Boards to lead: Effective corporate governance and sustainability

Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2022), [Theme Paper] 2022 London Global Convention on Corporate Governance and Sustainability, Building an Effective Board that Works and Top Global Trends, www.iodglobal.com [https://iodglobal.com/front_assets/images/events/lgc_theme_paper_2022.pdf, 13th September], 2022

For many boards the contemporary business environment is challenging against a background of continuing consequences of collective business and lifestyle impacts upon the environment and natural world that raise questions about our prospects of survival. It also raises questions about the purpose and contribution of corporate governance, whose interests it serves, and its role in facilitating needed adaptation, responsible innovation, transition and transformation journeys, and the collective responses needed to confront a challenge such as climate change. Its purpose, focus and relevance and governance and sustainability expectations, requirements and practices may need to be reviewed. New approaches, models and practices may be required if governance is to embrace networks, value chains and collaborative responses to existential threats. Perhaps corporate governance should be seen as a means to a desired end, rather than as an end in itself. Corporate governance arrangements, mechanisms, structures, processes, procedures and practices could be consciously and explicitly re-purposed to increase the focus upon responsible and collective action to address shared existential challenges and negative externalities, and achieve more socially and environmentally beneficial outcomes. There are many issues and questions for directors and boards to consider in relation to effective climate governance, ESG strategies and sustainability, enhancing board committee performance, transforming risks into opportunities, technology governance and strategy, governance for a new era, diversity and inclusion, value driven governance and sustainability, and how accounts, reports and other inputs to decision makers should fairly reflect the externalities of corporate operations and activities. They could also explore how the purpose of governance and the focus of boards might better serve the interests of a wider range of stakeholders and embrace social and environmental considerations and more explicitly encompass responses to existential threats and ensuring human activities and lifestyles are responsible, sustainable and in harmony with our planet’s eco-systems.

Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2024), [Theme Paper] 2024 London Global Convention on Corporate Governance and Sustainability: Board’s Strategy for a Secure Future & Turning Disruptions into Opportunities , 2024

A secure future for people, organisations, communities and societies cannot be assumed. This Theme Paper explores areas on the agenda for the forthcoming 2024 London Global Convention on Corporate Governance and Sustainability. It suggests issues and questions that directors, speakers and other participants might wish to consider ahead of the event and discuss with their peers when they meet. It also includes references to recent investigations and studies related to the convention’s agenda. Areas covered include boards and corporate governance in an uncertain world, corporate governance and the changing role of directors and boards, embracing ESG, aligning board composition to changing requirements, the role of independent directors and board committees, AI momentum and the boardroom, board resilience, and achieving sustainability through turning existential threats into lifestyle opportunities. Living in harmony with the natural world offers a healthier, fulfilling, less stressful and more inclusive existence.

Theme Paper: 19th London Global Convention on Corporate Governance and Sustainability [www.IODglobal.com], 2019

Many directors and boards struggle to understand the multiple and inter-related challenges, opportunities, possibilities, developments, trends and unexpected events of our contemporary world. This raises the questions of: whether we have unrealistic expectations of what can be achieved by a relatively small group of very similar people selected in a previous era and who may periodically meet for a relatively short time to consider agenda items set out in an annual calendar of meetings and topics of which they often have limited knowledge and experience; and whether we may have reached the limits of the ability of our current approaches to corporate governance to meet stakeholder requirements, unless new models and practices are adopted and better support is provided. To encourage discussion and thinking about options, possibilities and priorities, this Theme Paper poses a series of questions for intending participants to consider ahead of the 2019 London Global Convention on Corporate Governance and Sustainability. Questions are posed in relation to the current status of corporate governance; the evolution and future of corporate boards and board committees; sustainability and sustainable development; diversity in relationships, approaches, business models, memberships and perspectives, and in various functional, project and other groups, including corporate boards; digital and environmental governance; navigating risks and opportunities in a volatile world and achieving desired next steps. The 19th London Global Convention on Corporate Governance and Sustainability is organised by India’s Institute of Directors (http://www.iodglobal.com/). Further information on the convention can be obtained from: https://iodglobal.com/london-global-convention-2019.html Published as: Coulson-Thomas, Colin (2019), [19th London Global Convention on Corporate Governance and Sustainability] Board’s Opportunities and Challenges for Corporate Governance and Sustainability, www.iodglobal.com, https://iodglobal.com/images/lgc2019/theme-paper.pdf,13th May

SSRN Electronic Journal, 2019

http://indiacsr.in/building-corporate-governance-sustainability-competency/, , 2018

Contemporary boards operate in a business environment of change, uncertainty and insecurity. They are simultaneously confronted with multiple and inter-related challenges and new and unprecedented opportunities. The issues faced by many boards have also become more complex and may have a variety of short, medium and long-term impacts for many corporate activities and, in some cases, most stakeholder groups. They may require a collective response and they have implications for how boards operate and corporate governance arrangements. This plenary speech was delivered by Prof Colin Coulson-Thomas on 26th October at the International Conference on Corporate Governance and Sustainability element of the 2018 London Global Convention which was held in the Grand Ballroom at the Hotel Montcalm, Marble Arch, London, UK