Corporate Governance
“Corporate governance is concerned with holding the balance between economic and social goals and between individual and communal goals. The aim is to align as nearly as possible the interests of individuals, corporations and society.” Sir Adrian Cadbury
Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations
ASX Corporate Governance Council, Market: Australia, Year: 2014
The phrase “corporate governance” describes “the framework of rules, relationships, systems and processes within and by which authority is exercised and controlled within corporations. These Principles and Recommendations set out recommended corporate governance practices for entities listed on the ASX that, in the Council’s view, are likely to achieve good governance outcomes and meet the reasonable expectations of most investors in most situations… Download Here
| Action Partners 2014 Summit Report Rethink Sustainability, Market: Canada, Year: 2014 This report provides an in-depth and chronological summary of key insights and decisions made by the participating leaders, entrepreneurs and experts on the Global Leadership and Innovation Summit. |
| Climate change and the rise of the ‘advocacy investor’ Keith Larsen, GreenBiz, Market: US, Year:2015 In the absence of large-scale government regulation to force the issue of sustainability with corporate executives, some investors have taken it upon themselves to try to force companies to change. One way these shareholders are advocating change is through filing shareholder proposals or resolutions… Read more |
| Environmental Profit and Loss Account (E P&L) Kering, Market: Australia, Year: 2015 Kering has found a way to unlock business potential and empower imagination. We have developed an innovative tool, the Environmental Profit & Loss (E P&L), which makes the invisible impacts of business visible, quantifiable and comparable… Read more |
| How to Build an Environmental Profit and Loss Account (E P&L) Kering, Market: Australia, Year: 2015 The E P&L has given us a new way to look at our business. By creating the E P&L, we have discovered new opportunities to innovate, to become more efficient and to reduce the impact we have on the environment. These are opportunities that would have remained invisible without our E P&L… Read more |
| Owens Corning CSO shares the value of a sustainable ‘handprint’ Greenbiz.com Market: Global, Year: 2014 Frank O’Brien-Bernini is the vice president and chief sustainability officer at Owens Corning, the world’s largest manufacturer of fiberglass and related products. This interview is about his evolving role in the company, and how the growing sustainability department contributes to Owens Corning’s CSR practices and business success. |
Business Trends 2013: Adapt, Evolve, Transform. |
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| “Business Trends 2013” Report To Help Global Leaders Energize Their Strategic Plans and Drive New Growth Deloitte. Market: Global, Year: 2013 Report summarizes eight emerging trends with the potential to significantly impact global business Business Trends 2013 is intended to help executives bolster strategic planning efforts, become more interconnected with customers and stakeholders and find opportunities for innovation and growth. |
| Improving Board Governance McKinsey. Market: Global, Year: 2013 According to the results of this McKinsey Global Survey Directors are savvier about strategy than in 2011, but still struggle to get their arms around risk management, and can learn more from boards with the highest impact. |
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| Knowledge is Power: A guide to improve Enterprise Sustainability Performance with benchmarks, best practices & impact profiles PE INTERNATIONAL. Market: Global, Year: 2013 This whitepaper is a guide for people in sustainable business that want to learn about sustainability content such as best practice libraries, performance benchmarks and impact profiles to achieve improved Enterprise Sustainability Performance. |
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| Measuring Socio-Economic Impact: A guide for business WBCSD Social Capital. Market: Global, Year: 2013 This guide is to help companies gauge for themselves which tool or combination of tools best meets their socio-economic impact measurement needs – thereby enabling and accelerating business action to align profitable business ventures with the needs of society, and contribute to a more sustainable world. Visit www.wbcsd.org/impact.aspx for regular updates and case studies on work toward measuring their socio-economic impact. |
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| Redefining Materiality II: Why It Matters, Who’s Involved and What it Means for Corporate Leaders and Boards. Accountability. Market: Global, Year: 2013 AccountAbility has released a comprehensive report examining the growing importance of non-financial factors on corporate performance, disclosure, and valuation. Redefining Materiality II was developed in response to accelerating acceptance that non-financial materiality is an influential factor in corporate valuation. |
