STATEMENT: Chubb Investors Cast 28% of Votes in Favor of Climate Proposal
Media Contacts:
Annie Sanders, asanders@greencentury.com, 773-272-6691
Pam Podger, ppodger@greencentury.com, 802-299-9495
Boston, May 17, 2024 – Chubb* investors cast 28% of votes in favor of a shareholder proposal filed by Green Century° and the As You Sow Foundation Fund asking the company to disclose climate emissions associated with its insurance and investment activities.
For the past two years, Chubb has fought similar resolutions that also sought comprehensive and detailed emissions reporting.
Chubb is the largest publicly-traded commercial property and casualty insurance company in the world. The company insures companies that drill for oil and gas, operate oil pipelines, and build liquified natural gas terminals, including in communities on the Gulf Coast of the United States. Chubb had previously insured the infamous Trans Mountain tar sands pipeline in Canada, which transports crude oil and tar sands oil from landlocked Alberta to Canada’s Pacific Coast. Producing tar sands fuel is even dirtier than coal.
“At a time when the heat waves, droughts, and hurricanes related to climate change are increasing, Chubb, at the very least, should keep investors informed about the risks they face from the emissions its insurance and investments enable,” said Green Century Funds President Leslie Samuelrich. “If a global insurance company with the sharpest actuaries can’t begin to measure and report this data, then that should worry all of us.”
Chubb Conflicted About Climate Change
Chubb CEO Evan Greenberg has stressed that Chubb works to support industries that either help business and individuals reduce their carbon footprints or to create new technologies that produce carbon-free energy. In the company’s 2023 annual report, Chubb acknowledged that climate change-fueled severe weather and natural catastrophes may have challenged its profitability. Chubb also made headlines in late 2021, when it decided to pull homeowners insurance coverage in wildfire prone areas of California.
Nevertheless, Chubb ranks 4th on the Insure Our Future’s 2022 list of top fossil fuel insurers in the world, and is a key insurer of Brazil’s national oil company, which directs exploratory and ongoing drilling in some of the world’s most sensitive ecological sites around the Great Amazon Reef and along Brazil’s coastline.
“As investors, we know there are short-term rewards for providing insurance to fossil fuel interests,” commented Green Century Shareholder Advocate Andrea Ranger. “However, the long-term consequences of short-term decisions is what we’re concerned about. Climate change has a very long tail, and we want insurers to prevent, not worsen, this looming threat.”
###
A sustainable investment strategy that incorporates environmental, social and governance criteria may result in lower or higher returns than an investment strategy that does not include such criteria.
About Green Century
°Green Century Capital Management, Inc. (Green Century) is the investment advisor to the Green Century Funds (The Funds). The Green Century Funds are one of the first families of fossil fuel-free, environmentally responsible mutual funds. Green Century hosts an award-winning and in-house shareholder advocacy program and is the only mutual fund company in the U.S. wholly owned by environmental and public health nonprofit organizations.
*As of 03.31.2024, Chubb Limited comprised 0.00%, 0.45%, and 0.00% of the Green Century Balanced Fund, the Green Century Equity Fund, and the Green Century International Index Fund, respectively. As of the same date, securities mentioned were not held in the portfolios of any of the Green Century Funds. References to specific securities, which will change due to ongoing management of the Funds, should not be construed as a recommendation by the Funds, their administrator, or their distributor.
The percentage in favor was calculated by (i) dividing the number of votes in support of the proposal by (ii) the sum of the number of votes voted in support of and against the proposal. Abstentions and broker non-votes were not included in the calculation.
You should carefully consider the Fund’s investment objectives, risks, charges, and expenses before investing. To obtain a Prospectus that contains this and other information about the Funds please visit www.greencentury.com, email info@greencentury.com, or call 1-800-934-7336. Please read the Prospectus carefully before investing.
Stocks will fluctuate in response to factors that may affect a single company, industry, sector, country, region or the market as a whole and may perform worse than the market. Foreign securities are subject to additional risks such as currency fluctuations, regional economic and political conditions, differences in accounting methods, and other unique risks compared to investing in securities of U.S. issuers. Bonds are subject to a variety of risks including interest rate, credit, and inflation risk.
This information has been prepared from sources believed reliable. The views expressed are as the date of this writing and are those of the Advisor to the Funds.
The Green Century Funds are distributed by UMB Distribution Services. UMB Distribution Services, LLC is not an affiliate of Green Century or any of its affiliates. May 2024.
