Corporate governance is the system and structures of rules, practices and processes by which a company is directed and controlled, the goals and objectives of the company are established and the performance of the company is tracked. Traditionally, corporate governance has focused on the owners of the corporation...
The main member of the executive team, and the person with the most responsibility for, and control over, the organizational design of the company, is the chief executive officer, or “CEO.” While the CEO “reports” to the board of directors and the board of directors...
Effective sustainability governance and management requires a structure through which the objectives of the company are set, the means of attaining those objectives and monitoring performance are determined, and the company and its people are held accountable.[1] In order for their governance procedures to be...
The traditional profit-centered approach to management originated during the Industrial Age with the presumption that capital formation was the only legitimate role of business and that managers were obligated above all other things to pursue profits to enhance the wealth of their shareholders; however, the...
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) and corporate sustainability initiatives are most effective when CSR principles have been integrated into the company’s governance and management processes and organizational culture. CSR governance begins at the top of the organization with the board of directors, which has been charged...
America’s largest companies have done poorly with respect to bringing black women and men into meaningful leadership roles and companies need to commit to diversity in the boardroom through purposeful inclusion of women and people of color as members of the board of directors and...
The actions of the directors in overseeing their company’s response to the Covid-19 pandemic need to be taken in the broader context of prior case law defining and interpreting the oversight responsibilities of the board. Most notably for directors of companies incorporated in Delaware, the...
The legal department, particularly the general counsel, has a significant role to play in developing and implementing the corporate social responsibility (CSR) and sustainability initiatives of any organization. While CSR is often described as “going beyond the law,” a good deal of the work relating...
CSR and corporate sustainability are broad and challenging topics and the directors must carefully consider how the board’s duties and responsibilities will be discharged and allocated among board members. According to KPMG, the structure and processes a board creates to oversee CSR and corporate sustainability...
Until the late 1980s, companies measured their performance almost strictly in financial terms with the focus being on whether management had made the correct strategic and operational decisions to enhance shareholder value. Since then, however, as globalization has advanced and criticism of business, particularly large...