Although the study of governance is not new, it has only been recognized in the last two decades as being a crucial factor for organizational success. Successful implementation and the practice of governance in the public sector improves organizational performance through increased efficiency, productivity, quality, and innovation to support sustainability. Leadership and Governance for Sustainability provides critical research on concepts that influence sustainable development policy and examines the role of governance in current development discourse. Covering topics such as governance frameworks, sustainable development, and collaborative government models, this book is ideal for policymakers, government officials, academicians, students, researchers, sustainability advocacy groups, and more.
Sustainability and Corporate Governance is the first extensive and targeted guide for directors and their legal advisors on creating a governance framework for corporations that integrates all the recognized principles of sustainability now being discussed in boardrooms all over the world. The book provides a step-by-step approach on integrating sustainability principles into the activities of the board of directors including detailed guidance on legal, regulatory and business aspects of organizing and operating board committees and designing the sustainability management unit. Essential topics covered include: • Elements of an effective framework for implementation of sustainability governance, including required policies, procedures and committee charters • Organization of the governing board to effectively address sustainability issues and implement sustainability strategies • Best practices and processes to engage company stakeholders Corporate board members and attorneys will appreciate the book’s practical forms and checklists, complete coverage of all facets of sustainability governance, summaries of relevant international and national guidelines and instruments, and a curated list of samples and case studies from companies all around the world.
The Challenge of Sustainability: Corporate Governance in a Complicated World reviews the evolution of five types of corporate governance and their different sustainability objectives. It discusses the challenges for boards in achieving sustainability from an environmental, economic, employment, and social perspective and introduces the concept of a political tragedy of the commons if boards do what is in the best interests of their profitability only, without considering their responsibilities and unintended consequences for their stakeholders. It explains how volatility, uncertainty, complexity, and ambiguity complicate making sustainable decisions. This book explores ways of helping prevent such negative outcomes. John Zinkin asserts the director’s need to reconcile volatility with vision, uncertainty with understanding, complexity with courage and commitment, and ambiguity with adaptability. To prevent a potential political tragedy of the commons, the book suggests new decision-making processes; treating employees differently; and makes the case for reforming capitalism. It is aimed at managers, board members and all those who influence them, including shareholder activists, corporate legal personnel, politicians, activists and general readers interested in applying some of these suggestions in their roles as stakeholders, managers and directors.
'This book is state-of-the-art. the authors present refreshing ideas about sustainability. It is a challenging approach to the conceptualization, measurement and ranking of sustainable development. This goes far beyond technicalities, discussing political, managerial and spiritual aspects of societal change.' – Jan Pronk, International Institute of Social Studies, the Hague, the Netherlands Sustainable development cannot be prescribed – rather, it results from conscious personal choices in government, business and NGOs. This thought-provoking book explores both the origins and future of the global sustainable development movement, and provides an original overview of the driving forces of sustainable development, including market forces and past and future trends. the contributors, leading experts in the field, identify and analyze the sustainability attitudes of key actors in government, corporate and NGO leadership that have shaped sustainable development history. the importance of a new and unconventional role of governments in promoting sustainability is highlighted, while corporations and NGOs feel both the risk of failures and the importance of long-term global stability more directly. Exploring the present and future scope of emerging global sustainable development movement, this stimulating and thought-provoking book will prove invaluable to a wide-ranging audience encompassing: academics, researchers, students and business practitioners with an interest in sustainable development and corporate social responsibility, public administration and public-private interactions; and policymakers involved in environmental, social and economic issues in both government and non-governmental organizations.
Environment, health and safety (EHS) management has become increasingly important in the past 10 years, especially within high risk and high reliability organizations. EHS is driven from the top of an organization, and whilst there has been much research on the subject of EHS leadership, there is very little on EHS governance and the director’s role in leading or influencing change in organizational safety/EHS performance. Environment, Health and Safety Governance and Leadership: The Making of High Reliability Organizations reviews the factors influencing safety/EHS leadership and governance and addresses all the areas where the role impacts on the performance and sustainability of organizations. Based on the author’s in-depth research, the book draws on much of the best-practice standards developed by many leading organizations such as the UK Health and Safety Executive (HSE), the Institute of Directors (IoD) and the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD). This book provides exclusive insights and legal imperatives for practitioners and leaders to inform decision making, strategy and EHS governance, all of which can have a fundamental impact on business continuity, developing company value and the sustainability of large organizations around the world.
