Boston, May 24, 2024 – Investors in Markel Group Inc. voted on a shareholder proposal filed by Green Century asking the company to disclose climate emissions associated with its insurance and investment activities. By the close of the company’s annual general meeting, the proposal had garnered 37.9% of the votes cast.
Markel is headquartered in Richmond, Virginia, and was originally founded in 1930 to offer insurance to jitney buses. The company is now a Fortune 500 company with 21,000 employees, and offers a broad range of insurance covering everything from motorcycles and boats to oil refineries.
“Insurance companies like Markel, that write policies to protect property and people, have to predict how climate change could potentially ruin their profits,” said Green Century President Leslie Samuelrich. “We believe the insurance industry must rapidly transition away from supporting heavy emitters, like fossil fuel companies, and toward clean, renewable energy.”
Markel Fails to Report any Greenhouse Gas Emissions
On its website, Markel states that it supports the insurance industry’s push for carbon neutrality as part of achieving the goals of the Paris Agreement. However, the company does not disclose strategies for aligning its business activities with the emissions reductions called for in the Paris Agreement. Further, unlike many Fortune 500 companies, Markel has not published a sustainability report or reported climate emissions data for any aspect of its business.
Markel also significantly lags its insurance peers, such as Travelers and AIG, that already disclose carbon emissions related to their operations and have begun disclosing emissions associated with their investment and underwriting activities.
“Climate risk is something that companies both experience and contribute to,” commented Green Century Shareholder Advocate Andrea Ranger. “Transparent reporting of the greenhouse gas emissions associated with Markel’s business would give investors a 360 view into the company’s climate risk.”
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