 billion in 2024, marking the fifth consecutive year of losses exceeding $100 billion. </p>
<p>As one of the world’s largest property and casualty insurers,[5] Berkshire is amplifying the risk of catastrophic weather-related losses by continuing to invest in and underwrite significant levels of greenhouse gas (GHG) emitting activities. As reported by the Wall Street Journal, while most property and casualty insurance companies reduced the proportion of fossil fuels in their portfolios to a median of 1.8% in 2023 from 3.4% in 2014, Berkshire was one of two insurers that dramatically increased such investments. This drove the industry’s portfolio exposure up from 3.8% in 2014 to 4.4% in 2023,[6] above the S&P 500’s energy sector market capitalization of 3%.[7] Berkshire also ranks at the bottom of a survey of the 30 largest global insurers, as one of only five insurers to earn a score of zero for failing to put in place policies to reduce investments in and insuring of high-emitting activities.[8]</p>
<p>The first step to reducing GHG emissions is to measure them. By disclosing the GHG emissions from its investments in and insurance of high-carbon companies, Berkshire would gain critical insight into its contribution to future catastrophic weather-related losses and the associated portfolio risks. Initiating disclosure would also prepare Berkshire for regulatory disclosure requirements at both the state and international levels. </p>
<p>Other insurance companies are taking action. Travelers,[9] AIG,[10] and The Hartford[11] have begun disclosing GHG emissions from their investment activities. Most major European insurers, including AXA,[12] Allianz,[13] Zurich Insurance Group,[14] and Swiss Re[15] are also disclosing invested emissions. In contrast, Berkshire does not disclose its GHG emissions despite its substantial exposure to high-emitting companies. </p>
<p><strong>BE IT RESOLVED:  </strong>Shareholders request that Berkshire Hathaway issue a report, prepared at reasonable expense and omitting proprietary information, disclosing the greenhouse gas emissions associated with the Company’s underwriting and insuring activities.</p>
<p>[1] https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2024/03/07/763884.htm </p>
<p>[2] https://www.ft.com/content/7745d8ba-d498-4b1c-b877-e42a691b954f </p>
<p>[3] https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/2024ar/2024ar.pdf </p>
<p>[4] https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/qtrly/1stqtr25.pdf </p>
<p>[5] https://www.spglobal.com/market-intelligence/en/news-insights/articles/2025/10/the-world-s-largest-property-and-casualty-insurers-2025-93316415 </p>
<p>[6] https://www.wsj.com/us-news/climate-environment/the-two-big-insurers-still-betting-on-fossil-fuels-fa31bb15 </p>
<p>[7] https://www.schwab.com/learn/story/stock-sector-outlook </p>
<p>[8] https://insure-our-future.com/scorecard/ </p>
<p>[9] https://asset.trvstatic.com/download/assets/Travelers_TCFDReport2024.pdf/db0c21f6147211f093342a4bfe896913 </p>
<p>[10] https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/america-canada/us/documents/about-us/report/aig-sustainability-report-2024.pdf </p>
<p>[11] https://assets.thehartford.com/image/upload/cdp_project_submission.pdf</p>
<p>[12] 8b8dfa69-13e3-4c34-bae3-8fb939102a2d_axa_climate_and_biodiversity_report_2024_va.pdf</p>
<p>[13] https://www.allianz.com/content/dam/onemarketing/azcom/Allianz_com/investor-relations/en/results-reports/annual-report/ar-2024/en-allianz-group-annual-report-2024.pdf </p>
<p>[14] https://view.officeapps.live.com/op/view.aspx?src=https%3A%2F%2Fedge.sitecorecloud.io%2Fzurichinsur6934-zwpcorp-prod-ae5e%2Fmedia%2Fproject%2Fzurich%2Fdotcom%2Fsustainability%2Fdocs%2Fsr-2024-data.xlsx&wdOrigin=BROWSELINK </p>
<p>[15] https://www.swissre.com/dam/jcr:84dfce47-e0fe-468a-9f57-55c1c74c9b3a/2024-sustainability-report-CTP-extract-en.pdf </p>

