Board Toolkit
The purpose of this Toolkit is to provide NEDs with evidence and support to address climate change as a strategic business issue on their boards, and to show how they can help their boards take timely, positive and decisive climate action through five clear steps.
It contains questions for NEDs to consider and pose to their boards, five clear steps to follow, checklists, tools and guides, and options for deeper reading.
The Board Toolkit
You can view the Toolkit in a browser, but for the best results we recommend using a PDF reader.
Download the Board ToolkitAbout the Board Toolkit
The core of the Board Toolkit is based around five key steps that boards can take to ensure their businesses have a holistic, robust and deliverable plan for reducing their emissions, responding to the opportunities of the net zero transition, and to the need for adaptation.
The navigation bar running along the bottom of each page allows for easy movement between the steps, and to the appendices where more information is held to provided deeper reading as desired.
The Board Toolkit was created by Chapter Zero, The Berkeley Partnership and the Centre for Climate Engagement, Hughes Hall.
Originally published in 2019, the Toolkit is periodically updated to stay up to date in this rapidly moving climate context. This is version 3, released in July 2022.
Let us know what you think
The Toolkit has been designed for non-executive directors. Please tell us how we can continue to improve it by emailing climate@chapterzero.org.uk with ‘Board Toolkit feedback’ in the subject line.
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The Board Scorecard
It’s vital to have a clear understanding of where action is most needed to meet future ambitions. In step 2 of the Toolkit, you are encouraged to use the Chapter Zero Board Scorecard to establish areas which need additional focus.
To complete the Board Scorecard you need to answer a total of 20 questions. These are split across four different topic areas: leadership, ownership, strategy and measurement. The questions are designed to help you assess how effectively your board is tackling the net zero transition and building resilience to climate impacts.
Upon completion you will be emailed a PDF of your results that you can take to the boardroom to facilitate discussion.
Try the Board Scorecard
Try the Board ScorecardRelated Content
The 2026 Global Report of the Lancet Countdown
The 10th indicator report of the Lancet Countdown finds that health impacts are escalating faster than climate action with experts calling for climate change to be declared a global health emergency.
The board, judgement and climate
As COP30 plays out in Belém, boards may ask what happened to the focus and urgency of earlier COPs. Certainly, the political sphere has become more polarised on climate and hopes of co-ordinated progress have receded. Gillian Karran-Cumberlege, member of the Chapter Zero board and Head of Chair Advisory and Co-Founder Fidelio Partners, asks does this mean that boards are deprioritising climate?
