The role of chair continues to evolve. Now, more than ever, the chair’s role is recognized—as strategic partner of the CEO, as the ambassador for the company, as a leader of culture and talent, and of course as the board conductor—and all have become critical to success. But what is the chair’s role with respect to climate?
With climate and other ESG considerations increasingly at the forefront of many companies’ agendas, momentum is building around ambitions to reduce emissions, phasing out fossil fuels, and achieving a net-zero carbon footprint. Many chairs are asking questions such as, are we doing enough on climate? What do our stakeholders think about our progress? How can we effectively demonstrate to our stakeholders, shareholders, and regulators that we are committed to reducing emissions? How do we balance investment in the necessary transformation with short term results pressures? How can I, as chair of the board, advocate for meaningful change?
To help answer these questions we will be joined by a distinguished panel of chairs including Lorenzo Bini Smaghi, Chair of the Board of Directors, Société Générale; Sheila Murray, Board Chair, Teck Resources, Board Member BCE Inc, Trustee Granite REIT and Jennifer Steinmann, Deloitte Global Sustainability & Climate leader in discussion with Sharon Thorne, Former Chair, Deloitte Global, as moderator. We will hear about Deloitte research into the changing role of board chairs around the world with respect to the climate challenge.
