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Pressures Mount Across the Board for ESG Reporting

A major international accounting firm calls for more education on ESG (environmental, social, governance) reporting…The World Business Council and Baker Mackenzie law firm call for more board oversight of sustainable management… Consortium of Canadian pension funds calls for more standardization of ESG disclosures…Two leading reporting organizations plan to merge disclosure standards efforts… Former Dow Chemical chairman and CEO urges CEOs to embrace Stakeholder Capitalism but believes it will take time.
 
The Association of International Certified Professional Accountants has announced plans to provide education and resources to assist accountants with reporting on environmental, social and governance (ESG) information. According to an article in CPA Practice Advisor, Sue Coffey, CPA, and executive vice president of the association, says, “These efforts reflect and further advance public accountants’ (CPAs’) and management accountants’ (CGMAs’) decades of work in helping organizations understand the value of ESG information to their businesses, and report on and communicate their commitment to the priorities, values and concerns of their growing and increasingly diversified stakeholders…This year, we have seen the COVID-19 pandemic and tremendous environmental and social risks greatly impact our communities. These factors, coupled with stakeholder demand, are driving more organizations to report reliable and accurate ESG information that extends beyond financial information. She adds, “CPAs and CGMAs (Chartered Global Management Accountants) are uniquely qualified to help organizations increase stakeholder trust and confidence, improve decision making and lower the cost of capital. The association is committed to providing educational resources and practical tools for professionals working on behalf of corporations and robust authoritative guidance for those who play an independent role providing auditing and assurance services.”
 
A recent report by the World Business Council for Sustainable Development and Baker Mackenzie law firm urges board directors to address sustainability asks: “So, why does sustainability matter for directors?” “As an overarching reason, because directors owe fiduciary and other duties to act in the company’s best interests, by implication the company’s long-term sustainable success. Some other considerations are because: 1. There is increasing regulation that requires companies and directors to take sustainability issues into account in their business operations, decision-making and reporting, respectively. 2. There is a risk of litigation should directors fall short in the duties they owe the companies they oversee or should the company breach regulation or incorrectly report what it is or isn’t doing. 3. There is the risk of damage to reputation if a company falls short of what the public expects, via the court of public opinion (the so-called ‘clicktivists’), which can be active both externally (for example, potential future employees, customers, suppliers, communities) and internally (the workforce). 4. Important stakeholders, such as customers and employees, are increasingly focused on sustainability issues. 
 
Canada's eight biggest pension funds have joined forces to support improved corporate sustainability reporting. In a recent collective announcement, they recommend more standardization in the way companies and their investment partners report environmental, social and governance (ESG) data in a standardized way. According to a report on KFGO radio, CEOs of the top pension funds, which manage $1.2 trillion US in assets, have joined forces in their quest for increased transparency based on the power of numbers. "How companies identify and address issues such as diversity and inclusion, human capital, board effectiveness and climate change can significantly contribute to value creation or erosion," reads the statement released by Ontario Teachers' Pension Plan, Canada Pension Plan Investment Board and the Public Sector Pension (PSP) Investment Board and others. “They asked companies to use the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) and the Task Force on Climate-related Financial Disclosures framework to further standardize ESG-related reporting….For us to achieve the objectives of disclosure, we have a louder voice banding together, and it's the first time we've done that," PSP Investments' CEO Neil Cunningham says in a statement to Reuters.
 
With the goal of enhancing standardization of ESG disclosures, the International Integrated Reporting Council (IRRC) and the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB) have announced their intention in 2021 to merge into a single organization to be called the Value Reporting Foundation. Reports Accounting Today, “The unified group will give investors and corporations a comprehensive corporate reporting framework across the enterprise with standards aimed at improving global sustainability performance. The two groups have worked together since 2014 as part of a group known as the Corporate Reporting Dialogue that was established by the IIRC. According to the article, “They and other sustainability standard-setters have come under increasing pressure from financial regulators around the world to harmonize their sometimes conflicting sets of standards and frameworks for environmental, social and governance, or ESG, reporting. Five of them agreed in September to work on better aligning their standards. The International Financial Reporting Standards Foundation, which oversees the International Accounting Standards Board, is weighing a proposal from the International Federation of Accountants to assume an official role in setting up and overseeing an International Sustainability Standards Board.
 
