Becoming Fluent in ESG: Putting Inclusion, Purpose, and Climate Governance Into Action

Becoming Fluent in ESG: Putting Inclusion, Purpose, and Climate Governance Into Action

The pace at which governance practices are moving has never been this fast. Governance professionals need to keep up with ever-changing expectations regarding diversity and inclusion, purpose, and climate from investors, management, the Board of Directors, stakeholders, customers, and the general public. Being fluent in environmental, social, and governance (ESG) is no longer something that just brings added value to the company, but rather an imperative to thrive in the business world.

Join GPC and our line up of leading speakers to enhance your understanding of how governance practices have changed in the past year during this one-day conference. You will hear from Canadian and international thought leaders, experts, and practitioners in Indigenous, purpose, EDI, and climate governance, and learn how these topics are likely to evolve further in the years to come. This is your chance to keep up and keep ahead.

The program will explore the following themes:

• Indigenous governance: Using an Indigenous lens, panelists will discuss multiple governance systems within Indigenous communities and organizations and how they evolved. The panelists will discuss questions like how can centering Indigenous governance help drive reconciliation? What can we learn from Indigenous governance systems and practices? How can we be active supporters of Indigenous communities in the context of governance?

• Purpose governance: Purpose governance is gaining support from businesses in various industries as investors, customers and stakeholders expect corporations to create value beyond profit. Purpose governance will be explored from the investor, director, and corporate secretary perspective. How can purpose governance help address society’s challenges and foster the long-term viability of a corporation? What should boards pay attention to in purpose governance? How do boards govern with purpose and how do governance professionals help them?

• Equality, Diversity, and Inclusion (EDI) governance: EDI governance is about more than just having a diverse board. It encompasses how diversity can enhance board governance and organizational performance. Panelists will discuss: how can EDI governance be fully integrated at the boardroom table? How can you use diversity to power decision-making? How has EDI governance changed in the past year and what lies ahead?

• Climate governance: With extreme weather disrupting operations, communities and supply chains, and in a post-COP26 world that includes the new International Sustainability Standards Board (ISSB) and growing climate-related disclosure requirements, companies and boards are under pressure to rewire their organizations to act on the climate emergency. A group of experts and practitioners will discuss how to add climate governance to the board agenda and the legal necessity of doing it. They will address questions like: how is climate affecting the fiduciary duties of corporate directors? How do we get to net-zero from a board standpoint? What is the role of a governance professional at the boardroom table in a context of a climate emergency?

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March 2020 Cancellation Policy