Research & Policy Centre
The Sustainability Board Report is an independent, non-profit initiative aimed at highlighting various aspects of sustainable leadership and corporate governance. We are particularly interested how leaders and boards respond to the environmental, social, and governance (ESG) agenda of their stakeholder ecosystem.
Our goal is to foster accountability by developing best practices and thought leadership that can aid individual leaders, organisations, and investors in understanding the dynamic landscape of ESG preparedness, awareness, and competence.
Our research methodology is proprietary and involves considering other academic and scientific work, as well as thought leadership, before arriving at conclusions. We aim to fuse theoretical concepts with practical recommendations on the business level, providing actionable insights to help companies improve their ESG performance.
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The Sustainability Board Report 2022 Data Book
November 2022
Data Book, 17 Pages
In addition to our collaborative report with Egon Zehnder (see below) that previews our TSBR 2022 findings, this data book contains additional data points on ESG board preparedness. This includes details about board committee setups and historical comparison of directors' ESG engagement.
Boards: Stepping Up as Stewards of Sustainability (TSBR 2022)
October 2022
Collaborative Annual Report, 20 Pages
This year we are going into our report’s fifth edition, tracking a global snapshot of boards and directors’ ESG engagement. We are delighted to be collaborating with Egon Zehnder on this publication, which includes our 2022 report’s key findings and combines them with Egon Zehnder’s own research and insights.
There is a paradox inside boardrooms globally. While directors are growingly aware of ESG challenges, lack of preparedness and questions on how to create meaningful impact remain. Together with Egon Zehnder we shed light on this challenge and outline four recommendations for board leaders to step up as Stewards of Sustainability.
The Sustainability Board Report 2021
October 2021
Annual Report, 19 Pages
TSBR releases an annual report on ESG preparedness of corporate boards of the world’s largest publicly listed companies. In 2020 we reported that there is generally a very low level of hard ESG competence on boards.
In 2021 we have found that boards are increasingly conscious of ESG matters. That has also resulted in the lines between consciousness (awareness and knowledge of issues) and competence (capacity to act on issues) becoming increasingly blurred. Discover how boards should prepare for a new dawn of sustainable leadership and who leads the conversation.
Sustainable Business Leadership in 2030 Scenario Report
June 2021
Special Report, 27 Pages
This report explores the future of sustainable business leadership. It seeks to understand what the future of sustainable business leadership might look like in 2030, including what factors will influence it.
The scenarios discussed in this report have been designed to stretch the thinking of leaders, enabling them to contemplate events they may consider less plausible.
Family Business Special Report 2020
December 2020
Special Annual Report, 16 Pages
Similar to the study conducted in the 2020 Sustainability Board Report, which examined the first 100 companies in the 2020 Forbes Global 2000 list, this analysis looks at the board composition of family-owned businesses.
This Special Report finds that family-owned businesses, irrespective of their industry, are better equipping themselves for present and future challenges by staffing their boards with expertise and experience in sustainability.
The Sustainability Board Report 2020
September 2020
Annual Report, 21 Pages
The Sustainability Board Report aims to showcase different dimensions of good corporate governance and the importance of sustainable corporate leadership.
The 2019 Report found that, despite significant variation in the quality and quantity of sustainability reporting, including across regions, there were certain key elements and patterns that made certain companies stand out.
Our 2020 report explores these issues once again with an added focus on what has changed in the past year. Three takeaways emerge.
COVID-19 Special Report
The Acceleration of Stakeholder Centricity
June 2020
Special Report, 19 Pages
The pandemic is not only a global tragedy, but an important opportunity to understand and influence change. Will the rise of stakeholderism be put under strain? Or will the constellation of stakeholder interests, and the balancing acts therein, come to the front of the corporate agenda?
This report showcases the disclosed efforts of the world’s largest 100 publicly listed companies to balance their stakeholder interests.
The Sustainability Board Report 2019
November 2019
Annual Report, 46 Pages
The report’s purpose is to showcase the importance of good corporate governance with a focus on identifying leading organisations that have made their board of directors supervise the sustainability efforts of their executive teams.
The aim of this report is to motivate companies to adopt a top-down leadership approach to create shared value, and so become a leader in a new era of capitalism.
