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Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL)

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.

Get in touch to find out more about the programme and discuss your Board's needs

The Future of Boards

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About us

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For nearly three decades, the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL) has brought together business, government and academia to find solutions to critical sustainability challenges.

Our 16,000-strong network includes business leaders who champion sustainability at Board level, as well as global sustainability experts.


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Earth on Board is dedicated to Earth Competent Boards: Boards with members proficient in sustainability, with the right governance, asking the right questions of management.

Earth on Board is an ecosystem of leading organisations and individuals working at the highest levels of corporate governance to place sustainability at the centre of the strategy. We support Boards to move beyond short-term financial primacy to refocus on the fundamental purpose of business and on long-term value creation.