| Six growing trends in corporate sustainability Ernst & Young. Market: USA, Year: 2013 This 2013 study looked at how companies are responding to a wide range of internal and external forces related to environmental sustainability risks and how well companies are prepared to address them. Six key trends emerged. The survey tells us that company and stakeholder interest in corporate sustainability reporting continues to rise, although the tools are still in their infancy. CFOs are emerging as key players in sustainability, and, surprisingly, employees are too: they are second only to customers as drivers of company sustainability initiatives. |
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| Syndicating the work of leadership McKinsey & Company. Market: Global, Year: 2013 Harvard Professor Gary Hamel discusses why he believes it is vital for companies to “syndicate the work of leadership” across the organization, to redistribute power, and to change the role of the top team. Syndicating the work of leadership video and transcript |
| Towards a Sustainability Mindset: How Boards Organise Oversight and Governance of Corporate Responsibility Doughty Centre for Corporate Responsibility, Cranfield School of Management and Business in the Community (BITC). Market: UK Year: 2013 This UK report examines how company boards organize the oversight and governance of corporate responsibility and sustainability. It is both a summary of quantitative and qualitative research of FTSE 100 companies and companies completing BITC’s CR Index undertaken during 2012 and a think-piece inviting discussion and debate amongst corporate boards about how to improve oversight and governance in future. |
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| Beyond the bottom line: How to reward executives for sustainable practice. Centre for Corporate Governance, University of Technology, Sydney. Market Australia, Year: 2011-12 Are sustainability-dependent executive bonuses the answer to saving the planet? Research recently conducted by the Centre for Corporate Governance at the University of Technology, Sydney, examined whether a sample of Australia’s leading corporations are rewarding their executives for achieving sustainability targets as well as financial targets. Its findings may surprise you. |
| Integrating ESG issues into executive pay. Guidance for Investors and Companies. PRI and UN Global Compact LEAD. Market: Global, Year: 2012 The recent focus on executive remuneration has demonstrated the challenges for investors to assess complex pay packages and corporate performance. Existing remuneration plans for senior executives do not necessarily promote sustainable value creation for their companies. However, the inclusion of appropriate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues within executive management goals and incentive schemes can be an important factor in the creation and protection of long-term shareholder value. This guide is a tangible tool to guide dialogue between shareholders and investee companies about integrating environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors into executive pay. The document aspires to reflect a common understanding of opportunities and challenges, as well as provide practical examples of emerging practices. |
| MIT SMR BCG Sustainability Nears a Tipping Point Winter 2012 MIT Sloan Management Review and The Boston Consulting Group. Market: Global, Year: 2012 They have conducted a survey of managers and executives from companies around the world, asking how they are developing and implementing sustainable business practices. This year, most survey respondents say sustainability is on their companies’ management agendas to stay. What’s more, a substantial portion of respondents say their companies are profiting from sustainability activities. This research report discusses our findings and offers lessons to managers who are either trying to develop a sustainability agenda or wondering whether they should.SMR BCG Sustainability Nears a Tipping Point Winter 2012.pdf |
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| PRI: A toolkit for integrating ESG issues into investment and informing investment decisions Katie Swanston, Head of Implementation Support, PRI. Market Global, Year: 2012 This presentation by Katie, shows how the Principals for Responsible Investment (PRI) is a toolkit for integrating ESG issues into investment and informing investment decisions. It’s Grounded in fiduciary duty is both voluntary and aspirational. |
| Steering Sustainability. UTS Centre for Corporate Governance. Market: Australia, Year: 2011 – 12 The past decade has seen a growing interest in the social and environmental activities of public companies. But surprisingly little attention has been paid to the internal structures and processes that support and encourage sustainable business practice.This report is part of the Centre’s Full Disclosure campaign. The campaign’s objective was to explore the growing influence of corporations in society and assist communities in articulating what standards and behaviour they expect of companies. |
