Acquire intelligence on the most critical issues for board directors and senior business leaders to stay resilient, compliant, and value-driven.

1. Understanding New Geopolitical Risks and Expectations for Companies

• Discuss how major global events, such as climate change, the war in Ukraine and ongoing pandemics, are changing stakeholders’ expectations of companies
• Understand how business trends, such as the “Great Resignation”, the use of data and social justice are shaping the future of work
• Look at organisational purpose and how to ensure it adds value
• Study the tidal wave of guidelines, regulations and ESG reporting frameworks that are impacting the ability of businesses to operate
• Examine new business models such as stakeholder capitalism, the circular economy, regenerative and net-positive businesses, and the 5th industrial revolution
• Understand how asset managers, hedge funds, high-wealth individuals and proxy advisors are impacting boards of directors and board agendas
• Study the fast-evolving views and understandings of fiduciary duty across regions
• Explore the role of board committees in embedding ESG in business strategy

2. Dealing with Dilemmas: Turning Business Risks into Opportunities

• Learn how to lead and plan to ensure business continuity during major disruptions such as geopolitical upheaval, climate change, pandemics, societal changes and digital innovation
• Identify how a board of directors can fulfil its critical strategic role and set the cultural tone from the top
• Understand how to balance short-, medium- and long-term goals, objectives, compliance and accountability
• Examine the board’s role in shareholder and stakeholder communications, including creating trust and integrity
• Study how incentives can drive wanted or unwanted behaviour
• Scrutinise oversight, accountability and the role of the board committees
• Learn how to address shareholder expectations, letters and proposals, ratings and rankings, activist investors, and disclosure expectations

3. How to Use the UN Sustainable Development Goals Strategically

• Learn about the United Nations (UN) Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and how regulatory trends and government incentives affect them in different parts of the world
• Understand how companies and investors are embracing the SDGs and using them for innovation and investment
• Explore the use of the SDGs as a common language to communicate with stakeholders
• Examine how to use the SDGs framework as a strategic tool to understand your company’s biggest pain points to determine risks and new opportunities
• Examine the link between the SDGs and ESG, as well as a company’s purpose and licence to operate and grow
• Discover how global events and megatrends have prioritised and accelerated the implementation of SDGs by businesses and governments

4. Impacts of Climate Change and Biodiversity: A Board’s Accountability

• Explore how climate change and biodiversity loss shape the global economic, socio-economic landscapes, and corporate strategic planning.

• Uncover the intricate connections between climate change, biodiversity conservation, business operations, and their impacts on supply chains, customers, employees, and society.

• Evaluate the short-, medium-, and long-term transitional, regulatory, insurance, and political risks, with the added dimension of biodiversity loss and ecosystem degradation.

• Discover opportunities within the evolving landscape, including renewable energy, carbon markets, nature-positive business models, sustainable supply chains, and the application of circular economy principles.

• Discuss the evolving understanding of carbon neutrality, natural capital accounting, and biodiversity conservation goals, exploring different science-based commitments, actions, and reporting levels.

• Examine the rising expectations from asset managers, advisors, and investors around climate initiatives, sustainable investment principles, and biodiversity conservation.

• Learn how companies, investors, insurance companies, and regulators are responding to growing demands for climate action, biodiversity conservation, and nature-positive strategies.

• Understand scenario analysis, adaptation, mitigation, and transition strategies within the context of climate change and nature loss.

• Familiarize with key global regulatory and non-regulatory bodies and frameworks shaping the climate-related and biodiversity-focused disclosure and reporting landscape.

5. How to Build ESG Oversight and Foresight

• Learn about the growing expectations for disclosure around ESG topics and how companies are best responding to those demands 
• Look at what investors are asking for and why does that matter
• Get under the skin of ESG in businesses to see the difference between greenwashing and successful corporate sustainability 
• Uncover how ESG disclosure issues are leading to securities class actions and civil litigation
• Understand ESG ratings, rankings, indices and integration frameworks, as well as materiality risk and opportunity assessments
• Discover why financial materiality assessments are integral for companies to embed ESG in strategy and board oversight
• Anticipate future trends and new requirements, while learning how to integrate emerging risks into enterprise risk management (ERM) frameworks
• Scrutinise oversight, accountability and the role of the board committees

