During the second quarter of 2018, the Governance Center released three pieces of research that cover the activist hedge funds’ perspective on the corporate director job, ESG ratings and ranking initiatives, and the EU Circular Economy legislative package.

This research is available to all members of The Conference Board and its Governance Center:

Just What Is the Corporate Director's Job? Activist Hedge Fund Perspectives on the Board Member's Job Description (May 2018)

The latest in our series on the job description of the corporate director is based on a panel discussion of activist hedge funds and an interview with a co-founder and managing partner of an activist hedge fund. To download the report, click here. [Registration is required.]

Here are some highlights:

• The perspectives of activist hedge investors differ from the stakeholders in the previous five installments of this series—proxy advisors, directors, active investors, passive investors, and corporate secretaries.
• Activist hedge funds are the one class of stakeholders who actually seat people on the board of portfolio companies. Unlike the directors, they bring in a truly outside, independent point of view that tends to affect all aspects of the corporate director’s job description.
• Trust can become an issue when an activist hedge fund representative is placed on a board. This is highlighted when such directors and the funds that nominated them are asked to sign a non-disclosure agreement.

Sustainability Matters: ESG Rating and Ranking Initiatives – A Necessary Evil? (May 2018)

The first Sustainability Matters publication looks at the history of ESG ratings and ranking initiatives and their relevance today. To download the report, click here. [Registration is required.]

Here are some highlights:

• Over the past 20 years there has been explosive growth in responsible investing, a trend which is viewed in a positive light by most. But, an aftereffect of this has been the rise in the number of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) rating agencies and sustainability assessment tools.
• It may be fair to say that the ESG initiatives industry is now at a crossroads: although it will continue to play an important role for the investor community, the companies need to adapt to manage the reporting burden.

Director Notes: EU Circular Economy Package: A Challenging Yet Important Impulse (April 2018)

This Director Notes publication provides insight into the ramifications of the new European Union legislative and action plan regarding the Circular Economy. To download the report, click here [Registration is required].

Here are some highlights:

• Corporate boards need to understand the impact of the EU Circular Economy Package for the following reasons: anticipation of regulation, stakeholder pressures, business model disruption, risk management, and shareholder responsibility.

To comply with the Package many EU countries will need a completely new waste treatment system, and many companies will need to re-think some established business