The Magazine of Corporate Responsibility

Tag Archive for ‘Board of Directors’

Boards Respond to Stakeholder Concerns

The economic crisis, increased rules and regulations, and heightened scrutiny of boards’ roles have “corporate directors feeling pressure to be more effective in the boardroom,” according to an annual survey of directors of large companies by PricewaterhouseCoopers. Key concerns include executive compensation, risk management, strategy, succession planning, information technology security and fraud.

Improve Public Trust: Transform the Nominating Committee

Corporate governance expert Paul Strebel says there’s need for a “fundamental change” in the way board directors are nominated, with members of the nominating committee drawn from a more diverse group of stakeholders than has been the case. “To improve public trust in business, the search for board directors has to extend beyond the world of top executives,” he says.

Women in the Boardroom: Should the U.S. Have Quotas?

Columnist Gael O’Brien says the U.S. has failed to show leadership in gender diversity on corporate boards, raising questions about what it can learn from other countries that have imposed quotas for women directors. While quotas can stir up discomfort, she writes, there’s a “complacency, even smugness” about boardroom diversity in the U.S. that argues in favor of requiring companies to take action.

Social and Environmental Shareholder Proposals Gain Traction

Shareholder proposals on social and environmental issues constitute about half of all resolutions in the 2011 proxy season and have become a serious strategic consideration for corporate boards and their members, according to a new report from the consulting firm Ernst & Young. “The degree of support for these types of resolutions is growing among mutual funds and other important investors,” the report finds.

Pay for Risk-Appropriate Performance

Among the December 2009 proxy rule changes approved by the SEC was a requirement that companies discuss and analyze risks that are reasonably likely to have adverse effect on the company’s reputation and/or sustainability. This means companies must not only identify the risks facing them but also determine the probability and severity if realized and how that relates to the company’s compensation policies and programs.

Crisis Management and Your Board – Five Lessons from BP

No board of directors should feel smug about how well their company has prepared for a crisis, writes Betsy Atkins, an independent director of several publicly-held companies. Instead, she says, a board needs to insure there’s an effective crisis management plan in place – one that can protect shareholder value and the value of the corporate brand.

Women in the Board Room: Change Comes Slowly

Mounting documentation on the extent of gender inequity has brought with it the attendant media attention that opens boardroom doors. As a result, writes columnist Gael O’Brien, the work of Nominating Committees has been moved into the public domain. Politicians, governments, investors, activist groups and others are saying things have to change.

Men and Women Directors Disagree Sharply on Governance

Women serving on corporate boards are far more likely than their male counterparts to favor increased boardroom diversity, new regulations for executive compensation, proxy access for shareholders and enhanced risk management, according to a new survey of corporate directors.

Sustainability: Business Strategy Trumps Reputation

Sustainability may be a massive and vitally important global movement, says columnist Gael O’Brien, but it often suffers from its own ambiguity. “It isn’t surprising that when you ask people what their company is doing in sustainability,” she reports, “the question back is almost always ‘how are you defining it?’”

Large U.S. Company Boards Monitor Corporate Responsibility

Boards of directors of a majority of large U.S. corporations now have committees charged with oversight of environmental and social issues, but that oversight is often not integrated into the companies’ strategic planning and operations, according to a new research study. The study also found that boards at smaller companies are far less likely to have committees charged with oversight of corporate responsibility issues.