Get 40% Off
🤯 This Tech Portfolio is up 29% YTD! Join Now to Get April’s Top PicksGet The Picks – Just 99 USD

Berkshire shareholders reject climate change, diversity proposals that Buffett opposed

Published 05/01/2021, 06:14 PM
Updated 05/01/2021, 06:15 PM
© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Chevron Pascagoula Refinery is pictured as Tropical Storm Gordon approaches Pascagoula

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Chevron Pascagoula Refinery is pictured as Tropical Storm Gordon approaches Pascagoula

By Jonathan Stempel

(Reuters) - Berkshire Hathaway (NYSE:BRKa) Inc shareholders on Saturday easily rejected proposals requiring the company run since 1965 by Warren Buffett to disclose more about its efforts to address climate change and promote diversity and inclusion in its workforce.

The rejections were not a surprise, given that Buffett controls nearly one-third of Berkshire's voting power and opposed both proposals.

But the climate change proposal won support from just over 25% of votes cast and the diversity proposal from 24%, suggesting greater discontent than Berkshire shareholders historically demonstrate.

The votes came as a growing number of major investors, including BlackRock Inc (NYSE:BLK) and the California Public Employees' Retirement System (CalPERS) pension plan, call for companies to promote adherence to good environmental, social and governance principles.

CalPERS, along with Federated Hermes (NYSE:FHI) and Caisse de Dépôt et Placement du Québec, had proposed requiring Berkshire to publish annual reports about its climate change efforts.

The nonprofit shareholder advocate As You Sow separately proposed annual reports on diversity, saying companies such as Berkshire benefit from a diverse workforce.

Buffett doesn't dispute that both issues are important, but opposed the proposals because of Berkshire's decentralized model, where its dozens of businesses run largely without his interference so long as they perform and are managed well.

"We do some other asinine things because we're required to do it, so we'll do whatever's required," Buffett said. "But to have the people at Business Wire, Dairy Queen ... make some common report, ... we don't do that stuff at Berkshire."The company has also said it is seeing "great results" from many subsidiaries addressing climate change on their own.

© Reuters. FILE PHOTO: The Chevron Pascagoula Refinery is pictured as Tropical Storm Gordon approaches Pascagoula

Berkshire shareholders also re-elected all 14 directors, despite calls from Institutional Shareholder Services and Neuberger Berman to withhold votes from members of Berkshire's governance, compensation and nominating committee. The vote totals were not immediately disclosed.

Latest comments

one more difference, the CCP law book is for the civian to obey, they themselves obey no law. They interpret the law whatever they like , because they have guns and power and money. Civian life to them is nothing, they are value less than the poultry !
what to heche is a "civian"?
what to heche is a "civian"?
Yes. Great to hear voices from sensible people. Most things are not binary. Like CCP putting out very detail law book for China, but it is not for law, it is for CCP to use it to get money and bribes, and for political prosecution and inhumanity act, for money or for criminal act !
Climate change is the secret code for corruption among the big guys
Blackrock and calipers management use other people money, that they pretend to invest only, to enforce own political bias on all US public-traded companies. Typical fascism in motion.
Disagree.  Deep down, BlackRock is about money, so the Politically Correct stuff is just for show.  And what better way to do it, than to be all headlines about supporting Diversity and Climate Change in a situation where they know nothing will come of it with Buffett controlling everything. Cheap way to show how "woke" they are.
Diversity is nothing by discrimination against White people and  BH deserves a round of applause for rejecting it.
imo, climate change could have credibility had they been honest about where the 99% of climate change, not caused by man, came from; the 24,000 year annual Northern nod to the sun.
Quiet, peons.
😂😂😂I once tried to peon my wife but she wouldn't let me!!!
Risk Disclosure: Trading in financial instruments and/or cryptocurrencies involves high risks including the risk of losing some, or all, of your investment amount, and may not be suitable for all investors. Prices of cryptocurrencies are extremely volatile and may be affected by external factors such as financial, regulatory or political events. Trading on margin increases the financial risks.
Before deciding to trade in financial instrument or cryptocurrencies you should be fully informed of the risks and costs associated with trading the financial markets, carefully consider your investment objectives, level of experience, and risk appetite, and seek professional advice where needed.
Fusion Media would like to remind you that the data contained in this website is not necessarily real-time nor accurate. The data and prices on the website are not necessarily provided by any market or exchange, but may be provided by market makers, and so prices may not be accurate and may differ from the actual price at any given market, meaning prices are indicative and not appropriate for trading purposes. Fusion Media and any provider of the data contained in this website will not accept liability for any loss or damage as a result of your trading, or your reliance on the information contained within this website.
It is prohibited to use, store, reproduce, display, modify, transmit or distribute the data contained in this website without the explicit prior written permission of Fusion Media and/or the data provider. All intellectual property rights are reserved by the providers and/or the exchange providing the data contained in this website.
Fusion Media may be compensated by the advertisers that appear on the website, based on your interaction with the advertisements or advertisers.
© 2007-2024 - Fusion Media Limited. All Rights Reserved.