6. Understanding Human Rights and Environmental Issues in Supply Chains

• Learn about the impact of environmental and social disasters on supply chains, and how to identify, assess and manage important risks
• Examine whether child labour, forced labour, modern slavery or other human-rights issues exist in your business supply chain
• Understand the impact of your products on the natural world, such as water scarcity, air pollution and deforestation
• Come to grips with compliance, looking at existing and emerging regulations as well as how to disclose support for major international norms and soft law initiatives
• Understand how to create mutually beneficial long-term relationships with suppliers
• Learn how to avoid supply shortages and reputational setbacks, plus align procurement with incentives

7. Elevating Oversight of Human Capital Management (HCM) and Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging (DEIB)

• Define the expectations from investors, proxy advisors, and society to encourage diversity in the workplace
• Learn how to foster a pipeline of diverse talent into and through your company and achieve diversity of thought
• Understand the full spectrum and business value of diversity, as well as the regulations around it
• Learn how to address employee misconduct and workplace culture issues
• Identify the many forms of diversity — including culture, race, religion, age, sexual orientation, gender, disability, socioeconomic background and lived experiences — and the value they bring
• Address the power of data, the barriers to progress and best practices for diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the workplace
• Understand the importance of mental health and wellness at work
• Examine the relevant laws and regulations for DEI in a business, looking at board composition and structure, oversight, accountability and the role of the board nomination committee
• Learn performance evaluation methods, incentives, and accountability

8. Gaining Trust: Anti-Corruption, Integrity and Transparency Best Practices

• Learn the changing risks and expectations associated with anti-corruption, integrity, ethical practices and transparency
• Understand the steps companies can take to reduce fraud and corruption at work, including facilitation payments
• Examine public and self-disclosure, including the importance of company reputation matter in decision-making
• Understand how to manage and oversee investigations 
• Learn how to anticipate new forms of corruption, such as cybercrime and dark money, as well as the misuse of private and public goods
• See how to build public trust, relations and reputation
• Navigate the political involvement of companies and businesses
• Develop questions to ask management to test the robustness and effectiveness of its anti-corruption approach

9. Understanding Responsible Use of Data, Cybersecurity, AI and Digitalization

• Explore the cybersecurity landscape in the context of digital transformation and AI integration.
• Examine the ethical use of data, including collection, stakeholder privacy concerns and managing confidential information as part of a company’s cybersecurity strategy.
• Understand how cyber risks can affect whether stakeholders view a company as acting responsibly.
• Learn about business continuity through disaster containment and recovery in the face of cyber-attacks.
• Explore how digital transformation is reshaping business strategies and generating new growth opportunities.
• Navigate the legal and regulatory frameworks of digital transformation and its associated technologies.
• Uncover strategic opportunities for leveraging digital technologies to enhance corporate responsibility and improve stakeholder trust.
• Delve into the governance of data and AI to ensure ethical practices, focusing on mitigating risks related to algorithmic bias, safeguarding privacy and security, and more.

10. Addressing Tax, Investment & Pay in an ESG-Focused World

• Learn the latest global trends in taxation, investments and pay policies that will help drive ESG best practices at your business
• Uncover when tax optimization is no longer carried out in a responsible manner
• Understand the cost of ownership in a volatile world, looking at the dilemmas you face when making long-term investments
• Learn what information you need to make well-informed capital investment and capital expenditure (CapEx) decisions
• Uncover how to incentivize leadership for ESG in the short, medium and long term
• Examine the ripple effects of the COVID-19 pandemic on tax, investment and pay strategies, including income inequality
• Look to the future changes in global tax policies that will drive ESG investments

11. Maximizing Shareholder and Stakeholder Engagement Around Disclosures

• Learn and manage the material issues that you need to communicate to your shareholders and stakeholders.
• Uncover how to deal with the rise of shareholder activism, including best practices in engagement strategies before and after the proxy season 
• Examine common standards and frameworks, such as the International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and Task Force for Climate-related Disclosures (TCFD)
• Study regulations and requirements, including the Sarbanes-Oxley Act, Dodd-Frank Act, human capital accounting and stock exchange requirements 
• Look at future trends in reporting

12. Becoming a Steward of the Future: Best Practices in Corporate Governance

• Learn what good governance means now, and how that will evolve in the future
• Recap the previous 11 modules and see how that knowledge impacts the future of governance at your company
• Get ready for the evolving role of the board, executives, shareholders and other stakeholders 
• Learn what it means to be a steward of the future — including having good judgement, courage and asking meaningful questions