Chubb forced to hone carbon reporting as shareholders side with activists

Shareholders at US insurer  Chubb broke ranks with management to endorse one of two resolutions from environmental activists at the 2022 AGM.

Shareholders voted 2.6 to 1 in favor of a resolution by As You Sow Shareholder Action Account, which had demanded in-depth reporting on the climate footprint of the group's underwriting and investment activities.

Chubb had railed against the shareholder motion, suggesting added reporting demands would likely run ahead of industry capacity and know-how.

“It would be impossible for  Chubb to undertake such a task,” management had written in proxy materials arguing for a no vote. “We are not aware of any method by which we could reasonably measure the GHG emissions of our insureds.”

A similar initiative at Berkshire Hathaway has already failed a shareholder vote. Another resolution awaits a vote at  Travelers.

But  Chubb did fend off the more aggressive activist demands at the 2022 AGM, securing a recommended no-vote from shareholders on an activist call for a full ban on underwriting new fossil fuel supplies.

That motion, penned by Green Century Capital Management, fell by a margin of nearly 4.2 to 1. Some 68.5 million shares stood up for the activist motion, 19% of votes cast or neighborhood 16% of total outstanding votes.

Management had urged the no-vote on that measure for its too-much-too-soon approach, proxy materials had shown.   Chubb justifies its climate credentials with reference to its longer-standing restrictions on new capacity in coal and planned caps that should trim existing coverage starting in 2022.

“A blanket prohibition on supporting 'new fossil fuel supplies' would preclude  Chubb from continuing to consider the complexities of an orderly transition and the reality that there are insufficient alternative energy sources to replace fossil fuels,”  Chubb management had written.

Chubb had joined  Travelers and  The Hartford in the sites of Green Century Capital Management which had named the three for its first push to get insurers to line up with new IEA net zero guidelines. The initiative has already been voted down at  The Hartford. The vote at  Travelers has yet to be taken.

Did you get value from this story? Sign up to our free daily newsletters and get stories like this sent straight to your inbox.