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<div class=”views-field views-field-nothing”><span class=”field-content”> Mary Zuccarello</span></div><div class=”views-field views-field-title views-field-field-shareholder”><span class=”field-content”>As You Sow</span></div>
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<strong>Focus Area:</strong>
<p>Human Capital Risk Management </p>
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<strong>Status:</strong>
<p>Filed</p>
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<p><strong>WHEREAS:  </strong>Human capital management extends far beyond operational efficiency. It shapes economic mobility, community well-being, and the resilience of labor markets. The way companies recruit, train, compensate, and protect workers has measurable effects on productivity, income stability, and social equity across industries and regions. Inadequate attention to these factors contributes to systemic challenges such as wage stagnation, unsafe working conditions, and workforce displacement, which in turn generate material risks for investors and the broader economy. Strong human capital management has also been consistently linked to long-term value creation for companies.[1]</p>
<p><strong>Lack of Central Oversight Heightens Human Capital Risks Across Berkshire Subsidiaries</strong></p>
<p>Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (“Berkshire”) has a highly decentralized business model. Its operating subsidiaries are largely free to manage their own operations, personnel, and policies, with Berkshire’s central role focused on capital allocation, oversight, and financial reporting. </p>
<p>Today, in addition to new leadership, Berkshire’s subsidiaries operate in an increasingly complex and volatile environment that directly affects workforce stability, operational efficiency, and long-term value creation. For example, within Berkshire’s holdings, NetJets’ pilots’ union has raised concerns about the company’s pilot training, safety and maintenance cultures.[2] Lubrizol has also seen safety and training concerns, including a fire that caused $380 million in property damage[3] and led to a class action lawsuit that was settled for $94.5 million.[4] Safety practices and cultural cohesion, teams that work well and effectively together, is essential to the successful operation of many of the Berkshire businesses, such as BNSF Railway, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, and Johns Manville.</p>
<p>The company’s decentralized structure creates exposure to inconsistent approaches to human capital management across the Berkshire portfolio. </p>
<p><strong>Transparency in Human Capital Management Is Critical to Managing Long-Term Risk</strong></p>
<p>Investors lack information on how Berkshire’s subsidiaries effectively manage talent, retention, and workforce transitions, or how the Company assesses and manages the Company’s exposure to risk, including diversity and inclusion.”[5] </p>
<p>Disclosing the Board’s approach to human capital management would:</p>

Support continuity in Berkshire’s governance during its leadership transition;
Reinforce strategic alignments and enable synergies and sharing of learnings across its subsidiaries on core workforce challenges;
Improve risk management and capital stewardship; and
Strengthen investor confidence and support governance continuity during a time of organizational change.

<p><strong>BE IT RESOLVED:  </strong>Shareholders request that Berkshire Hathaway Inc., at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, publish a report disclosing the Board’s oversight framework for workforce and human-capital management across its operating subsidiaries.</p>
<p>[1] https://www.forbes.com/sites/solangecharas/2024/10/01/from-expense-to-investment-human-capitala-driver-of-business-value/; https://www.mckinsey.com/mgi/our-research/performance-through-people-transforming-human-capital-into-competitive-advantage; https://www.deloitte.com/us/en/services/consulting/blogs/human-capital/hr-value-chain-in-the-enterprise.html; https://www.spglobal.com/sustainable1/en/insights/special-editorial/how-good-human-capital-management-creates-competitive-advantage; https://www.privateequityinternational.com/7-pillars-of-value-creation-human-capital/, etc.</p>
<p>[2] https://www.reuters.com/legal/buffetts-netjets-sues-pilots-union-defamation-2024-06-05 </p>
<p>[3] https://www.csb.gov/assets/1/6/csb_incident_reports_volume_one_2025-01-14.pdf </p>
<p>[4] https://www.claimdepot.com/settlements/chemtool-945m-manufacturing-plant-fire-settlement </p>
<p>[5] https://www.sec.gov/ix?doc=/Archives/edgar/data/0001067983/000119312525054877/d812428ddef14a.htm </p>

