ESG reporting has in recent years become an essential component of companies’ communications to investors and – increasingly – to other stakeholders, such as employees. It offers an opportunity to not only meet growing demands for transparency but also to set a company’s narrative agenda. Added to this, regulators around the world, from the SEC and California to the EU and beyond, are introducing reporting requirements around climate change.
HP has been ahead of the game in this field, having started to produce sustainability reports more than two decades ago. Its experience and expertise are evident and last year the company took home the prize for best ESG reporting (large cap) at the Corporate Governance Awards. (Submissions for this year’s awards are due by the end of August 2.)
In this episode of the Governance Matters podcast, we hear from Kirsty Stevenson, HP’s head of human rights and senior director of sustainable impact and compliance. Among other things, she talks about how ESG reporting is co-ordinated across the company from a governance perspective, the HP board’s role in overseeing ESG, key elements of a successful ESG reporting program and the importance of stakeholder engagement.
That engagement includes employees, investors, suppliers, customers, peer companies, public policy makers and non-governmental organizations. ‘We have seen that they help build our collective intelligence and help us to prioritize critical issues, as well as provide insights into emerging opportunities and risks that without stakeholder engagement just wouldn’t be possible,’ Stevenson says.
She also discusses HP’s preparations for compliance with the SEC’s climate risk disclosure rules: ‘We really believe we have a strong governance structure already in place to meet [the] rules. And, of course, we’ll adapt as [the rules play] out.’
The Governance Matters podcast provides listeners with insight into cutting-edge issues of the day for corporate secretaries, general counsel and other governance professionals. The series looks at how the roles of governance professionals and the board – as well as the landscape in which they operate – are evolving.
From ESG and entity management to shareholder engagement, regulation and technology, hear from governance experts and leading advisers about the latest public company governance matters.
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Ben Maiden
Ben Maiden is the editor-at-large of Governance Intelligence, an IR Media publication, having joined the company in December 2016. He is based in New York. Ben was previously managing editor of Compliance Reporter, covering regulatory and compliance...
