66% say investor demand driving sustainable boardroom change

TORONTO, ON, CANADA, February 15, 2023 /EINPresswire.com/ -- The vast majority (95%) of business leaders and board directors believe that sustainability plays an important or very important role in shaping successful future boardrooms. That’s according to a new series of Competent Boards LinkedIn polls and a companion white paper that examined five key areas of focus for company board directors.

Two-thirds (66%) of poll respondents cited investor demand as the key driver of sustainable change in boardrooms. Other critical factors noted by respondents include: regulations; customer, employee and stakeholder demands; and board members’ fiduciary duty.

“Our poll results clearly show that knowledge of and insights into environmental, social and governance (ESG) risks and opportunities are not just a nice-to-have, they are a must-have for future board directors,” said Helle Bank Jorgensen, Founder and CEO of Competent Boards. “Proactively shaping future boardrooms by choice — not by chance — will be a mighty but critical challenge for all companies. Our data is helping organizations create their roadmap towards that transition.”

Board directors today face a polycrisis like never before from factors such as geopolitical volatility, climate change, the increasing cost of living, and global pandemics. Additionally, leaders are contending with increasing stakeholder and regulatory demands.

Competent Boards’ nascent Future Boardroom™ initiative is gaining buzz around the world, particularly since the World Economic Forum’s annual meeting in Davos last month, where CEO Ms. Bank Jorgensen drove discussion around the key issues facing current and aspiring board members. This innovative initiative continues to gather insight from a wide range of global experts that will help board directors and senior business leaders plan for and navigate the journey to the boardrooms of tomorrow. Key issues include:

How will this transition impact directors, companies and society as a whole?
What or who will accelerate the changes?
What are the best- and worst-case risk scenarios?
How can we enable leaders to make the best and most innovative decisions?

The Future Boardroom™ welcomes participation from business executives and board directors from around the world. Competent Boards will continue to poll those leaders and report findings, as well as curate the latest and leading information on the issues of importance to boards.

Poll methodology and presentation
Competent Boards gathered data via five polling questions on its LinkedIn page. The results came from just under 350 responses, mainly drawn from board directors and other senior business executives. Ms. Bank Jorgensen will be sharing these results as part of a panel discussion at GreenBiz 23 in Scottsdale, AZ, on February 16.

About The Future Boardroom™
The Future Boardroom™ is a Competent Boards initiative that brings together the business leaders of today and tomorrow, who have the insight and influence to design the blueprint for future boardrooms. Leaders are asked to share their questions, concerns, views, and wisdom. For more information on this new collaboration platform, please sign up for updates.

About Competent Boards
Competent Boards is the original and world-leading provider of online environment, social, governance (ESG), climate and biodiversity education programs for board directors, senior business leaders and investors across the globe. The faculty who deliver the programs comprises many of the world’s top board members, C-suite executives, investors and other experts. Program alumni represent 50 countries around the world. Competent Boards was founded by Helle Bank Jorgensen, who is also the author of the Amazon bestseller, Stewards of the Future: A Guide for Competent Boards. Visit CompetentBoards.com for more information.

Mathew Loup
Competent Boards
+1 604-782-2351
mathew.loup@competentboards.com