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<div class=”views-field views-field-nothing”><span class=”field-content”> Myra Young</span></div><div class=”views-field views-field-title views-field-field-shareholder”><span class=”field-content”>Unspecified</span></div>
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<strong>Company:</strong>
<p>Berkshire Hathaway Inc.</p>
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<strong>Year:</strong>
<p>2025 </p>
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<strong>Issue Area:</strong>
<p>Corporate Governance </p>
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<strong>Focus Area:</strong>
<p>AI / Artificial Intelligence </p>
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<strong>Status:</strong>
<p>Filed</p>
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<div class=”views-field views-field-nothing”><span class=”field-content”> Constance Ricketts</span></div><div class=”views-field views-field-title views-field-field-shareholder”><span class=”field-content”>Tulipshare</span></div>
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<strong>Company:</strong>
<p>Berkshire Hathaway Inc.</p>
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<strong>Year:</strong>
<p>2025 </p>
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<strong>Issue Area:</strong>
<p>Inclusiveness </p>
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<strong>Focus Area:</strong>
<p>Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO) </p>
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<strong>Status:</strong>
<p>Filed</p>
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<p class><strong>WHEREAS:</strong> Additional context and background for this request can be found at: https://whistlestop.capital/BRK.</p>
<p class>Each year since 2021, over one-third of Berkshire’s independent shareholders supported a shareholder resolution asking that it release aggregated promotion, hiring, and retention rate data by gender, race, and ethnicity for its diverse employees. This data is needed to understand the effectiveness of the Berkshire companies’ efforts to ensure meritocratic workplaces. Berkshire has not made this information public, thus investors remain without assurance that diversity, equity, and inclusion (DEI) challenges are being well managed at Berkshire companies.</p>
<p class>Studies have shown that employees often face discrimination in hiring and promotion as a result of their gender or race.[1] Warren Buffet spoke to this at Berkshire’s 2023 annual meeting, stating that “if [I] had been born Black, a woman, or in a different country [I] wouldn’t nearly [have] enjoyed the same type of life [I] have].”</p>
<p class>Effective DEI programs are linked to significant benefits in financial performance, innovation, risk management, and reputation.</p>

<p class>McKinsey studies have consistently found that companies with greater diversity in corporate leadership are more likely to outperform peers on profitability.</p>

<p class>A review of over 1,600 companies found statistically significant positive correlations between increased manager diversity and key financial performance indicators, including: return on equity, return on invested capital, and revenue growth, particularly in the financial sector.[2]  </p>

<p class>A 2024 meta-analysis found companies with diversity and inclusion initiatives experience a range of benefits that include increased innovation, enhanced employee engagement and satisfaction, and improved decision-making.[3]</p>

<p class>American Banker, PwC, Bloomberg, and others have also emphasized the importance of diversity, equity, and inclusion to a company’s financial performance.[4]</p>

<p class>The benefits of diverse and inclusive teams include access to top talent, widened understanding of consumer preferences, broadened leadership skills, and improved risk management.</p>
<p class>Racial and gender discrimination are also prohibited under the Civil Rights Act of 1964. Poor human capital management can lead to costly discrimination lawsuits and brand damage. As examples, within Berkshire companies: HomeServices of America paid $24.4 million to resolve allegations of lending discrimination and Geico paid $6 million to settle a complaint it discriminated against women and others.[5]</p>
<p class>Berkshire is a decentralized holding company. However, the Board remains responsible for ensuring the success of its companies and their ongoing contribution to shareholder value. Human capital oversight at the Board level will empower Berkshire’s companies to ensure meritocratic workplaces that allow each employee to excel on the basis of their own merits, regardless of their race, gender or other diversity characteristic.</p>
<p class><strong>RESOLVED: </strong>Shareholders request that Berkshire Hathaway designate a Board Committee to oversee the Company’s diversity and inclusion strategy across its holding companies.</p>
<p class>[1] https://www.bloomberg.com/opinion/features/2024-07-29/white-men-the-most-likely-to-get-hired-even-with-dei-finds-research; https://mitsloan.mit.edu/ideas-made-to-matter/women-are-less-likely-men-to-be-promoted-heres-one-reason-why</p>
<p class>[2] https://www.asyousow.org/report-page/2023-capturing-the-diversity-benefit</p>
<p class>[3]https://www.researchgate.net/publication/380115625_ENHANCING_ORGANIZATIONAL_PERFORMANCE_THROUGH_DIVERSITY_AND_INCLUSION_INITIATIVES_A_META-ANALYSIS</p>
<p class>[4] https://www.americanbanker.com/diversity-&-inclusion-yields-strongest-returns; https://www.pwc.com/us/en/governance-insights-center/annual-corporate-directors-survey/assets/pwc-2017-annual-corporate–directors–survey.pdf; https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2019-09-17/when-companies-improve-their-diversity-stock-prices-get-a-boost </p>
<p class>[5] https://www.wsj.com/articles/berkshire-hathaway-owned-mortgage-lender-settles-redlining-allegations-11658940230; https://www.sfchronicle.com/business/networth/article/Geico-pays-6M-to-settle-insurance-discrimination-6465467.php</p>

