Investor Climate Dialogue Checklist

In brief: In recent years, investors have increasingly engaged boards on issues pertaining to climate change. With this consideration in mind, NACD has developed a comprehensive checklist of what directors should know before speaking with investors about climate change. Learn more about how best to discuss climate change with investors, how best to answer questions regarding the company’s climate change approach, and the steps that your board can take to avoid raising red flags.

This checklist can help your board to

• prepare for discussions with investors on topics surrounding climate change,

• strategize the best communication tactics when discussing climate change mitigation efforts with investors, and

• avoid raising red flags.

Most relevant audiences: Board members, ESG committee chairs and members, sustainability committee chairs and members, risk committee chairs and members

The focus on the board’s compensation committee has never been sharper. The components of compensation plans and the link between compensation and company performance are under intense scrutiny from shareholders, employees, policymakers, the media, and other stakeholders. The Report of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on the Compensation Committee revisits NACD’s 2003 Report of the NACD Blue Ribbon Commission on Executive Compensation to highlight the new environment in which compensation committees—and, more broadly, boards—are now operating. It recommends that the compensation committee and board work together to establish an executive compensation philosophy that supports the company in creating long-term, sustainable value.

The report includes ten specific recommendations for compensation committees to consider when evaluating their compensation philosophies. It also provides practical tools, such as sample compensation committee charters, a compensation committee assessment, and guidance on executive employment contracts.