Berkshire Hathaway Sustainability Report Resolution

International Rivers, together with the International Labor Rights Forum, is urging shareholders in Warren Buffett’s Berkshire Hathaway Corp. to support a resolution requesting company management to produce a sustainability report.  The letter sent to the leading shareholder advisory services by International Rivers and ILRF can be downloaded below.

The letter to shareholders supports a resolution submitted by an individual shareholder, which calls upon Berkshire Hathaway to join the majority of the world’s biggest companies that already file sustainability reports under the guidelines established by the Global Reporting Initiative, on the economic, environmental, labor, human rights, social and consumer impacts of their businesses.

Reasons for a Yes Vote:

1. In the past three years, three companies in Berkshire Hathaway’s investment portfolio (Mid-American Energy Holdings Company, Russell Athletic and PetroChina) have faced significant environmental, labor rights and human rights issues that have exposed Berkshire Hathaway to material risks to the company’s operations, reputation and business. 

2. Berkshire Hathaway does not adequately disclose its sustainability-related risk.

3. Berkshire Hathaway is a corporate outlier in its lack of sustainability reporting and inadequate management of environmental, labor rights and human rights risks.