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 Funds 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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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, The Travelers Companies, Inc. comprised 0.81%, 0.22%, 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, other 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 and Green Century are not affiliated. May 2024.