27 September 2023 - Part 4 – The last in a series of four reports, from Phase 1 of “The Future of Boards” research study by the University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL), in partnership with the global law firm DLA Piper. The report provides both a synthesis of the detailed findings from Reports 1, 2, 3 (available below) and a summary of the key facts, and their potential implications for boards. To help boards better understand the landscape and navigate future shifts we have created a set of 20 pivotal questions for boards to use as a tool to facilitate discussion and prepare strategically.

Download The Future of Boards Final Report: Summary and Synthesis, Phase 1, Part 4.

Corporate boards are facing growing pressure and scrutiny from investors, regulators and markets from new disclosure requirements, as well as performance expectations around managing both climate and nature-related risks, and their impact on society. In this context, it is becoming clear that the traditional one-dimensional goal of maximising returns for shareholders is increasingly at odds with the continuation of a viable future for people and planet, or the ability of a business to thrive long term.

This report summarises the findings from Phase 1 of our research, which includes seven legal trends that directly relate to sustainability; three big picture trends affecting boards; and 12 emerging trends in board practice. The 22 trends are then analysed using a framework of three business approaches to see how these trends may influence board practice in service of a sustainable future. As a result, we identified four key characteristics of the board that is fit for the future:

1. Operates proactively in a dynamic and complex context with a clear sense of its roles and responsibilities.
2. Anticipates and helps shape the rapidly changing legal and regulatory landscape around sustainability.
3. Ensures that its composition, capability, culture and dynamics are fit for purpose.
4. Aligns its purpose with its strategic decision-making, supported by effective materiality assessments, use of appropriate data and engagement with stakeholders.

Based on the trends identified and their potential implications, we provide a set of 20 pivotal questions for boards to use as a tool to help them prepare for a sustainable future.

27 September 2023 - Part 3 -The third in a series of four reports, this report looks at trends in board practice, including those in response to the evolving legislative context and wider pressures to achieve sustainability outcomes.

Download The Future of Boards Phase 1, Part 3.

This report seeks to examine trends influencing board practice. It gives attention to those trends which deviate from the dominant ‘business-as-usual’ way of  thinking that has been so influential in shaping business, and its associated governance practices, for the last few decades.

We use three main sources of information, including a Global Trends Survey, expert interviews and workshop groups, and the Refinitiv Eikon Global Companies Database, to provide broad insights into existing and emerging trends in board practice.

From the research, some clear trends in board practice are emerging, especially regarding diversity in board composition; changes in board structure, including the proliferation of sustainability-related sub-committees; and changes in which board member skills and capabilities are seen as desirable, with a growing interest in the role that group dynamics and the role of the chair play in realising the potential of these changes. There is also evidence of increased discussion around the concept of ‘purpose’; increasing strategic engagement by boards; discernible shifts in the scope of the board’s timeframe; expanded scope of risk oversight; strategic focus towards value drivers beyond financial return; broader representation of stakeholders perspectives within boardroom decision-making; and elevated board accountability.

The report concludes with an early sustainability analysis that offers some tentative reflections on how these trends and insights might play out differently depending on the business approach that a company and its board adopts regarding its relationship and alignment with sustainability outcomes.

14 April 2023 - Part 2 -The second in a series of four reports, this report explores the changing legal context associated with sustainability, the underlying drivers and the practical implications for corporate boards.

Download The Future of Boards Phase 1, Part 2.

This report explores the evolving sustainability-related legal trends in corporate and financial law frameworks and corporate governance regulation across a sample of 13 jurisdictions and examines how aligned with a sustainable future these trends are likely to be. It also identifies the drivers of these trends, their pace of change, and the resulting practical implications for corporate boards.

This comparative analysis of existing law enables us to gain insights into the legal context within which boards are currently operating, and are likely to operate, in the future. To achieve a sound proxy for making global conclusions, we researched 11 jurisdictions across six continents, in conjunction with DLA Piper: Australia, China, Colombia, Hong Kong, Japan, the Netherlands, Singapore, South Africa, Sweden, the United Arab Emirates (UAE), and the United Kingdom (England and Wales). Additionally, we also examined legal developments in the United States (specifically the state of Delaware) and captured relevant legal changes in European Union law, as an example of a supranational jurisdiction.

Given the vast number of regulations having sustainability implications, the scope of the investigation was limited to five areas of law: company law, supply chain due diligence, sustainability disclosure requirements, securities law and listing rules, and corporate governance codes and stewardship codes.

The focus of this report is on the internal rules of company and financial law, which affect the establishment, management and conduct of companies from a general perspective and govern their interaction with stakeholders (e.g. shareholders, directors, employees, community, the environment) and their financial market relationships and transactions.

31 March 2023 - The first in a series of reports, this report sets out the context, rationale and theoretical underpinning for the study, as well as the research design of this two-year project.

Download The Future of Boards Phase 1, Part 1.

