Understanding New Geopolitical Risks and Expectations for Companies (C ESGLC-01)
How megatrends, geopolitical and environmental concerns and human values are changing expectations of businesses – including COVID19; how new business models are creating a purpose-driven and regenerative approach to doing business in the 21st century.
- Discuss how major global events, such as climate change, the war in Ukraine and ongoing pandemics, are changing stakeholders' expectations of companies
- Understand how business trends, such as the great resignation, the use of data and social justice are shaping the future of work
- Look at organizational purpose and how to ensure it adds value
- Study the tidal wave of guidelines, regulations and ESG reporting frameworks that are impacting the ability of businesses to operate
- Examine new business models such as stakeholder capitalism, the circular economy, regenerative and net-positive businesses, and the 5th industrial revolution
- Understand how asset managers, hedge funds, high-wealth individuals and proxy advisors are impacting boards of directors and board agendas
- Study the fast-evolving views and understandings of fiduciary duty across regions
- Explore the role of board committees in embedding ESG in business strategy
Dealing with Dilemmas: Turning Business Risks Into Opportunities (C ESGLC-02)
How to plan for major disruptions to ensure resiliency and business continuity, balancing short-term and long-term goals, objectives, and accountability.
- Learn how to lead and plan to ensure business continuity during major disruptions such as geopolitical upheaval, climate change, pandemics, societal changes and digital innovation
- Identify how a board of directors can fulfil its critical strategic role and set the cultural tone from the top
- Understand how to balance short-, medium- and long-term goals, objectives, compliance and accountability
- Examine the board’s role in shareholder and stakeholder communications, including creating trust and integrity
- Study how incentives can drive wanted or unwanted behavior
- Scrutinize oversight, accountability and the role of the board committees
- Learn how to address shareholder expectations, letters and proposals, ratings and rankings, activist investors, and disclosure expectations
How to Use The UN Sustainable Development Goals Strategically (C ESGLC-03)
How companies and investors are embracing the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and using them as a strategic tool to assess risks and innovative opportunities.
- Learn about the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how regulatory trends and government incentives affect them in different parts of the world
- Understand how companies and investors are embracing the SDGs and using them for innovation and investment
- Explore the use of the SDGs as a common language to communicate with stakeholders
- Examine how to use the SDGs framework as a strategic tool to understand your company's biggest pain points to determine risks and new opportunities
- Examine the link between the SDGs and ESG, as well as a company’s purpose and licence to operate and grow
- Discover how global events and megatrends have prioritized and accelerated the implementation of SDGs by businesses and governments
Learning the Impacts of Climate Change and a Board’s Accountability (C ESGLC-04)
How climate change is impacting society, supply chains, and business models; strategies to fulfil growing expectations, investor-driven reporting initiatives and regulatory demands.
- Take a closer look at why and how climate change impacts the global economic and socio-economic outlook.
- Learn how climate change affects businesses, supply chains, customers, employees and society
- Assess short-, medium- and long-term transitional, regulatory, insurance and political risks
- Discover how to seize opportunities within renewable energy, carbon markets and a just transition
- Discuss the concept of net zero and using science-based goals around emissions, such as Scope 1, 2, 3 and 4 commitments, actions and reporting
- Examine the growing expectations for asset managers, proxy advisors and investors around initiatives such as Climate Action 100+ and the UN Principles for Responsible Investment
- Learn how companies, investors, insurance companies and regulators are responding to growing demands for climate action
- Understand scenario analysis and disclosure expectations, as well as adaptation, mitigation, and transition strategies
- Learn about the relevant regulatory bodies and non-regulatory bodies: SEC (US), European Union, International Sustainability Standards Board and Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures
How to Build ESG Oversight and Foresight (C ESGLC-05)
How to anticipate and respond to the growing demands for ESG disclosure and how to ensure effective identification and integration of emerging risks into ERM-frameworks.
