Knowledge base

The Climate Governance Initiative presents four business case studies on the experiences of leading companies driving climate action from the board level. The case studies highlight the climate and sustainability commitments, strategies and activities of four organisations from diverse geographies and sectors, from real estate to cosmetics. The case studies provide a snapshot of: The […]

The Board Toolkit is designed to help non-executive directors (NEDs) ensure their businesses have the strategic plans in place to respond to climate change

The Chairperson’s Guide to Decarbonization focuses on the role of chairpersons and boards in developing a robust climate mitigation strategy. The paper informs chairpersons of the foundational knowledge for why businesses must address climate change and provides a roadmap to thriving in a low carbon economy. Drawing on global case studies, the guide demonstrates the threats […]

The Chairperson’s Guide to Climate Stakeholders paper puts a spotlight on how key stakeholder groups are responding to climate change and how they might respond in the future. Chairpersons must be cognisant of the various economic and existential risks presented by stakeholder reactions to climate, whether they are foreseen or unforeseen. The guide provides tools for […]

The Chairperson’s Insights into Climate Action provides a summary of highlights from interviews with 16 members of the World Economic Forum’s Community of Chairpersons on the topic of climate action. It explores key issues and best practices for board members across strategy, risk and opportunity, stakeholders, board competence and operations in relation to climate. It provides answers […]

The Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change has shown that human activity is unequivocally causing our climate to change, and this is already affecting every region of the world. Climate change is the single-greatest threat to global systemic financial stability, and its impacts will be felt by all companies. It poses major short, medium and long-term […]

The Primer shines a spotlight on a set of core universal principles, as well as notable variations in breadth and stringency between the leading jurisdictions and the broader group.

The goal of this paper is to propose tools that can be useful for the board of directors to steer climate risks and opportunities: the governance principles are designed to increase directors’ climate awareness, embed climate issues into board structures and processes and improve navigation of the risks and opportunities that climate change poses to business.

In order to assists the boards in approaching climate change in a holistic way, The World Economic Forum has published guidance on How to Set Up Effective Climate Governance on Corporate Boards

The board is ultimately accountable for long-term stewardship of the company – it is therefore responsible for setting up governance mechanisms that ensure an appropriate level of climate change consideration at all levels of the organization – from the C-suite down.

Efforts to mitigate and adapt to climate change, as well as the market and technological shifts related to those efforts, also produce vast business opportunities.

Principles of setting fees for greenhouse gas emissions, the European Green Deal, Climate Law, emission reduction plans and reporting on climate issues and other global and European regulations are basic knowledge that members and members of Supervisory Boards should have. Worldwide Carbon Pricing The World Bank defines Carbon Pricing as an „instrument that captures the […]

What is certain is that climate change will affect every business, to a greater or lesser extent. Losses might occur as a direct cause of extreme weather events, such as storms, droughts or floods, or indirectly, by higher risk of default due to economic and social disruption, litigation risk, reduced returns and falling economic growth – even in case of investments which avoid physical damage. Climate risks affects all economic sectors, however the level and the type of exposure differs by geography, sector, industry and asset and/or credit portfolio of the company.

The role of the non-executive director (the “NED”) is to provide oversight, strategic guidance and to challenge the executive directors with the objective of improving the corporate’s operations. Therefore, the NEDs can potentially make a huge contribution by introducing climate change to the board’s agenda and ensuring that climate-related issues are embedded in the company’s governance, risk management, strategic decisions and allocation of resources. In order to do that, the NED must be aware of the complexity of the issues, the potential impacts for the company and how they might be effectively addressed.

The causes and mechanisms of climate change are known to scientists and well described. Check the most important facts.