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<strong>Company:</strong>
<p>Berkshire Hathaway Inc.</p>
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<strong>Year:</strong>
<p>2025 </p>
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<strong>Issue Area:</strong>
<p>Climate Change, Environment </p>
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<strong>Focus Area:</strong>
<p>Climate Change </p>
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<strong>Status:</strong>
<p>Filed</p>
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<h2>Resolution Text</h2>
<p>WHEREAS: The United States is facing a nationwide, climate-related insurance crisis. Global insured losses from natural catastrophes in 2023 exceeded $100 billion for the the fourth consecutive year. 1 These growing losses have translated into dramatic insurance cost increases. Premiums nationwide rose 34% between 2017 and 2023, with prices increasing at a rate 40% faster than inflation.2Insurance coverage has also declined in critical markets. In 2023, 12% of homeowners lacked insurance, up from 5% four years earlier, as states like California and Florida become uninsurable due to climate-driven disasters.3</p>
<p>Berkshire Hathaway Inc’s Property & Casualty reinsurance business saw its losses increase from $9.8 billion in 2021 to $12.6 billion in 2023, and Berkshire’s Primary Insurance Group losses increased from $8.1 billion to $11.2 billion in the same timeframe.4 Berkshire’s subsidiary AmGUARD recently announced it will drop over 50,000 homeowner and personal umbrella policies in California.5</p>
<p>Despite this growing insurance crisis, Berkshire continues to invest in and underwrite high-carbon business sectors, which exacerbates extreme weather and increases systemic climate risk. Berkshire holds $95.805 billion in fossil fuel-related shares and bonds.6 In its 2017 reporting to California, Berkshire indicated that fully 38% of its life insurance investments were in fossil fuel assets.7 Unlike most large insurance companies, Berkshire continues to underwrite new coal projects; its utility subsidiary, Berkshire Hathaway Energy, owns at least eleven coal power plants and has partial stakes in thirteen others.8</p>
<p>Berkshire’s current investments in the fossil fuel sector exacerbate physical climate risk to policyholders and to the Company itself, and increases portfolio risk to investors. Reducing its investment in the fossil fuel sector will help reduce climate risk. BloombergNEF concludes that to achieve the science-based, global goal of net zero emissions by 2050, the global financing ratio of investments in low-carbon energy to fossil fuels must reach a minimum of 4:1 by 2030.9</p>
<p>Disclosure of Berkshire’s current clean energy financing ratio will indicate to investors whether Berkshire is decreasing its contribution to climate change and investing in alignment with Paris climate goals or continuing to contribute to growing climate risk.</p>
<p>BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Berkshire annually disclose its clean energy financing ratio, defined as its total financing in low-carbon energy as a proportion of its investment in fossil-fuel energy. The disclosure, prepared at reasonable expense and excluding confidential information, should describe the Company’s methodology, including what it classifies as “low carbon” and “fossil fuel.”</p>
<p>SUPPORTING STATEMENT: At Company discretion, the clean energy financing ratio should include all Berkshire’s material investment mechanisms, including debt, equity, and project finance.</p>
<p><br>1 https://www.ft.com/content/28bbd550-76f2-4207-8d25-91f8be26972d</p>
<p>2 https://www.insurancejournal.com/news/national/2024/09/26/794409.htm;https://www.newyorker.com/news/the-financial-page/the-home-insurance-crisis-that-wont-end-after-hurricane-season</p>
<p>3 https://www.npr.org/2024/03/03/1233963377/auto-home-insurance-premiums-costs-natural-disasters-inflation</p>
<p>4 https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/2023ar/2023ar.pdfp.K-38, K-39</p>
<p>5 https://uphelp.org/over-50000-to-lose-homeowners-insurance-as-two-more-insurers-exit-california/</p>
<p>6 https://investinginclimatechaos.org/data</p>
<p>7 https://interactive.web.insurance.ca.gov/apex_extprd/f?p=250:40:16374315235923::NO</p>
<p>8 https://www.budget.senate.gov/imo/media/doc/Budget%20Committee%20Letters%20to%20Insurance%20Companies.pdf</p>
<p>9 https://assets.bbhub.io/professional/sites/24/BNEF-Bank-Financing-Report-Summary-2023.pdf</p>
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<div class=”views-field views-field-nothing”><span class=”field-content”> David Shugar</span></div><div class=”views-field views-field-title views-field-field-shareholder”><span class=”field-content”>As You Sow</span></div>
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Resolution Details

