The US Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has sided with a shareholder of Chubb Ltd., allowing a vote on a proposal seeking additional disclosure of greenhouse gas emissions associated with the company’s operations, insurance underwriting, and investments.
The proposal was submitted by Green Century Capital Management Inc., on behalf of the Green Century Equity Fund. The group argued that many of Chubb’s industry peers, including Travelers, American International Group, and Hartford, have gone “beyond their legal disclosure obligations” to provide a more complete picture of their financed and insured emissions.
Green Century’s request asks Chubb to produce a report detailing its greenhouse gas emissions at a “reasonable cost and omitting proprietary information.”
In its proxy materials, Chubb described the proposal as “duplicative and wasteful of company and shareholder resources,” citing its existing climate strategy and disclosures. The insurer argued the requested data would not be feasible to measure or meaningful for assessing climate risk exposure.
“Even if it were possible to produce a scientifically sound estimate... such an estimate would provide no basis to assess Chubb’s exposure to climate risks,” the company said in a Jan. 10 letter to the SEC, asserting the proposal amounted to micromanagement.
The SEC rejected that argument, stating, “In our view, the proposal does not seek to micromanage the company.... In our view, the company has not substantially implemented the proposal.”
The decision comes amid broader climate-related policy shifts. On March 27, SEC acting chairman Mark Uyeda announced the commission would cease defending its contested climate disclosure rules, which had faced legal challenges since adoption.
Separately, Chubb estimated $1.5 billion in pretax losses from the January wildfires in Los Angeles. CEO Evan Greenberg described the California market as increasingly challenging, noting it hampers the insurer’s ability to price risk accurately and improve affordability through tailored coverage. He said rising risk signals are being suppressed by government actions at various levels.
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