Environmental, Social & Governance Briefs

There is tremendous economic opportunity for workers and employers when local talent is developed and connected to strong local jobs. This is clearly the case in the transportation industry, where employers often struggle to find people with the right blend of technical know-how and workplace skills to fill their large number of job vacancies. In this Q&A, LISC’s president and CEO, Maurice Jones, responds to questions about the organization’s partnership with Union Pacific Railroad.

Populism, nationalism, trade wars, March for Our Lives, and the #MeToo movements, among others, are reshaping how people, governments and nonprofits respond and interact with companies, and with each other. In a recent speech to corporate citizenship professionals in New Orleans, I painted a picture of how our crazy world impacting our roles as corporate philanthropists and responsibility practitioners, as internal and external stakeholders put more pressure on us to show value.

Announcement and details of the 2018 ISS Annual Global Policy Survey. The survey focuses on topics such as external audit, director accountability, board gender diversity, and the “one-share, one-vote” principle.

The SEC is hosting another roundtable on proxy voting this fall. Potential topics for consideration are the voting process, retail shareholder participation, shareholder proposals, proxy advisory firms, and technology and innovation.

Employee petitions, gender discrimination, #MeToo revelations triggering instant market value freefalls—boards of directors and CEOs are searching for how to get ahead of the next viral business disruption, but they are not alone. Their investors are, too. Increasingly, one source of that disruption is their employees.

This Q&A with Myron Steele discusses the job of the corporate director from his perspective as former chief justice of the Supreme Court of Delaware. He touches on topics like the influence of Delaware law and shareholder engagement on the role of the corporate director.

A new report by the Center for Political Accountability highlights the heightened risks – reputational and business – that companies face from political spending in today’s polarized political environment. Entitled “Collision Course: The Risks Companies Face When Their Political Spending and Their Core Values Conflict, and How to Address Them,” this report is the first examination of conflicted spending and the challenges that it can pose for companies from the public and stakeholders.

This Q&A with Charles Elson discusses the job of the corporate director from his perspective as The University of Delaware Center for Corporate Governance's Chair. He touches on topics like the influence of Delaware law and management engagement on the role of corporate directors.

Director oversight is changing as new crises like data breaches and toxic workplace problems emerge. Shareholders are demanding focused risk management from their board of directors. As a result, boards are now looking for ways to improve meaningful oversight.