Strategic leadership for boardroom impactBoards today face mounting pressure and complexity as they seek to navigate major geopolitical and sustainability-related risks, and deliver better outcomes for their organisations. With their experience, authority and vantage point, they carry the responsibility to steer the enterprise toward a future that is both successful and responsible.Those that fail to adapt will fall behind, losing trust and missing opportunities to capture value. However, those who articulate purpose with conviction and embed it into strategy remove the false choice between profitability and sustainability, creating alignment, reducing friction, and positioning the organisation to thrive in a world that requires both financial performance and positive impact. |
What we do
Our experience from working with leaders over 30 years shows that with the right leadership, organisational culture and knowledge, boards can lead with purpose, driving long term value creation for the societies and economies in which they operate, and engaging strategically to address systemic barriers to aligning purpose and profit.
“Boards must be more ambitious and smart, equipping themselves with the right information and with diverse perspectives so that they can navigate an increasingly complex and treacherous context. The law is imposing an increasingly heavy responsibility on directors. Board members have the experience to rise to this challenge, but my impression is that some directors are either ‘diligently coasting’ or are unable to escape a ‘business as usual’ approach, while others see the urgency of the crisis and have the courage to confront it. This is the gauntlet we throw down to boards - to reset their own mission and rewire their approach to leadership, so as to fundamentally rethink the role of business in society and the economy.” Professor Richard Calland, Director, CISL Africa | Director, CISL Board Programmes
Board Education
Our board-level education programmes equip directors with the knowledge, mindsets and capabilities to anticipate trends and integrate sustainability into strategic planning.
Customised Board Programmes
Tailored to individual company needs, our custom programmes explore how sustainability impacts commercial strategy and long-term performance, and the levers available to build resilience and competitive advantage.
Business & Sustainability Programme
The Business & Sustainability Programme (BSP) brings together global leaders to shape the sustainability agenda and accelerate meaningful change. Over four days, participants explore the latest evidence, case studies and thought leadership, helping to formulate bold and pragmatic solutions to today’s most pressing challenges.
Non-Executive Director programme (Melbourne)
The Non-Executive Director Programme is an open seminar exploring the purpose of boards today, their fiduciary responsibilities and the specific strategic issues that global challenges pose. .
Research: Future of Boards
This two-year collaboration between the CISL and DLA Piper seeks to bring increased insight and rigour to mapping barriers to board performance that is fit for the future, as well as to identifying the most promising solutions and enablers of progress. You can find out more about the research aims here.
Phase 1: exploring the evolving and emerging trends in board practices and capabilities, and the related legislative contexts.
Read the reports
Phase 2: helping boards align corporate success with sustainable outcomes and transform sustainability data into a driver of meaningful business decision-making.
Read the reports
How CISL works with business globally
CISL works with global business to create bold and pragmatic approaches to compete in today's volatile and disruptive markets. For over 35 years we have helped business become more competitive and resilient by:
- Building capability: We equip organisations with expertise, capabilities and tools to build competitiveness and resilience to benefit in a transitioning market.
- Developing strategy: We use our global network of industry experts and sustainability practitioners to help businesses identify and build solutions to address the key challenges facing them.
- Accelerating innovation: We bring together high potential innovators with business and policy makers to accelerate solutions for a resilient future.
- Driving system-wide change: We bring together business, government, academia and civil society to drive coordinated, system-wide approaches to market transformation.
All our work with business is underpinned by leading-edge research, insights and tools that enable us to shape and scale transformative leadership