Company:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Year:

2024

Issue Area:

Human Rights & Worker Rights

Focus Area:

Worker Rights, Health & Safety

Status:

Filed

Resolution Text

RESOLVED, that shareholders of Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (the “Company”) urge the Board of Directors (the “Board”) to take the steps necessary to amend the charter of the Board’s Safety and Service Quality Committee (the “Committee”) to provide that the Committee has the power and duty to review staffing levels and their impact on safety, and to meet and confer on safety issues with relevant stakeholders such as customers, communities, employees, and labor unions.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT

Ensuring the safety of our Company’s railroad operations is not only a collective legal and ethical responsibility, but also a vital component of maintaining the financial health and reputation of our Company. Recent derailments in the railroad industry, including those involving our Company, have drawn attention to the potential risks associated with these operations, necessitating a proactive approach to enhance safety measures.i There are over 1,000 known train derailments a year in the United States — averaging three a day. ii

As common carriers, railroads are required by federal law to transport hazardous materials that can result in the loss of life and environmental contamination in the event of a train derailment. In 2023, the Norfolk Southern (“NS”) train derailment in East Palestine, Ohio resulted in the release of vinyl chloride that captured national media attention and publicized the need for improved railroad safety. iii The 2023 East Palestine derailment has cost NS almost $1 billion and a similar derailment at our Company could pose a significant financial risk.iv

The East Palestine train derailment has also increased scrutiny of the role of the Precision-Scheduled Railroading (“PSR”) operating model used by our Company and other Class I freight railroads to increase operating efficiency and reduce costs.vii In our view, PSR has resulted in greatly reduced staffing levels, less equipment, and longer trains, all of which have contributed to the safety issues. In 2022, Surface Transportation Board Chairman Martin Oberman stated that:

“Over the last 6 years, the Class Is collectively have reduced their work force by 29% – that is about 45,000 employees cut from the payrolls. In my view, all of this has directly contributed to where we are today – rail users experiencing serious deteriorations in rail service because, on too many parts of their networks, the railroads simply do not have a sufficient number of employees.”viii

While PSR may reduce staffing costs in the short-run, we believe that the long-term cost of increased derailments will outweigh any short-term financial gain. By empowering the Committee to review staffing levels as they relate to safety, our Company can reduce the likelihood of derailments, protect its workforce, safeguard communities along its routes, provide better service to customers, demonstrate its commitment to ethical business practices, and enhance our Company’s long-term value.

Resolution Details

Company:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Year:

2024

Issue Area:

Inclusiveness

Focus Area:

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

Status:

Filed

Resolution Text

BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (Berkshire) report to shareholders on the effectiveness of the Company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The report should be done at reasonable expense, exclude proprietary information, and provide transparency on outcomes, using quantitative metrics for workforce diversity, hiring, promotion, and retention of employees, including data by gender, race, and ethnicity.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Quantitative data is sought so that investors can assess and compare the effectiveness of companies’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

It is advised that this content be provided through Berkshire’s existing sustainability reporting infrastructure. An independent report specific to this topic is not requested.

WHEREAS: Companies that release, or have committed to release, more inclusion data than Berkshire include: American International Group, American Express, PayPal, Visa, Bank of America, Bank of New York Mellon, Blackrock, and Mastercard.

As You Sow and Whistle Stop Capital released research in November 20231thatreviewed over 4,500 EEO-1 reports, which show corporate workforce diversity. The data shows a positive correlation between manager diversity and corporate performance.

As of the date of the filing of this proposal, Berkshire had not yet shared sufficient hiring, retention, or promotion data to allow investors to determine the effectiveness of its diversity and inclusion programs.

As detailed below, inclusion indicators are also important in assessing Berkshire’s workplace equity efforts and if the Company will be able to successfully build, utilize, and retain a diverse management team.

Hiring: Studies conducted by economists at the University of Chicago and UC Berkeley found that “discriminating companies tend to be less profitable,” stating “it is costly for firms to discriminate against productive workers.”2

Promotion: Without equitable promotional practices, companies will be unable to build the necessary employee pipelines for diverse management. Women and employees of color experience “a broken rung” in their careers; for every 100 men who are promoted, only 87 women are. Whereas women of color comprise 18 percent of the entry-level workforce and only 6 percent of executives.3

Retention: Retention rates indicate if employees believe a company represents their best opportunity. Morgan Stanley has found that employee retention above industry average can indicate a competitive advantage and higher levels of future profitability.4

Warren Buffet has acknowledged that inequities exist in the workplace between women, people of color, and their White male counterparts. Berkshire has improved its diversity data disclosure by releasing its consolidated EEO-1 form, which shows workforce composition by gender, race, and ethnicity.

