In 2021, in partnership with Earth On Board we designed a ground-breaking prototype board programme for the Singapore Stock Exchange who required that all board directors of publicly-listed companies go through certified training on ESG reporting before the end of the year. We won the tender because of our proposal that reporting should be placed within a broader context – what we describe as a ‘thick’ rather than a ‘thin’ approach to accountability. Accordingly, the reporting module was the one of four modules including:
A. Context - Global Change and Systemic Pressures & Imperative: the urgent need for action at scale; developing the capacity for strategic foresight.
B. Legal Duties - the fiduciary role and responsibilities of a board, including shifts in corporate law & governance, as well as trends in public interest litigation; and reporting (including place and role of ESG reporting)
C. Organisational Strategy & Purpose - implications for the direction and oversight of the executive team (including CISL ‘Board Accountability Framework’, to be developed); and for internal culture and incentives.
D. Leadership, Governance and Political Economy - implications for the membership and organisation of the board and its committees, and internal reporting; also for stakeholder management and engagement; and for the leadership ambition of the board, including navigating obstacles to progress.
