McDonald’s, KFC and Burger King have all been the target of government and investor pressure to cut plastic waste. Their inaction creates consumer backlash too. They are large, visible companies and people are watching. With Earth Day upon us, together with the increased attention by the EU and the FTC on greenwashing, companies like these…

Digital transformation and the related scope and velocity of change pose new challenges for both traditional banking and governance: from taking advantage of the opportunities related to artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), deep learning and digital platforms to managing risk, cyber security threats and relationship management. The pace and scope at which digital innovation…

It’s perhaps an understatement to say that companies and their boards often struggle to determine if, and how, they should address significant social issues. While certainly not all can be addressed, a board needs to be engaged in a discussion about what issues are paramount (and why), what the company is considering saying about them…

When a CEO speaks out people listen. But is that a good thing? Some recent examples suggest it’s not. “Shared power curbs the worst excesses of both parties, therefore I recommend voting for a Republican Congress, given that the Presidency is Democratic.” This was CEO of Twitter Elon Musk’s tweet just two days before the…

Sometimes it’s difficult to talk about our values and immediately change the behaviors of ourselves or others because, typically, our inner thoughts and emotions present us with a rather sophisticated set of rationalizations for either acting or not. There are a number of ways others can push back on your ideas – common rationalizations. For…

What climate-related information to disclose? It’s a moving target these days.   It seems like every major country jurisdiction is fiddling with what and how to disclose environmental and social information. There is also a great deal of corporate reporting consolidation globally. Often the disclosure priorities are those that either (or both) have a substantial…

It seems everywhere you look these days the talk is of ESG, or environmental, social and governance. A commonly used argument is that improving ESG performance has beneficial effects on the product markets (consumers care about ESG), on the labor market (ESG helps retain and attract talent), and on the financial market (investors increasingly demand…

Managers are in the midst of a perfect storm where a number of cyber issues need attention. Because digital technology is now integral to most companies’ activities, all board members need to possess digital savvy. This post is a first step in understanding some of the fundamentals.   IT Governance Spencer Stuart, a global executive…

Companies have started to tie compensation to various ESG metrics. Earlier this month Papa John’s pizza announced it would evaluate executives’ progress toward material ESG priorities. UBS, Caterpillar, Apple and Trane have made similar moves. And in April, Mastercard announced it would extend its executive compensation model – which ties bonus pay to ESG goals – to all of its…

Howard Schultz, founder and former CEO of Starbucks once said: “You can’t create emotional attachment if you stand for nothing.” And yet, corporate social advocacy remains controversial. When a CEO speaks out directly with the public about a current social topic – but one that is not directly related to the core business they lead…