| Sustainable Capitalism Generation team. Market: Global, Year: 2012 To address these sustainability challenges, generation team advocates for a paradigm shift to Sustainable Capitalism; a framework that seeks to maximise long-term economic value creation by reforming markets to address real needs while considering all costs and stakeholders. The objective of this paper is twofold. First, they make the economic case for mainstreaming Sustainable Capitalism by highlighting the fact that it does not represent a trade-off with profit maximisation but instead actually fosters superior long-term value creation. Second, they recommend five key actions for immediate adoption that will accelerate the mainstreaming of Sustainable Capitalism by 2020. Sustainable Capitalism.pdf |
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| Why Every Company Needs a CSR Strategy and How to Build It Harvard Business School. Market: Global, Year: 2012 This paper offers a pragmatic alternative vision for CSR with a view towards developing its practice in an evolutionary way. HBS_Why_Every_Company_Needs_a_CSR_Strategy__How_To_Build_It.pdf |
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| Governance of Corporate Responsibility: Doughty Centre “How To” Guide School of Management, Cranfield University Market: UK, Year: 2011 Imagine a Financial Times reporter asking you critical questions on corporate responsibility (CR) issues of your organisation’s strategy and your governance arrangements for this strategy. How comfortable would you feel being a board member of a CR leader or a laggard? Corporate governance for CR can make a significant difference! This is especially true as CR has become part and parcel of good business and risk management and therefore, should be managed as such. [unrecognized beecos tag: {www.som.cranfield.ac.uk/som/p15144/Knowledge-Interchange/Guides/Corporate-Responsibility-and-Sustainability/The-Governance-of-Corporate-Responsibility-Doughty-Centre-How-To-Guide This guide}] aims to explain how to integrate CR and sustainability issues within the governance framework of an organisation, providing some answers from CR leaders as well as outlining some potential pitfalls. Our recommendations have been compiled from a wide array of reports and academic research. |
| Blueprint for Corporate Sustainability Leadership within the Global Compact Market: Global, Year: 2010 This is a new model of leadership within the Global Compact, which is designed to inspire advanced performers to reach the next level of sustainability performance. It identifies leadership criteria linked to implementation of principles, efforts to support development objectives, and engagement in the Global Compact. Blueprint.pdf |
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| Moving Upwards: The Involvement of Boards of Directors in the UN Global Compact Market: Global, Year: 2010 Advances understanding of Boardroom engagement in environmental, social and governance issues and provides a roadmap for how companies can better integrate oversight of these issues into the Board agenda. Moving_Upwards.pdf |
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| Translating Environmental, Social and Governance Factors into Sustainable Business Value – Key insights for companies and investors Market: Global, Year: 2010 This WBCSD document outlines the findings and key insights of a series of global workshops between business, investors and stakeholders about the environmental, social and governance (ESG) and sustainability aspects of company performance evaluation. TranslatingESG_into_sustainable_businese_value.pdf |
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| McKinsey Global Survey results: How Companies Manage Sustainability Market: Global, Year: 2010 This survey explored how companies define sustainability, how they manage it, why they engage in activities related to sustainability, and how they assess as well as communicate this engagement. hoco10.pdf |
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| The Governance of Corporate Responsibility Market: UK, Year: 2010 This guide aims to explain how to integrate CR and sustainability issues within the governance framework of an organisation, providing some answers from CR leaders as well as outlining some potential pitfalls. Recommendations have been compiled from a wide array of reports and academic research.The_Governance_of_CR.pdf |
| Corporate & Commercial Insight
Market: Australia, Year: 2009
Previously, the restrictive trade practices provisions in Part IV of the Trade Practices Act were interpreted in such a way as to effectively prohibit some forms of cartel conduct. The aim of the new provisions is to provide sanctions for explicitly defined forms of conduct, so as to bring Australia in line with other countries that have already legislated to give effect to the OECD’s Recommendation on cartel conduct. 4 important aspects are addressed:1. Update on legislative changes to criminalise cartel conduct
