There has been a plethora of reports or surveys this year about the ESG and climate competencies of boards of directors around the world. This is definitely a good thing.
Tensie Whelan from the NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business set the tone in January with a new study examining ESG competencies in boardrooms. According to the report, U.S. Corporate Boards Suffer from Inadequate Expertise in Financially Material ESG Matters, only 29 percent of the Fortune 100 directors surveyed had relevant ESG credentials, with only about 1 percent having any climate credentials.
The Sustainability Board Report 2021 revealed that only four in 10 directors serving on a board committee that oversees ESG and sustainability were ESG Conscious (defined as “elucidates sustainability, knowingness, attitudes, and behavior”) and only 8 percent had a formal ESG/sustainability certificate showcasing that they had received ESG training. However, that is still an improvement from the 2019 report where only 17 percent of those serving to oversee sustainability matters were ESG Conscious.
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