In 2021, 2022, and 2023, more than 40 percent of Berkshire’s independent investors voted in support of this data disclosure request.5 However, in a review of each Berkshire company, the release of this data had not improved over the last three years. Investors remain without key information on the hiring, promotion, and retention rates of Berkshire employees.

1 https://www.asyousow.org/report-page/2023-positive-relationships-linking-workforce-diversity-and-financial-performance

2 https://www.nytimes.com/2021/07/29/business/economy/hiring-racial-discrimination.html
3 https://www.mckinsey.com/featured-insights/diversity-and-inclusion/women-in-the-workplace

4 https://www.morganstanley.com/im/publication/insights/articles/article_culturequantframework_us.pdf , p. 2

5 https://www.asyousow.org/resolutions-trackerFieldCodeChanged

Resolution Details

Company:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Year:

2024

Issue Area:

Climate Change, Environment

Focus Area:

Climate Change

Status:

Filed

Resolution Text

WHEREAS: With the increased severity and frequency of climate-related, extreme weather impacts, financial risk to the insurance industry is increasing year over year. The frequency of natural catastrophes between 2010 and 2022 increased 28% over the prior decade,1 and catastrophe losses in the first half of 2023 were the highest in over twodecades.2Swiss Re reports that with no mitigating actions against greenhouse gas (GHG)emissions increase, there will likely be a global average drop in GDP output of 18% by 2050.3

In 2022, Berkshire Hathaway’s insurance underwriting generated a loss of $90 million compared to earnings of $657 and $728 million in 2020 and 2021.4

Berkshire is amplifying risk by continuing to invest in and underwrite high GHG-emitting activities. Berkshire owned approximately 12% of all oil and gas assets held by insurance companies in 2019 ($20.6 billion)5 and holds the second largest insurance industry stake in coal, at 7.84%.6 In contrast, 41 peer insurers, representing nearly 40% of the market for primary insurance, have withdrawn or reduced coal coverage, a number that doubled in the last two years.7

In 2022, a global GHG accounting and reporting standard for insurance emissions launched, providing a standardized methodology to measure and disclose GHG emissions for insurance and underwriting portfolios.8 Both the Net Zero InsuranceAlliance and the Net Zero Asset Owners Alliance highlight the importance of setting NetZero by 2050 and interim goals for financed and insured emissions to meet the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal.

Berkshire does not disclose or set targets for its invested or insured GHG emissions, despite growing climate-related financial risk. Berkshire is falling behind peers. Both Travelers9 and AIG10 have begun disclosing financed emissions; AIG11 and the Hartford12 have set net zero goals for their insured and financed emissions, as have several European re-insurers including Swiss Re.13 Berkshire recently earned a near-zero score on decarbonization metrics in the Climate Action 100+ 2023 Net Zero Company Benchmark.14

BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Berkshire issue a report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, disclosing how it intends to measure, disclose, and reduce the GHG emissions associated with its underwriting, insuring, and investment activities in alignment with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5°C goal.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Shareholders recommend at board discretion, that Berkshire’s report include a timeline for when it will begin measuring and disclosing emissions and when it will set and publish a Paris-aligned 2050 emissions reduction goal, with interim targets.

1 https://www.verzekeraars.nl/media/11456/gfia-report-global-protection-gaps-and-recommendations-for-bridging-them.pdf , p. 20

2 https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230803387647/en/Inflation-High-CAT-Losses-to-Lead-to-2023-Underwriting-Loss-for-PC-Industry-But-Recession-Likely-Avoided-This-Year-New-Triple-IMilliman-Report-Shows

3 https://www.swissre.com/media/press-release/nr-20210422-economics-of-climate-change-risks.html

4 https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/2022ar/2022ar.pdf , p.K-33

5 https://www.ceres.org/sites/default/files/reports/2023-08/Changing%20Climate%20for%20the%20Insurance%20Sector_%20Research%20and%20Insights.pdf , p.27

6 https://www.ceres.org/sites/default/files/reports/2023-08/Changing%20Climate%20for%20the%20Insurance%20Sector_%20Research%20and%20Insights.pdf,p.26

