Berkshire Hathaway is a US holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, whose businesses include insurance (GEICO, National Indemnity), Berkshire Hathaway Energy, BNSF Railway, manufacturing and retail, and large equity holdings including Chevron and Occidental Petroleum.
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Berkshire Hathaway publishes no group emissions figure; the only stated figure is Berkshire Hathaway Energy's owned generation, 48.5 Mt CO2e in 2024. It reports nothing for its investments, which As You Sow puts at about $96 billion in fossil-fuel holdings, or for the risks it insures. It has no group climate target or SBTi commitment, and its board opposed climate-disclosure proposals in 2024 and 2025. PacifiCorp has delayed coal-plant retirements and paid $575 million to settle federal wildfire claims.
Berkshire Hathaway scores 20/100 (Significant gaps) on SINK's independent climate assessment, scored from public data only. Fees pay for the review, never the result. Last verified October 2026.
That places Berkshire Hathaway joint 815th of 858 companies scored, and joint 51st of 52 in Financial Services / Banking.
Berkshire Hathaway is tied at the bottom of the financial services / banking pack.
Among the 52 major financial services / banking brands we've scored, Berkshire Hathaway is tied =51st of 52, with 1 other.
Its three lowest-scoring questions, and what the evidence didn't show.
PacifiCorp $575M federal wildfire settlement (upheld; liability denied).
No Scope 3 inventory published.
No group biodiversity policy or deforestation commitment.
A score changes when the evidence does. We use new published evidence at the next rescore. Evidence that isn't public can count through an evidence review.
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The 3 companies in the sector scoring nearest above Berkshire Hathaway.
Pershing Square publishes no emissions data—operational or financed—despite $16B in assets and concentrated holdings in mid-to-high-emission businesses.
See the breakdown →Freddie Mac publishes no emissions data for its operations or its mortgage book, and no reduction targets; its last sustainability report covered 2023 and its ESG web page was removed in 2025.
See the breakdown →Fannie Mae discloses no operational or financed emissions despite guaranteeing $4.1 trillion in mortgages.
See the breakdown →The formula and all 22 sources.
Same ten questions for every company. No private weighting.
SINK = (0.3 × Base + 0.7 × Performance) × Scale22 sources used in this assessment. All publicly available. Each row shows which of the ten questions it informed.
Berkshire Hathaway is classed as a financial company, as it is commonly classified. It publishes no group emissions total. The one figure stated, 48.5 million tonnes CO2e in 2024, covers Berkshire Hathaway Energy's owned generation only, so the size deduction uses our standard fallback.
18 of 22 sources are independent of the company.
“Total Owned Generation CO2e Emissions (MT) 78,693,767 48,530,499 (38.3)%”
“Total Owned Generation CO2e Emissions (MT) 47,528,635 28,162,855 (40.7)%”
“Total Owned Generation CO2e Emissions (MT) 10,952,666 9,758,233 (10.9)%”
“as of December 31, 2025, BHE has reduced its annual GHG emissions by 30% as compared to 2005 levels”
“Since 2017, Berkshire Hathaway Energy has voluntarily and publicly reported its greenhouse gas emissions data from its U.S.-based operating companies”
“Berkshire does not disclose its financed emissions associated with these activities”
“Total Owned Generation CO2e Emissions (MT) 78,693,767 50,810,965 (35.4)%”
“BHE's investments in renewable energy seek to fulfill its promise to achieve net zero greenhouse gas emissions by 2050.”
“Berkshire holds nearly $96 billion in fossil fuel-related equities.”
“PacifiCorp continues to deny liability.”
“Berkshire Hathaway denied the seriousness of the climate crisis for many years and badly needs to catch up in taking climate action.”
“Accuracy of Climate Policy Engagement Disclosure No, does not meet criteria”
“Western power giant PacifiCorp is no longer committing to the retirement of several of its large coal plants before the 2040s”
“its revised plans will increase reliance on natural gas — a commodity prone to volatile price swings — and more emissions of planet-warming greenhouse gases”
“The renewable energy for the new agreement is expected to come from BHE Renewables’ 158 MW Gopher Creek wind farm in Texas.”
“became the latest U.S. electric utility to delay the scheduled closure of coal-fired generating capacity”
“resolve U.S. government damages claims related to six wildfires in Oregon and California that burned nearly 290,000 acres of federal land”
“Berkshire currently lacks a clear plan to measure and disclose the GHG emissions associated with its underwriting and investment activities”
“By margins of more than 4-to-1, shareholders at Berkshire's annual meeting voted against two proposals that the company's insurance and energy operations disclose more”
“After first buying $10 billion in preferred Occidental shares in 2019, Buffett repeatedly topped up his stake this year”
“The first trial in 2023 found PacifiCorp grossly negligent and awarded $94 million to 17 wildfire victims.”
If you believe a source has been misread or a newer version exists, submit a challenge.
Berkshire Hathaway is a US holding company headquartered in Omaha, Nebraska, whose businesses include insurance (GEICO, National Indemnity), Berkshire Hathaway Energy, BNSF Railway, manufacturing and retail, and large equity holdings including Chevron and Occidental Petroleum. The current company was incorporated in 1998. It had about 387,800 employees and $371.4 billion in FY2025 revenue.
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