Environmental, Social & Governance Briefs

At the outset of the pandemic, employees were the top priority of boards, second only to continued liquidity. That focus intensified during the social unrest following the death of George Floyd. Now, the SEC’s new disclosure rules on human capital management (HCM) could further reinforce the focus on workers — at least temporarily.

A fireside chat between Medtronic Chairman and CEO Geoff Martha and Medtronic Foundation President Paurvi Bhatt reveals Martha's insights for how corporate citizenship executives can more effectively work with their CEOs and members of the C-Suite.

This month the Administration made cybersecurity “top priority,” elevating it as “an imperative” across government (https://www.whitehouse.gov/wp-content/uploads/2021/03/NSC-1v2.pdf). Cybersecurity is also an urgent priority for corporations. Here are six questions boards should ask management following the SolarWinds hack, "the largest and most sophisticated attack the world has ever seen."

The results of a survey conducted by the ESG Center of 102 public and private companies with median revenues of more than US $28 billion reveals that respondent companies' response to COVID-19 and racial injustices pushed 2020 corporate contributions to unprecedented levels.

A conversation between Tony Tapia and CSR and HR executives at HCA Healthcare reveals how a partnership between these two business functions can benefit companies, their employees, and the communities they support.

Boards are under increased pressure to better invest in the human capital of their companies. Directors now need to work with management in defining the key attributes of their future leadership team – not just to develop the right talent for their decision-makers, but to make sure that talent stays with the organization. This guest blog post by Seymour Burchman and Blair Jones contends that it’s all about building the team that can best support the company’s mission in the face of disruption.

During our annual two-day convening of corporate citizenship and philanthropy professionals, a theme of "how we do our work” emerged. Participants heard [the product of] non-profit, academic, and corporate leaders’ reflections on this trying year, including what they learned and how those lessons can be applied to helping companies optimize the efficiency and impact of their corporate citizenship and philanthropy programs.

Jeff Hoffman describes the Corporate Social Responsibilities' trip to Puerto Rico through recounting discussions with community and NGO leaders, government officials, and businesses on their rebuilding progress since Hurricane Maria and their resilience in managing the crisis of earthquakes on the island.