Insights
Spencer Stuart: Stakeholder Voices in the Boardroom
The idea that corporations should be accountable not just to their shareholders but to a wider universe of stakeholders has rapidly gained traction. The global pandemic has amplified the need for businesses to secure a strong social license to operate. The confluence of an unprecedented health and economic crisis, the looming threat of climate change, and demands for business to address inequality and social injustice have catapulted stakeholder engagement to the top of the board agenda.
Stakeholder capitalism, the term used to describe this broadening remit for business, goes hand in hand with the environmental, social and governance (ESG) movement that is transforming the entire business landscape, let alone the fund management industry. A growing number of investors are taking an intense interest in how companies are dealing with the medium- to long-term risks posed by climate change and environmental degradation throughout the value chain, while joining calls for investee companies to play their part in building a more stable and just society.
Spencer Stuart evaluates what boards must do in order to keep their leaders accountable. The whitepaper outlines the following:
- Stakeholder engagement is a question of purpose
- Prioritizing the stakeholders that matter
- Listening to the voices that matter
- Stakeholders benefit from diverse boards