7 https://insure-our-future.com/wp-content/uploads/2023/02/SP-IOF-2022-Scorecard-v0.8-online-3.pdf ,p.7

8 https://carbonaccountingfinancials.com/en/newsitem/pcaf-launches-the-global-ghg-accounting-and-reporting-standard-for-insurance-associated-emissions

9 https://sustainability.travelers.com/iw-documents/sustainability/Travelers_TCFDReport2022.pdf , p.34; https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/america-canada/us/documents/about-us/report/aig-esg-report_2022.pdf ,p.32

10 https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/america-canada/us/documents/about-us/report/aig-esg-report_2022.pdf,p.32

11 https://www.aig.com/content/dam/aig/america-canada/us/documents/about-us/report/aig-esg-report_2021.pdf.coredownload.pdf , p.38

12 https://s0.hfdstatic.com/sites/the_hartford/files/sustainability-highlight-report.pdf,p.14

13 https://www.swissre.com/dam/jcr:5863fbc4-b708-4e61-acc7-6ef685461abb/esg-risk-framework.pdf , p.13

14 https://www.climateaction100.org/company/berkshire-hathaway/

Resolution Details

Company:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Year:

2023

Issue Area:

Inclusiveness

Focus Area:

Equal Employment Opportunity (EEO)

Status:

Vote

Vote Percentage:

20.90%

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Greater Disclosure of Material Corporate Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Data – Proxy Memo

23.BRK_.2+Berkshire+Hathway+DEI+Proxy+Memo_WEB.pdf

Resolution Text

BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (“Berkshire”) report to shareholders on the effectiveness of the Company’s diversity, equity, and inclusion efforts. The report should be done at reasonable expense, exclude proprietary information, and provide transparency on outcomes, using quantitative metrics for hiring, retention, and promotion of employees, including data by gender, race, and ethnicity.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Quantitative data is sought so that investors can assess and compare the effectiveness of companies’ diversity, equity, and inclusion programs.

WHEREAS: At the April 2022, Berkshire Annual Meeting, in response to a shareholder resolution with the same data disclosure request as this one, Warren Buffet stated, “If I’d been born female, black in various other countries, I would not have had remotely the life that I’ve enjoyed.” He also stated that “40 or 50 years ago” corporate America was a “boys’ club” and that how it treats Black individuals has not “changed by a substantial margin.”

Mr. Buffet, however, indicated an inaccurate understanding of the request being made by these shareholder resolutions, stating, “the idea that we should replace any of the people that run the businesses … I just don’t think that’s the way to operate.”

These shareholder resolutions do not seek to replace well-performing managers. They seek to understand how well Berkshire companies are hiring, promoting, and retaining the best possible employees.

Numerous studies have pointed to the benefits of a diverse workforce. Findings include:

Companies with high executive ethnic diversity were 33 percent more likely to have financial returns above their industry medians than those with low executive ethnic diversity. [1]
There was a positive association between diversity in management and cash flow, net profit, revenue, and return on equity.[2]

Researchers have found that White applicants receive an average of 36 percent more callbacks than Black applicants and 24 percent more callbacks than Latinx applicants.”[3] For every 100 men who are promoted, only 86 women are.[4] Morgan Stanley has found that employee retention can indicate a competitive advantage and higher levels of future profitability.[5]

94 percent of the S&P 100 have released, or have committed to release, their EEO-1 forms, a best practice in diversity data reporting. In contrast, of the 63 companies listed on the Berkshire website,[6] only one, Kraft Heinz, releases its EE0-1 form.

Between September 2020 and September 2022, S&P 100 companies increased their release of hiring rate data by gender, race, and ethnicity by 298 percent; retention rate data by 481 percent; and promotion rate data by 300 percent.[7] Berkshire companies provide almost no diversity, retention, or promotion data. Only three provide even limited inclusion data. Investors have insufficient workforce diversity and inclusion data to determine the effectiveness of Berkshire’s human capital management programs.

[1]https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/people-and-organizational-performance/our-insights/delivering-through-diversity

[2] https://www.asyousow.org/report-pages/workplace-diversity-and-financial-performance

[3] https://hbr.org/2017/10/hiring-discrimination-against-black-americans-hasnt-declined-in-25-years

[4] https://wiw-report.s3.amazonaws.com/Women_in_the_Workplace_2021.pdf

[5] https://www.morganstanley.com/im/publication/insights/articles/article_culturequantframework_us.pdf

[6] https://www.berkshirehathaway.com/subs/sublinks.html

[7] https://www.asyousow.org/our-work/social-justice/workplace-equity

Resolution Details

Company:

Berkshire Hathaway Inc.

