Company: COST
Filing Date: 2025-12-04
Form Type: DEF 14A
Source: 0000909832-25-000159
Chunk: 49

Company: COSTCO WHOLESALE CORP /NEW
Filing Date: 2025-12-04
Form: DEF 14A
Chunk 49
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. was charged $25 million in part for misstatements regarding its ESG investment processes. 7 Should Costco be implicated in greenwashing, the impact on shareholders could be considerable, as company valuation and investor confidence plummets.

1 https://mobilecontent.costco.com/staging/resource/img/25w03130/5a_ClimateActionPlan_FY24.pdf

2 Id.

3 https://www.mckinsey.com/capabilities/sustainability/our-insights/the-net-zero-transition-what-it-would-cost-what-it-could-bring#/

4 https://mobilecontent.costco.com/staging/resource/img/25w03130/5a_ClimateActionPlan_FY24.pdf

5 https://clsbluesky.law.columbia.edu/2024/10/18/disclosure-greenwashing-and-the-future-of-esg-litigation/

6 https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2022-209

7 https://www.sec.gov/news/press-release/2023-194

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The concerns are only magnified by the extent and extremes of relevant opinions on climate change and net-zero commitments. While some organizations' projections are almost apocalyptic in scale, 8 others indicate that climate change will be a slower process lacking an identifiable date by which it should be considered an emergency. 9 Additionally, the U.S. Secretary of Energy recently argued that net zero policies "raise energy costs .., threaten the reliability of our energy system, and undermine our … security" while having achieved "little in reducing global greenhouse gas emissions." 10 The EPA also recently proposed rescinding the 2009 Endangerment Finding that greenhouse gases are pollutants, 11 which "Could Be a Dagger in the Heart of Net Zero." 12

While it is possible that Costco is managing this transition at neutral cost to shareholders, or even at a profit, shareholders lack material data upon which to make that assessment. The requested report would provide the much-needed transparency that shareholders need to make informed decisions about their assets.

#### BOARD OF DIRECTORS' RESPONSE
The Board of Directors unanimously recommends a vote AGAINST this proposal.

The proposal asks us to issue a report assessing the financial risks and costs associated with the Company's climate commitments. As detailed in our Sustainability Commitment, we have made progress in reducing our emissions and believe that our plans balance this progress with practicality at a modest overall cost. They also provide the Company with other benefits. Our management and the Board have