E18 - Stewards of the Future: Can and Should we Count on Boards to do the Right Thing?

Increasingly, company boards are expected to incorporate environmental, social and governance issues into their strategic choices and performance criteria. How, exactly, should they do this? One approach is to integrate the entire costs/benefits of the firm’s activities, including those which are currently unpaid-for externalities, into its balance sheet. But is that really possible? Or, even desirable?In this episode I discuss this issue – and others! – with my guest, Helle Bank Jorgensen. Helle is an internationally recognized expert on sustainable business practices, with a 30-year record of turning environmental, social, and governance (ESG) risks into innovative and profitable business opportunities. She is the founder and chief executive of Competent Boards, which offers online climate and ESG programs that draw on the experience of over 150 renowned board members, executives, and investors.Helle is also the author of the newly published book, Stewards of The Future: A Guide for Competent Boards. This book shows boards must have the insight and foresight to ask the right questions of management on complex issues such as climate change, ESG, corruption, cybersecurity, human trafficking and supply-chain resilience to realize long-term profits and sustainability. CitationsJorgensen, Helle Bank (2022) Stewards of The Future: A Guide for Competent Boards. Barlow Publishing.Cornell, Bradford and Damodaran, Aswath (2020), Valuing ESG: Doing Good or Sounding Good? (March 20, 2020). NYU Stern School of Business, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=3557432 or http://dx.doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3557432 Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

Om Podcasten

I am lucky. As part of the TRIUM Global EMBA team, I get to interact with some of the most interesting and informed people on the planet. This is never more true than in the conversations I have at the margins of the official program – exchanges with people who enrich, educate and entertain. TRIUM Connects seeks to reproduce those moments in a series of recorded conversations on topics from the worlds of business, economics, leadership and political economy. I hope the podcast gives people a ‘taste’ of what make the TRIUM experience so special and lets me share a little of my luck! – Matt Mulford— Disclaimer: The views expressed in this podcast are solely those of the host and his guests and do not necessarily represent those of the TRIUM Global EMBA program or its three alliance schools (NYU Stern, the LSE, or HEC Paris). The content herein is intended solely for the entertainment of the listener and the host and should not be relied upon in making any decisions. Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.