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The trend was in line with how other top
managers worldwide voted in the springtime proxy season,
increasing pressure on companies to disclose more about their
carbon emissions or the demographics of their workforces.
In a report sent by a spokeswoman, the top U.S. mutual fund firm
outlined several new case studies describing how it cast
critical votes this year including at Berkshire Hathaway Inc and
at Chevron Corp
At Berkshire, a little over a quarter of votes cast were in
favor of two shareholder resolutions, effectively a rebuke for
management.
Vanguard said it supported one calling for the company to review
its diversity efforts after "our research found that the company
lacked public disclosures about its diversity measures, goals or
progress."
Vanguard also said its funds voted in support of a call for
Berkshire to outline how it manages climate risks and
opportunities, "to address a material risk."
Berkshire representatives did not immediately respond to
questions.
In another high-profile contest, Vanguard said it voted in favor
of a proposal for Chevron to cut emissions, saying it allowed
for sufficient flexibility in how the company would implement
the request and helping the proposal receive majority support.
But Vanguard said it did not support two other shareholder
resolutions tied to climate matters.
Asked about Vanguard's report, a Chevron spokesman referred to
recent comments from Chevron Chief Executive Mike Wirth that the
company plans to update its climate report later this year and
that "you can expect to see in that report a response to
shareholder votes from this year's annual meeting."
(Reporting by Ross Kerber; Editing by Peter Cooney)
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