Year:

2023

Issue Area:

Climate Change

Focus Area:

Climate Change, Climate Financing

Status:

Vote

Vote Percentage:

22.80%

Berkshire Hathaway Inc. Measure, Disclose & Reduce GHG Emissions Associated with Underwriting – Proxy Memo

23.+BRK.1+Berkshire+Hathaway+Climate+Proxy+Memo_WEB.pdf

Resolution Text

WHEREAS: Insurance companies have a critical role to play in meeting the Paris Agreement’s 1.5 degrees Celsius (“1.5oC”) goal, requiring Net Zero greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions by 2050. Projections[1] show that limiting global warming to 1.5oC versus 2 degrees will save $20 trillion globally by 2100, while exceeding 2 degrees could lead to hundreds of trillions in damages.[2] The U.S. insurance industry is under increasing pressure to address its contributions to climate change from underwriting, insuring, and investing in high emitting activities.[3]

These financial activities contribute to systemic portfolio risk to the global economy, investors, and insurers’ profitability.

Growing public pressure for the insurance industry to account for its climate-related risks is exemplified by legislation passed in Connecticut requiring regulators to incorporate emissions reduction targets into their supervision of insurers. [4]

Shareholders are concerned that Berkshire Hathaway Inc. (“Berkshire”) is not adequately reducing the climate footprint of its insurance operations, which make up over 26% of its business and is its largest value segment.[5] This failure creates significant risk. Berkshire reported pre-tax losses of $3.4 billion from Hurricane Ian in 2022 and an insurance and reinsurance underwriting loss of $962 million, up from a $784 million loss last year.[6] This follows a larger global trend: insured losses from natural disasters exceeding those from the prior 10 years, with $105 billion in 2021 alone.[7]

Berkshire is a laggard on climate in the global insurance sector, scoring 0 of 10 in a survey of the 30 largest global insurers; its ranking has declined year over year since 2018.[8] Berkshire also earned a zero in recent scoring by the Climate Action 100+ for lack of compliance with the Net Zero Company Benchmark.[9] In contrast, peers are beginning to address the GHG emissions associated with their underwriting and investment activities. 29 global insurers have joined the United Nations’ Net Zero Insurance Alliance, committing to transition emissions from insurance and reinsurance underwriting portfolios to Net Zero by 2050.

Berkshire does not measure or disclose its financed emissions, including those attributable to underwriting and insuring, nor has it adopted targets aligned with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5oC goal. In 2022, 46.7% of independent shareholders voted in favor of a resolution seeking 1.5 degree-aligned goals. Since the vote, Berkshire has not taken responsive action.

BE IT RESOLVED: Shareholders request that Berkshire issue a report, at reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information, addressing if and how it intends to measure, disclose, and reduce the GHG emissions associated with its underwriting, insuring, and investment activities in alignment with the Paris Agreement’s 1.5oC goal, requiring net zero emissions.

SUPPORTING STATEMENT: Shareholders recommend the report disclose at board discretion:

Whether Berkshire will begin measuring and disclosing emissions associated with its full range of business activities, and by when;
Whether Berkshire will set a Paris-aligned, net zero goal, and interim aligned targets, and on what timeline.

[1] https://www.nature.com/articles/d41586-018-05219-5

[2] https://www.nature.com/articles/s41467-020-18797-8/

[3] https://shareaction.org/reports/insuring-disaster-a-ranking

[4] https://www.businessinsurance.com/article/20210617/NEWS06/912342605/Connecticut-bill-calls-for-regulation-of-insurers%E2%80%99-climate-risks

[5] https://www.spglobal.com/esg/insights/completing-data-gaps-in-environmental-performance-disclosure

[6] https://www.reinsurancene.ws/berkshire-hathaway-reports-re-insurance-underwriting-loss-amid-hurricane-ian-claims-of-3-4bn/

[7] https://www.swissre.com/media/press-release/nr-20211214-sigma-full-year-2021-preliminary-natcat-loss-estimates.html

8 https://insure-our-future.com/company/berkshire-hathaway/

9 https://www.climateaction100.org/company/berkshire-hathaway/app://resources/notifications.html

Disclose Climate-Related Risk

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