Corporate Governance
Protecting Human Rights & the Environment in Global Value Chains
In February 2022, the European Commission published a new EU Directive on Corporate Sustainability Due Diligence. This directive aims to set rules and requirements for companies in the European Union to foster respect for human rights and the environment in global value chains. The draft law aims to provide consumers with greater transparency when purchasing products whose supply and production chains have been difficult to trace until now. This article outlines some of the most notable implications for companies in the European Union and provides recommendations on how to prepare for the upcoming legislation.
Tackling ESG Integration Challenges in the Insurance Industry
An investigation of the 25 largest European insurance companies (in terms of assets) that were eligible for inclusion in the Dow Jones Sustainability Indices in 2021 yielded insights into how the insurance industry is integrating ESG issues into strategy. As the largest institutional investor in Europe, with 10 trillion euros invested in bonds, equity, and other investments, this industry, whose main experience, and business specialty centers on assessing risk, provides a strong case study for how corporates strive to advance on ESG topics. This article highlights the key learnings from the recent benchmark study conducted by Finch & Beak.
How to organize ESG responsibility across the company for the best result
ESG Acceleration Webinar: Organizational Development of ESG
We closed this version of the ESG Acceleration Webinar series with a view on the organizational development of ESG. As organizations that have a mature sustainability approach start to decentralize responsibility for ESG, this calls for a discussion on how to drive performance and accountability across departments. Guest speaker Ineke Rampart, Director Corporate Affairs at Telenet shared practical examples.
Checking Your ESG Blind Spots under the ‘Duty of Care’
We can no longer deny it: no matter the industry, each company faces a wide range of environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks found both within the business operations and throughout the value chain that need to be identified, monitored and managed. Although the benefits of good ESG risk management seem obvious, there are still companies claiming that some of the most important ESG risks such as human rights or climate change do not concern them. What European lawmakers have shown in 2018 through the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive and the French “Duty of Care” law is that ESG risks affect all companies, albeit to a varying degree. In all cases, it is necessary for them to broaden the scope of ESG risks to avoid potential blind spots, and to be transparent towards stakeholders on the risks that are most prevalent.
Summary of Webcast on Corporate Governance & Materiality
On November 9th, the fourth out of 5 webinars on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index (DJSI) 2017 results was broadcasted by RobecoSAM. The webcast covered the criterion of Materiality and the updated Corporate Governance chapter. Both criteria are key in determining whether companies have the right focus and effective structures for long-term shareholder value creation. In the download section of this article, you can find our summary of the webcast.
Put Your Mouth Where Your Shareholder’s Money Is
As a growing share of a company’s value is locked into intangible assets, investors are making more and more use of extra-financial indicators to determine a company’s health and investment potential. However, only few CEOs are being evaluated on this type of metrics when it comes to their annual performance reviews.