Former Chairman and Chief Executive Officer of The Dow Chemical Company, Andrew N. Liveris, believes it will take time for CEOs to embrace Stakeholder Capitalism. He tells Alan Murray CEO, Fortune USA, in a recent interview in Greece, "CEOs and corporate boards understand that they must now secure an 'operating license' from all stakeholders in order to make a profit in the long term.” On the other hand, he adds, "We have a long way to go until Stakeholder Capitalism is integrated into the thinking and reactions of all corporate leaders."
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Master the Principles of Stakeholder Capitalism And Implementation Through Enterprise Engagement

Education, Certifications, and Information to Activate
Stakeholder Capitalism Available Nowhere Else
A complete learning, certification, and information program and a course syllabus for educators.
 
Training and Certification
Enterprise Engagement Alliance Education: Certified Engagement Practitioner; Advanced Engaged Practitioner, and Certified Engagement Solution Provider learning and certification programs on how to implement Stakeholder Capitalism principles at the tactical level. 
 
International Center for Enterprise Engagement: The only training and certification program for ISO 30414 human capital reporting and ISO 10018 quality people management certification. 
 
The EEA offers a complimentary course syllabus for educators.
 
A CEO's Guide to Engagement Across the Enterprise cover
Join the EEA to begin your certification process or see our other resources below. 
Or contact Bruce Bolger; Bolger@TheICEE.org; 914-591-7600, ext. 230 to learn more.
 
THE ONLY BOOKS ON STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISM IMPLEMENTATION
Enterprise Engagement for CEOs:The Little Blue Book for People-Centric Capitalists
This is the definitive implementation guide to Stakeholder Capitalism, written specifically to provide CEOs and their leadership teams a concise overview of the framework, economics, and implementation process of a CEO-led strategic and systematic approach to achieving success through people.  (123 pages, $15.99)

Enterprise Engagement: The Roadmap 5th Edition
The first and most comprehensive book on Enterprise Engagement and the new ISO 9001 and ISO 10018 quality people management standards. Includes 36 chapters detailing how to better integrate and align engagement efforts across the enterprise. (312 pages, $36.) 

OTHER RESOURCES TO ACTUALIZE STAKEHOLDER CAPITALISM 
Communities: The  Enterprise Engagement Alliance and Advocate and the  Brand Media Coalition free resource centers offering access to the latest research, news, and case studies; discounts, promotions, referrals, and commissions, when appropriate to third-party solution providers from participating coalition solution provider members.
 
Enterprise Engagement Resources:  EEXAdvisors.com provides the only curated online marketplace to access hundreds of solution providers in all areas of human capital management and enterprise engagement throughout the world. 

Online Overview:  
10-minute short course: click here for a 10-minute introduction to Enterprise Engagement and ISO standards from the Coggno.com learning platform.

Services: 
•  The Engagement Agency at EngagementAgency.net, offering: complete support services for employers, solution providers, and technology firms seeking to profit from formal engagement practices for themselves or their clients, including Brand and Capability audits for solution providers to make sure their products and services are up to date.
•  C-Suite Advisory Service—Education of boards, investors, and C-suite executives on the economics, framework, and implementation processes of Enterprise Engagement. 
•  Speakers Bureau—Select the right speaker on any aspect of engagement for your next event.
•  Mergers and Acquisitions. The Engagement Agency’s Mergers and Acquisition group is aware of multiple companies seeking to purchase firms in the engagement field. Contact Michael Mazer in confidence if your company is potentially for sale at 303-320-3777.

Enterprise Engagement Benchmark Tools: The Enterprise Engagement Alliance offers three tools to help organizations profit from Engagement. Click here to access the tools.
•  ROI of Engagement Calculator. Use this tool to determine the potential return-on-investment of an engagement strategy. 
•  EE Benchmark Indicator. Confidentially benchmark your organization’s Enterprise Engagement practices against organizations and best practices. 
•  Compare Your Company’s Level of Engagement. Quickly compare your organization’s level of engagement to those of others based on the same criteria as the EEA’s Engaged Company Stock Index.
•  Gauge Your Personal Level of Engagement. This survey, donated by Horsepower, enables individuals to gauge their own personal levels of engagement.

For more information, contact Bruce Bolger at Bolger@TheEEA.org, 914-591-7600, ext. 230.

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