Berkshire Hathaway faces criticism for planning to exclude a shareholder proposal from its upcoming proxy statement. The National Center for Public Policy Research submitted the proposal. It requests a report assessing whether the company's sustainability commitments are justified by return-on-investment (ROI) analysis.
The proposal specifically questions large renewable energy investments made by subsidiaries. Berkshire Hathaway Energy, for example, has invested over $40 billion in these projects.
Berkshire Hathaway reportedly plans to use a recent change in SEC procedure to block the proposal from a shareholder vote. This action raises questions regarding transparency surrounding the company’s ESG-related expenditures.