2. New Prohibition against Component Pricing 3. A New Australian Competition and Consumer Act 4. Individuals may be personally liable for contraventions under the TPA Corporate__Commercial_Insight_-_June_2009.pdf |
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| Reporting Guidance on the 10th Principle Against Corruption Market: Global, Year: 2009 The guidance is the most succinct, practical guide currently available to what anti-corruption aspects companies should report on. It equips business with a practical means to report on anti-corruption policies and actions comprehensively and effectively, as public reporting sends a strong signal to employees, investors and consumers, that a company is serious about clean business. UNGC_AntiCorruptionReporting.pdf |
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| Guidance on social responsibility Market: Global, Year: 2009 This International Standard provides guidance on the underlying principles of social responsibility, the core subjects and issues pertaining to social responsibility and on ways to integrate socially responsible behavior into existing organizational strategies, systems, practices and processes. This International Standard emphasizes the importance of results and improvements in social responsibility performance. ISO_DIS_26000_Guidance_on_social_responsibility.pdf |
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| The Value of Corporate Governance & Responsible Business Source: Business in the Community. Market UK, Year 2008 By showing leadership on responsible business issues, companies can gain a competitive advantage within their sector, through increased customer loyalty, stronger brand loyalty and better employee engagement. Ensuring that responsibility is integrated into a company’s governance and that environmental and social issues are managed responsibly delivers improved financial performance for companies. This report from BITC examined the relationship between total shareholder return and the management of environmental and social impacts in 33 FTSE companies that have measured and managed their corporate responsibility through Business in the Community’s Corporate Responsibility Index (CR Index) in each of its six years. The results revealed that FTSE companies that actively managed and measured corporate responsibility issues outperformed the FTSE 350 on total shareholder return by between 3.3% and 7.7% throughout the period 2002-2007. |
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| The Value of Corporate Governance: The positive return of responsible business Market: UK, Year: 2008 This report gathers together strong evidence to demonstrate that responsible management of environmental and social issues and their governance does create a business ethos and environment that delivers improved financial performance. The_value_of_corporate_governance1.pdf |
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| CEOs on strategy and social issues Market: Global, Year: 2007 Chief executives have increasingly incorporated environmental, social, and governance issues into core strategies, but may face challenges when they do. CEOs are responding to increasing pressure from employees and consumers, but some also see opportunities to gain a competitive advantage and address global problems. Look out this study to see how CEOs think about incorporating society’s expectation into their core strategies. CEOs_on_social_strategy.pdf |
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| Companies’ cost strategies failing to achieve sustainable benefits Market: Australia, Year: 2007 While today’s businesses are under constant pressure to reduce costs, nine out of 10 cost reduction programs fail to meet targets, leaving many companies missing significant opportunities to boost profits and create a competitive advantage. Further, this KPMG report Rethinking cost structures, found the average company aims to reduce costs by a modest two per cent per annum but only 59 percent of these expected savings are being achieved.KPMG Media Release – Companies cost strategies failing to achieve sustainable benefits |
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| Corporate Responsibility – A Guide for Australian Directors Baker and McKenzie. Market: Australia, Year: 2007 The purpose of this Guide is to explore the idea of corporate social responsibility or, as it is now increasingly referred to, corporate responsibility (CR). Although written with company directors in mind it may also be helpful to senior managers who are responsible for implementing Board decisions. The authors feel that CR is not only now a permanent feature of the corporate landscape, it has the potential to be a valuable competitive tool when properly used. It begins with a very useful glossary of terms and acronyms. SYDDMS-542296-v1-Corporate_Responsibility_-_A_guide_for_Australian_Directors.pdf |
