In this podcast James Beasley, Senior Director at Nasdaq Governance Solutions, discusses stakeholder capitalism and its significance for businesses today. He argues that stakeholder engagement is the means by which to achieve stakeholder capitalism because it allows the business to understand different stakeholders and therefore act in their interests. James argues that the convergence of many monumental events over the last two years has brought stakeholder capitalism into the limelight and front and centre for boards. He outlines innovative methods for engaging with two important stakeholder groups: customers and employees. James argues that organisations need to develop more sophisticated data points for understanding stakeholders, focusing on qualitive rather than quantitative data to bring stakeholder experiences to life.

In this podcast Sharon Constançon, CEO of Genius Boards, discusses how to address issues that are impeding board effectiveness that aren’t always easy to identify. Sharon likens the scenario to an octopus, where all the issues are linked to a common cause, represented by the head of the octopus. She goes on to outline how enhancing the emotional quotient (EQ) of the company secretary, the chair and the individual directors will allow the board as a whole to defuse those hard-to-identify issues it faces and allow it to achieve its full potential.

How has the AGM and financial report landscape fared in 2022? What lessons can be carried forward into 2023? What topics are going to be the key drivers of conversations at next year’s AGMs? Are companies doing enough on ESG and executive pay reporting?

With increasing importance placed on boards embedding ESG considerations in their decision-making and operations, stakeholder capitalism has become something of a buzzword du jour. It is intrinsically linked to sustainability as it is grounded in the view that giving consideration to wider interests, perspectives and impacts leads to long-term value creation.

Our thought leadership is based on a quantitative survey of 130 governance professionals, 26 qualitative interviews with organisations across several different sectors, and an analysis of committees amongst the FTSE 100

Some 78% of organisations believe that sustainable values are very important to their community according to a poll out today from The Chartered Governance Institute and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership. An additional 22% consider that sustainability is slightly important and no organisations feel that it is unimportant.

Tackling greenwashing from a governance perspective

New FCA guidance can assist asset managers in striking the balance when making sustainability-related claims about their products and services.

Unlike in many other countries, anyone who has ‘lost’ an old bank or building society account in the UK remains entitled to the money, however long it takes them to find it again.