- Learn about the growing expectations for disclosure around ESG topics and how companies are best responding to those demands
- Look at what investors are asking for and why does that matter
- Get under the skin of ESG in businesses to see the difference between greenwashing and successful corporate sustainability
- Uncover how ESG disclosure issues are leading to securities class actions and civil litigation
- Understand ESG ratings, rankings, indices and integration frameworks, as well as materiality risk and opportunity assessments
- Discover why financial materiality assessments are integral for companies to embed ESG in strategy and board oversight
- Anticipate future trends and new requirements, while learning how to integrate emerging risks into enterprise risk management (ERM) frameworks
- Scrutinize oversight, accountability and the role of the board committees
Understanding Human Rights and Environmental Issues in Supply Chains (CESGLC-06)
How to evaluate human rights, environmental impact and supply chain goals, targets and strategies; includes identifying, assessing, and managing risks related to child labor, modern slavery, along with climate and social disasters.
- Learn about the impact of environmental and social disasters on supply chains, and how to identify, assess and manage important risks
- Examine whether child labur, forced labur, modern slavery or other human-rights issues exist in your business supply chain
- Understand the impact of your products on the natural world, such as water scarcity, air pollution and deforestation
- Come to grips with compliance, looking at existing and emerging regulations as well as how to disclose support for major international norms and soft law initiatives
- Understand how to create mutually beneficial long-term relationships with suppliers
- Learn how to avoid supply shortages and reputational setbacks, plus align procurement with incentives
Creating Diversity, Equity, Inclusion and Wellness in the Boardroom and Beyond (CESGLC-07)
Expectations from investors and society to foster a pipeline of diverse talent; proactively address employee misconduct and workplace culture issues (taking into account the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement and the imperatives of diversity, equity and inclusion in the workplace).
- Define the expectations from investors, proxy advisors, and society to encourage diversity in the workplace
- Learn how to foster a pipeline of diverse talent into and through your company and achieve diversity of thought
- Understand the full spectrum and business value of diversity, as well as the regulations around it
- Learn how to address employee misconduct and workplace culture issues
- Identify the many forms of diversity — including culture, race, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender, disability, socioeconomic background and lived experiences — and the value they bring
- Address the power of data, the barriers to progress and best practices for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace
- Understand the importance of mental health and wellness at work
- Examine the relevant laws and regulations for DEI in a business, looking at board composition and structure, oversight, accountability and the role of the board nomination committee
- Learn performance evaluation methods, incentives, and accountability
Gaining Trust: Anti-corruption, Integrity, and Transparency Best Practices (C ESGLC-08)
Changing risks and expectations associated with anti-corruption and ethical business practices; developing and testing the hallmarks of an effective anti-corruption compliance program, including steps companies can take to reduce fraud and corruption.
- Learn the changing risks and expectations associated with anti-corruption, integrity, ethical practices and transparency
- Understand the steps companies can take to reduce fraud and corruption at work, including facilitation payments
- Examine public and self-disclosure, including the importance of company reputation matter in decision-making
- Understand how to manage and oversee investigations
- Learn how to anticipate new forms of corruption, such as cybercrime and dark money, as well as the misuse of private and public goods
- See how to build public trust, relations and reputation
- Navigate the political involvement of companies and businesses
- Develop questions to ask management to test the robustness and effectiveness of its anti-corruption approach
Understanding Responsible Use of Data, Cybersecurity and Digitalization (C ESGLC-09)
Ethical considerations of the use of data including big data and AI generated opportunities; includes exploration of data collection, stakeholder privacy concerns, and the ethical management of confidential information and disaster containment.
