Sustainability

The ESG journey: Lessons from the boardroom and C-suite

To build on our work in ESG, strategy and the long view, the Board Leadership Center interviewed directors and officers of major corporations, including Morgan Stanley, Tyson Foods, Ford Motor, Microsoft, Mars, and Whirlpool, among others.

Recent issues

Leading with agility and purpose

Insights and highlights from the 2019 KPMG Board Leadership Conference, including the economic and geopolitical outlook; the CEO perspective; board engagement in strategy; technology, digital disruption, data risk, and privacy; long-term performance; shareholder versus stakeholder primacy; talent, diversity, culture, the workforce of the future; and hot topics for board committees.

Investor letters

Recent letters to executives and directors from the world’s largest asset managers.

The ESG journey: Lessons from the boardroom and C-suite

Directors Quarterly: January 2019

A look at critical issues for board agendas, areas for audit committee focus, insights on integrating environmental, social, and governance issues into strategy, and more.

On the 2019 board agenda

Seven items for boards to consider as they focus their 2019 agendas on the critical challenges at hand and on the road ahead.

Preparing for the 2019 proxy season

The Board Leadership Center’s Dennis T. Whalen offers two key areas for board focus as companies prepare for the 2019 proxy season.

Lessons from the 2018 proxy season

Observations of the current climate for shareholder engagement, proxy voting and disclosure trends, shifts in board composition, and institutional shareholder concerns.

Diversifying portfolio company boards

With concentrated ownership and less public scrutiny, diversifying the composition of private-equity portfolio company boards is a significant challenge, yet opportunities to change are just as abundant for these firms as they are public company boards.

Directors Quarterly: April 2018

The April 2018 edition of our quarterly publication for corporate directors.

On the 2018 private company board agenda

Board agendas should continue to evolve in 2018 as the game-changing implications of technology/digital innovation, scrutiny of corporate culture and leadership.

ESG, strategy, and the long view

From our perspective, many of these issues fall under the broad rubric of environmental, social, and governance (ESG), from climate change impacts and worker safety to workplace diversity, executive compensation, and board composition.

Engagement, activism expected to increase for 2018 proxy season

Talk and action on deregulation in Washington aren’t likely to slow investors’ momentum on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues, according to results from the most recent proxy season

Spotlight on director-investor engagement

Given heightened investor expectations for transparency in governance and oversight, having a well-executed plan for communicating the company’s story and gauging investor sentiment on key issues is critical.

Climate competence in the boardroom

Investors are concentrating on what companies are doing—and disclosing—about the potential impact of climate-related risks on business models and operations, leading to calls for climate-competent boards.

Investors get serious about ESG's link to long-term corporate performance

How a company manages environmental and social issues—and connects these activities with strategy—are important signals to investors of how well the company is run and its long-term financial sustainability.

A stakeholder-centric approach to private equity investment

Sunny Vanderbeck, a managing partner and co-founder of Dallas-based Satori Capital, is trying to prove that a stakeholder-centric approach to private equity investing can generate returns at or above market expectations.

Directors quarterly: April 2017

Highlights from our annual conference, taking a fresh look at climate risk and diversity, blockchain technology from a board perspective, and recent financial reporting and auditing developments.

Corporate leadership reaches an inflection point

The KPMG Board Leadership Center’s Dennis Whalen discusses board and governance trends with Thomson Reuters Sustainability.

Climate change and the corporate board

Political and regulatory pressure, combined with significant investor concern, is elevating climate change and its associated issues for boardroom consideration.

Directors quarterly: January 2017

The January edition of Directors Quarterly includes insights on the key issues that directors should focus their board agendas on during the year ahead; findings from ACI’s latest global survey; an interview with Bloomberg’s global head of sustainable business and finance; and a recap of financial reporting and auditing developments from the AICPA conference.