In 2023, Trialogue and the Corporate Secretaries International Association Limited (CSIA) co-authored a report entitled The Role of Corporate Secretaries in Embedding Sustainability in Organisations. The report, which draws on Trialogue’s integrated thinking approach, prepares corporate secretaries and governance leaders to champion sustainability initiatives within their organisations.
As the bridge between management and a company’s Board, corporate secretaries are uniquely placed to build capacity at board and management level to guide companies as they strengthen their governance frameworks for environmental, social and governance (ESG) reporting.
The report draws on insights from company secretaries and governance professionals from across the globe, which were gleaned in a survey conducted by CSIA members in August, along with a webinar focusing on the challenges and successes of integrating sustainability in organisations, which took place on the 28th of September.
The shifting role of corporate secretaries
Two-thirds of the survey respondents acknowledge the significant role company secretaries play in steering integration processes within organisations, with just under half of the respondents recognising that integrated thinking practices are needed to mature their organisation’s approach to sustainability and ESG. In fact, the corporate secretary is often viewed as the “conscience” of the board when it comes to embedding sustainability practice into a company.
A key role of the company secretary is to bring to the board’s attention practical ways in which resources can be directed towards ESG initiatives. The aim is to advance the sustainability agenda by providing guidance, raising awareness, and integrating ESG into the board’s agenda and subsequent annual workload.
ESG should be viewed as more of an opportunity than a risk, and even incorporating an ESG segment into a board pack, or integrating ESG components into director training and development, can help to establish ESG as an integral aspect of board operations.
Understanding how social and environmental capital contribute to value creation beyond compliance is important, as is understanding how to reshape a board’s outlook.
However, it is crucial to consider long-term risks and a broader perspective, which equips boards with a wider, more long-term view of the company’s sustainability.
The report notes that a corporate secretary’s role may be unclear if the business already has a head of sustainability, or a committee, devoted to integrating ESG within an organisation. In this case, a corporate secretary should be overseer and custodian of the agenda, while the ESG team presents essential information to the board for making pivotal decisions.
Conclusion
The report shows that integrated thinking allows corporate secretaries to identify opportunities for ESG integration within a company’s core business, which can create long-term sustainable value in the long term.
Corporate secretaries can:
- Adopt a systems view to better link business materiality, risk function and purpose;
- advocate for having structured processes in place to support a purpose;
- ensure clarity in data collection, including what data is collected, how it is gathered, and what impact it has on decision-making; and
- promoting process ahead of reporting.
ESG risks hold as much significance as any other business risk, and integrated thinking allows companies to understand and incorporate a broader range of business information, beyond just financial data, to drive the board’s decision-making processes and help to mitigate that risk.
Read the full report for further insights.