| Getting Strategy Right Michael Porter. Market: UK, Year: 2007 Many companies are confused about strategies and strategic mistakes usually come from inside, not changes in external environment. Look at this powerpoint to know more how to balance different aspects in your business and get your strategy right. spp_Prof_Porter_London_Final.ppt |
| Rethinking Cost Structures: Creating a sustainable cost advantage KPMG + The Economist. Market: Global, Year: 2007 This survey, by the Economist Intelligence Unit, aims to take an in-depth look at how businesses are addressing their cost structures and assesses their successes, the barriers to progress, and their hopes, concerns and expectations for the future. The results and subsequent analysis are intended to give valuable food for thought for those trying to get to grips with this vital issue. Rethinking_cost_structures_KPMG.pdf |
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| Sustainability and climate change -what it means to PSF strategy Market: Australia, Year: 2008 This document evaluates why sustainability and climate change are important, why they are relevant to Professional Service Firms (PSFs), and how should PSFs design sustainability strategies and implementation processes. Sustainability_and_climate_change_what_it_means_to_PSF_strategy.pdf |
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| ASX Corporate Governance Council – Revised Supplementary Guidance to Principle 7 . ASX. Market: Australia, Year: 2008 This Revised Supplementary Guidance is intended to assist companies seeking to develop appropriate risk management and should be read in conjunction with Principle 7 of the ASX Corporate Governance Council’s (Council) Corporate Governance Principles and Recommendations (Principles and Recommendations) 2nd edition August 2007. asx_cgc_revised_supplementary_guidance_toASX_principle_7.pdf |
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| “Changing Manager Mindsets” – Report of the Working Group on the Development of Professional Skills for the Practice of Corporate Social Responsibility Department of Trade and Industry Corporate Responsibility Group. Market: UK, Year: 2003 This is a report aiming to 1) map and measure what specific generic skill sets are required for the practice of corporate social responsibility (CSR) and the inter-section with other professional practices; 2) examine how to incorporate CSR practice into the training, assessment and qualifications of general managers; 3) decide whether the establishment of some form of CSR Academy would be a valuable way to promote the development of CSR in the UK. Changing_Manager_Mindsets1.pdf |
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| Cracking the Complexity Code McKinsey. Market: Global, Year: 2007 When companies treat complexity as something they must overcome, they miss an opportunity. If complexity, in all its aspects, is seen as a challenge to be managed and potentially exploited, not as a problem to be eliminated, businesses can generate additional sources of profit and competitive advantage. Managed well, complexity can also increase the resilience of a company by enhancing its ability to adapt to a changing world. Cracking_the_Complexity_Report.pdf |
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| Managing Change Forbes/IBM Market: Global, Year: 2008 Overall, CEOs rate their ability to manage change 22% lower than their expected need for it, a “change gap” that has tripled since 2006. In other words, eight in 10 CEOs are expecting “change,” but only six in 10 say they have been able to adapt successfully. See this report from IBM. Managing_Change_-_Forbes_com.mht |
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| The Costs of Ecoflation Market: Global, Year: 2008 Ecoflation is a future scenario that combines existing economic forecasts-government estimates on population, consumption and gross domestic product, which we call the “base case”-and adds in projected environmental trends and potential public policy responses. Under the pressure of having scarce natural resources, companies must adapt to this changing environment and make ecoflation an integral part of their business. The-Costs-Of-Ecoflation.pdf |
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| Dissecting global trends: An example from Italy Market: US, Year: 2008 Executives know they must incorporate social and environmental trends into their strategies, but few act on trends in ways that would allow them to ride the waves successfully. In this article, author uses Italy as an example to illustrate how business leaders should deal with aging population, the social trend. Dissecting global trends: An example from Italy |