- Learn the business impact of the digital revolution, including the hybrid workplace, big data and AI-generated opportunities
- Examine the ethical use of data, including collection, stakeholder privacy concerns and managing confidential information as part of a company’s cybersecurity strategy
- Consider the balance between increased organizational and personal data protection against using data for good
- Understand how cyber risks can affect whether stakeholders view a company as acting responsibly
- Learn about business continuity through disaster containment and recovery in the face of cyber-attacks
- Examine antitrust laws and stakeholder expectations, including how to manage online propaganda and “fake news”
- Understand how cybersecurity ties into the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)
Addressing Tax, Investment & Pay in an ESG-focused World (C ESGLC-10)
How to question the socioeconomic impact of potential business decisions, and the impact on the business’ reputation and longevity; what information is needed to make well-informed tax planning, executive pay, and capital investment and capital expenditure (CapEx) decisions.
- Learn the latest global trends in taxation, investments and pay policies that will help drive ESG best practices at your business
- Uncover when tax optimization is no longer carried out in a responsible manner
- Understand the cost of ownership in a volatile world, looking at the dilemmas you face when making long-term investments
- Learn what information you need to make well-informed capital investment and capital expenditure (CapEx) decisions
- Uncover how to incentivize leadership for ESG in the short, medium and long term
- Examine the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on tax, investment and pay strategies, including income inequality
- Look to the future changes in global tax policies that will drive ESG investments
Maximizing Shareholder and Stakeholder Engagement Around Disclosure (C ESGLC-11)
Determining the material issues to manage and communicate to shareholders and stakeholders, including engagement strategies and trends in reporting.
- Learn and manage the material issues that you need to communicate to your shareholders and stakeholders
- Uncover how to deal with the rise of shareholder activism, including best practices in engagement strategies before and after the proxy season
- Examine common standards and frameworks, such as the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and Task Force for Climate-related Disclosures (TCFD) Study regulations and requirements, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Dodd-Frank Act, human capital accounting and stock exchange requirements
- Look at future trends in reporting
Becoming a Steward of the Future: Best Practices in Corporate Governance (C ESGLC-12)
What does the future of good governance look like? What is the role of the board in 1 – 5 – 10 years? What is the fiduciary duty?
- Learn what good governance means now, and how that will evolve in the future
- Recap the previous 11 courses and see how that knowledge impacts the future of governance at your company
- Get ready for the evolving role of the board, executives, shareholders and other stakeholders
- Learn what it means to be a steward of the future — including having good judgement, courage and asking meaningful questions
Speakers Include:
- Kevin Coon, Partner, Baker McKenzie Toronto; Chair Policy Committee, Baker McKenzie International; and Member of the United Nations Global Compact Advisory Group on Supply Chain
- Paul Polman, Co-author, “Net Positive”; Former CEO, Unilever; Honorary Chair, International Chamber of Commerce; Leader, B Team; Vice-Chair, United Nations Global Compact; and Chair, IMAGINE
- Bjarne Graven Larsen, Former CIO, Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan; and Former CIO, ATP
- Michael Treschow, Chair, Wallenberg Foundations Investment Committee; Former Chair, Unilever; Former Chair, Ericsson; and Former Chair, Electrolux
- Jim Hagemann Snabe, Chair, A.P. Moller – Maersk and Siemens; Vice-Chair, Allianz; and Member of the Board of Trustees, World Economic Forum
- Erika Karp, Chief Impact Officer, Pathstone
- Paul Dickinson, Executive Chair, CDP (formerly known as Climate Disclosure Project)
- Thomas Thune Andersen, Chair, Lloyd's Register Group Limited and Ørsted A/S; Vice-Chair, VKR Holding A/S; and Board Member, BW Offshore Limited and IMI plc
- Jessica Fries, Executive Chair, The Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Project (A4S)
- David Pitt-Watson, Visiting Fellow, Cambridge Judge Business School; and Leading Thinker in Responsible Investment
- Peter Day, Chair, Paradigm Capital Inc.; and the “Godfather of Canadian Governance”
- Annette Verschuren, OC, CEO & Chair, NRStor Inc.; and serves on multiple boards
- Richard Howitt, Former CEO, International Integrated Reporting Council (IIRC)