Governance structures and committees

In this Institute of Directors blog, Tina Mavraki, climate and ESG governance advisor, looks at best practices in climate transition governance.

It is a tough time to be driving forward sustainability initiatives, as many other issues are threatening to crowd out the climate conversation. In parallel, physical risks are becoming increasingly material across supply chains and impacting insurability, and investors and regulators are scrutinising transition plans to ensure that the companies they work with are fit for the future. Amid this uncertainty, the relationship between chief sustainability officers (CSOs) and non-executive directors (NEDs) is key to refocusing dialogues about sustainability as a strategic driver of growth and long-term value.

Over the past year, Chapter Zero has held a series of dialogues in which ESG Committee Chairs and members have shared exclusive insights into the issues top of the agenda for them, shining light on the ways in which the ESG Committee can accelerate momentum and drive meaningful change. A year into these dialogues, we reflected on what the role of the ESG Committee is now and what it might look like in the future with Chapter Zero Fellows and ESG Committee Chairs: Devyani Vaishampayan, Claire Hawkings, and Tracey Kerr, who have facilitated these peer dialogues.