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| Corporate Governance and CSR in Indigenous Communities. Australia’s Inaugural CSR Summit, Year: 2006 Australia is rapidly loosing the knowledge of one of the oldest and most important cultures on earth, its Indigenous people. In this session, Jennifer Field – Founder of Cultural Mapping (who has been mentored and instructed by Elders and Cultural Leaders for 15 years) and Christopher Kirkbright -Indigenous Australian, Lawyer, linguist, university lecturer, trainer and business consultant share how and why Corporate Governance is different in Indigenous Communities and why CSR is an opportunity to contribute to the safe guarding of a storehouse of Ancient knowledge; that is at risk of being lost. Jennifer Field CSR in Indigenous Communities Jennifer Field Corporate Governance and CSR in Indigenous Communities Christopher Kirkbright CSR in Indigenous Communities. Christopher Kirkbright Corporate Governance and CSR in Indigenous Communities |
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| Ethics, values and corporate governance. Professor Stephen Bartos – University of Canberra, Director of the National Institute for Governance Australia’s Inaugural CSR Summit, Year: 2006 Prof Bartos shares key learning’s from the Australian Wheat Board and its recent Oil for Food scandal and how good governance is at the heart of corporate social responsibility. Professor Bartos Author of “Against the Grain” released by UNSW press) on the AWB scandal – so his presentation pulled no punches in terms of what he sees as failings of both the Government and the AWB. Stephen_Bartos-_Ethics_Values_And_Corporate_Governance Ethics, values and corporate governance
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| Reinventing Accountability For The 21ST Century
AccountAbility. Market: UK, Year: 2006 size=2>This guide maps out:
• The accountability deficits they are trying to plug, and the dangers and limitations they face as they seek to transform markets and institutions. • The potential for learning, synergies and amplification across currently separated domains of accountability activity. • A new generation of tools, frameworks and systems through which people are securing a right to a say in the decisions that govern their lives.
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| Risk insurance for the 21st century. How CSR through ethics, values, good corporate governance and environmental management can keep companies ahead of the game and out of harms way.
Australia’s Inaugural CSR Summit, Year: 2006 Introduced and facilitated by Dr Stephen Cohen, School of Philosophy – University of NSW and Past President of the Australian Association for Professional and Applied Ethics. Other speakers include:Professor Stephen Bartos, Director National Institute for Governance, University of Canberra; Dr Attracta Lagan, Principal Managing Values and Andrew Beatty, Partner Baker and McKenzie. Cohen_Beatty_Lagan_Bartos-_Risk_Insurance_In_The_21st_Century |
| CSR and SME’s.
David Grayson OBE, CBE – Director Business in the Community; Principal BLU; Director /strategic Rail Authority, Co-Founder Project North East (UK). Australia’s Inaugural CSR Summit, Year: 2005 Since December 2001 David has been the part-time Principal of the BLU – the world’s first, virtual corporate university for small business development professionals. The BLU has been established by the UK Government’s Small Business Service and the Business Link operators. David shares key learning’s around responsible business practices for all small to medium enterprises and companies that deal with small to medium enterprises. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J57x6awzOFk And, if you’d like to purchase books by David Grayson referred to in this video presentation Download the order form here.
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| Towards a more sustainable way to Business
Interface. Market: Global In 1994, Interface® Founder Ray Anderson challenged his company to pursue a bold new vision “Be the first company that, by its deeds, shows the entire world what sustainability is in all its dimensions: people, process, product, place and profits – and in doing so, become restorative through the power of influence” The Interface journey toward sustainability has been a momentous shift in the way they operate their business and see the world. Move through these pages for a closer look at their progress, and their Mission Zero® journey. http://www.interfaceglobal.com/sustainability.aspx Or view this video on the The business Logic of Sustainability by Ray Anderson. |
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| Vision 2050 World Business Council for Sustainable Development. Market: GlobalThis report calls for a new agenda for business laying out a pathway to a world in which nine billion people can live well, and within the planet’s resources, by mid-century. It is a consensus piece that was compiled by 29 leading global companies from 14 industries and is the result of an 18 month long combined effort between CEOs and experts, and dialogues with more than 200 companies and external stakeholders in some 20 countries. |