Does Your Board Have The ESG Skills They Need For Future Success?
2020 has been a pivotal year in which even sceptical leaders have been forced to reckon with ESG’s vital role in business strategy. 01 December 2020
Anna Hirai, a Vice President within SquareWell’s ESG Advisory Team, drafted a piece for Board Agenda on ESG skills and expertise within the boardroom.
Despite the fact that world economies ground to a halt as a result of Covid-19, investors have not slowed down their efforts to engage and improve the ESG practices and disclosures of their portfolio companies. In fact, 2020 has been a pivotal year in which even some of the ESG sceptics in leadership roles, including board members, have been forced to reckon with the ESG issues at hand, whether it be health and safety of workers or extreme weather events disrupting business operations.
As the materiality of ESG issues vary across sectors, the types of skills and competencies on sustainability issues required on the board also differ. Given the increased focus on a variety of ESG factors by investors, it is likely that many boards do not hold relevant experience or expertise to understand the material sustainability issues and incorporate them into the corporate strategy or financial decision-making processes.
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