Companies can no longer expect to engage in dubious or unethical corporate behaviour without risking their reputation and damaging, perhaps irrevocably, their market position. Irresponsible corporate behavior not only deprives shareholders of long-term returns but also ultimately imposes a cost on society as a whole. Sustainable business is about ensuring that entities contribute toward positive social, environmental, and economic outcomes. Bad business behaviour is costly for stakeholders, for markets, for society, and the economy alike. To ensure that a company behaves well, the buy-in of the leadership team is crucial. The full commitment of the board of directors, in conjunction with the senior managers of the organization, is required if an organization is to be socially responsible. In this sense, leadership does not reside with an individual (the CEO) within the organization but with all of those at the apex of corporate power and control. Effective change management requires enlightened and capable leadership to instigate and drive the process of embedding a sustainable and socially responsible corporate philosophy and culture that supports good business decision-making. A profound understanding of the requirements of such a leadership process will help corporate managers become highly effective change agents. Governance will be the main driver of this change. For the economy and financial markets to become sustainable and resilient, radical changes in corporate leadership need to take place. Integrated reporting, government regulation, and international standards will all be important factors in bringing about this change. As well as understanding the effects of corporate behavior on financial markets, such an understanding is also now imperative in relation to the social and environmental contexts.
This book discusses the implementation of sustainability in corporate governance mechanisms since 2013 and assesses how much the role of the Board of Directors has changed as a result. The study explores the impact of legislation upon corporate governance in two European contexts, the UK and Italy, which have been affected differently by changes in national regulations since 2013. This investigation relies first on the analysis of interviews administered to the boards of directors of Italian firms, to highlight how far sustainability objectives were considered a real priority for their firms and how their role evolved in terms of specific duties and practices. Second, thanks to a rich dataset from 2013 to 2017, the investigation considers the corporate governance reports of top Italian and British listed firms, to identify how the integration of sustainability within corporate governance has been evolving since 2013, and how it has been disclosed. This insider perspective provides the reader with a set of tools useful for analysing firms’ engagement towards sustainability, and for assessing whether listed firms practice what they preach.
With the acceptance of CSR and Sustainability as important business performance indicators, it is timely now to assess the impact that leadership has on the development of these processes. CSR, Sustainability, and Leadership seeks to explore the integration of these three elements through an examination of concerns and trends in contemporary organisations. The authors discuss empirical and theoretical studies which focus on processes and practices which inform the field. Organisations wish not only to participate in responsible behaviour, but also actively lead within their local environments. However, businesses are failing in their execution of CSR because of ineffective leadership. Business leaders are central to an organisation’s purpose in the world and this book will inform a robust discussion about social issues which are pressing to scholars, policymakers, not-for-profit organisations and students.
About this book: Sustainability and Corporate Governance aims to provide guidance on creating a governance framework for corporations that integrates all of the recognized principles of sustainability that have emerged in recent years, which are now being discussed in boardrooms across the world. There has been a clear shift in perceptions regarding the relationship between corporate governance and sustainability. Directors now need to acknowledge that sustainability is a part of their responsibility in guiding and overseeing corporate activities. In practice, engaging with this wider responsibility is no easy task. This incomparable reference superbly meets the urgent set of challenges. This is the first book to describe how to organize board and senior management activities in order to fulfil the company's goals with respect to operating in a socially responsible manner and acting as a sustainable business. What's in this book: In its step-by-step approach to integrating sustainability principles into corporate governance, this book dramatically shows how policy in such business areas as the following can be redrawn to fit effectively into a sustainability framework: audit; compensation; finance; health and safety; compliance; risk management; technology; and disclosure and reporting. Numerous valuable suggestions highlight allocation of responsibilities to board committees, preparing and implementing internal governance instruments, and organizing, evaluating, and improving an effective sustainability governance system. Useful tools and resources include annotated forms and checklists, summaries of relevant international and national guidelines, and samples and case studies from companies around the world. The special case of small businesses is covered in a separate chapter. How this will help you: This book offers solutions to questions from board members and their professional advisors about designing and implementing an effective sustainability governance framework. Given the redefinition and expansion of directors' fiduciary duties beyond shareholders to other stakeholders such as employees, customers, and local communities, this book becomes an invaluable handbook for directors, policymakers, researchers, and academics involved with issues and initiatives relating to sustainability, employee welfare, social concerns, and environmental stewardship.