The research explores key trends in how board practice and the wider legislative environment are changing around the world; how aligned with a sustainable future these trends and their drivers are likely to be; and the practical implications for boards.

In this volatile and complex world, boards are facing growing pressure and scrutiny from a range of stakeholders arising from the perceived risks to financial income and the profound influence of companies on wider society and the environment. This is manifesting in a raft of new disclosure requirements, performance expectations and associated ratings. Stewardship by investors is growing, with activist investor pressure on companies to improve ESG (environmental, social and governance) performance at record levels. Companies and their boards also face intense market competition and pressure to maintain high financial returns to shareholders.

Authors and Acknowledgements

Report 4

Lead authors: Gillian Secrett, Dr Louise Drake, Dan Mocanu, Andrea Westall

CISL Future of Boards Research Team: Dr Pamela Buchan, Steven Day, Dr Louise Drake, Bianca Drotleff, Emma Eteen, Seeraj Gajadhar, Dr Victoria Hurth, Dan Mocanu, Aileen Noonan, Gillian Secrett (Lead), Dr Livia Ventura, Andrea Westall

Our thanks to the following members of CISL and DLA Piper for their input and support: Chris Alliott, Jaime Biffa, Richard Calland, Jean-Pierre Douglas-Henry, Chloe Froggatt, Lindsay Hooper, Suraj Mashru, Kelly Sporn, Alex Tamlyn, Rachel Taylor, Eliot Whittington, Adele Williams.

Our thanks to those who contributed to this work through interviews and response to surveys.

Report 3

Lead Authors/Researchers: Dr Pamela Buchan, Steven Day, Dr Louise Drake, Seeraj Gajadhar, Dr Victoria Hurth, Dan Mocanu, Aileen Noonan, Andrea Westall

CISL Future of Boards Research Team: Dr Pamela Buchan, Steven Day, Dr Louise Drake, Bianca Drotleff, Emma Eteen, Seeraj Gajadhar, Dr Victoria Hurth, Dan Mocanu, Aileen Noonan, Gillian Secrett (Lead), Dr Livia Ventura, Andrea Westall

Our thanks to the following members of CISL and DLA Piper for their input and support: Chris Alliott, Jaime Biffa, Richard Calland, Jean-Pierre Douglas-Henry, Chloe Froggatt, Lindsay Hooper, Suraj Mashru, Kelly Sporn, Alex Tamlyn, Rachel Taylor, Eliot Whittington, Adele Williams

Our thanks to those who contributed to this work through interviews and response to surveys.

Report 2

Lead Authors/Researchers: Dan Mocanu, Livia Ventura

Editor: Andrea Westall

CISL Future of Boards Research Team: Dr Pamela Buchan, Steven Day, Dr Louise Drake, Emma Eteen, Seeraj Gajadhar, Dr Victoria Hurth, Dan Mocanu, Gillian Secrett (Lead), Dr Livia Ventura, Andrea Westall

Our thanks to the following members of CISL and DLA Piper for their input and support: Susie Beales, Richard Calland, Jean-Pierre Douglas-Henry, Amy Gatenby, Ian Hagg, Lindsay Hooper, Gianna Huhn, Natasha Luther-Jones, Sarah Millar, Megan Peachey, Stephane Rad, Kelly Sporn, Alex Tamlyn, Rachel Taylor, Eliot Whittington, Adele Williams

Thanks to all DLA personnel who contributed to the questionnaire.

Report 1

CISL Future of Boards Research Team: Dr Pamela Buchan, Steven Day, Dr Louise Drake, Emma Eteen, Seeraj Gajadhar, Dr Victoria Hurth, Dan Mocanu, Aileen Noonan, Gillian Secrett, Dr Livia Ventura, Andrea Westall.

Our thanks to the following members of CISL and DLA Piper for their input and support: Susie Beales, Richard Calland, Jean-Pierre Douglas-Henry, Amy Gatenby, Ian Hagg, Lindsay Hooper, Gianna Huhn, Natasha Luther-Jones, Sarah Millar, Megan Peachey, Stephane Rad, Kelly Sporn, Alex Tamlyn, Rachel Taylor, Eliot Whittington, Adele Williams.

Citing these reports

Part 4: Final report: Summary and Synthesis

University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). (2023). Future of Boards Final Report: Summary and Synthesis (Phase 1, Part 4). Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. 

Part 3: Trends in board practice: Insights from our Initial Exploratory Research

University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). (2023). Future of Boards Trends in board practice: Insights from our Initial Exploratory Research (Phase 1, Part 3). Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. 

Part 2: Legal and Regulatory Frameworks for Sustainability

University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). (2023). Future of Boards Legal and Regulatory Frameworks for Sustainability (Phase 1, Part 2). Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership. 

Part 1: Foundation and Methodology

University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership (CISL). (2023). Future of Boards Foundation and Methodology (Phase 1, Part 1). Cambridge, UK: University of Cambridge Institute for Sustainability Leadership.