ESG and Geopolitics @ Lille University School of Management (IAE Lille)
Hey there, fellow disrupters and ESG change-leaders,
🏫 Earlier this week, I had an awesome opportunity to chat at the Lille University School of Management (IAE Lille) about the juicy mix of Geopolitics and ESG with Professor Karima Bouaiss and Henri J. Citroën. 🚘
Talking with the PhD crowd was seriously mind-opening. We tackled some pretty intense topics🌴....
ESG & Executive Pay: We dove into how effective ESG-related bonuses are for execs in pushing sustainability. Honestly, it feels like a no-brainer to tie exec bonuses to real sustainability goals, integrating ESG KPIs across all departments like Procurement, Finance, ESG, and Marketing. But are we really hitting those targets if we're still missing the Paris Agreement goals? If we hit 90% of our targets each year BUT still miss the Paris Agreement goals, we need to rethink our ambitions.
The ideal Corporate Governance structure for ESG: Should the ESG committee stand alone or team up with the audit or strategy committee? Merging ESG committees with Audit or Strategy committees is becoming common. But are board members ready for this? Polls suggest they might not be, so there’s a lot of catching up to do.
Geopolitics and New Commodities: The geopolitical consequences of shifting from Oil & Gas to new commodities like nickel, lithium, copper, and rare earths, especially given China's control over 90% of these resources. Shifting from Oil & Gas gives China a lot of power. No matter how you feel about China, my grandma always said, "Don’t put all your eggs in one basket." So we definitely need a strategic approach to ESG. New resources could mean new trade friends and new risks. It’s not about repeating past mistakes but about building fair and lasting partnerships with trade partners. Making the switch might be tough, but for a durable future, it’s the only way.
Pricing Future ESG KPIs: Balancing E, S, and G is critical since not all ESG KPIs will progress at the same pace. How do we decide the value of future ESG trade-offs? Is the "E" (environment) as important as the "S" (social)? Balancing these is tough, and future profitability will likely drive which KPIs get the spotlight.
Choosing ESG KPIs: Which ESG KPIs should we prioritize, and which can we let slide? Who's in charge of these decisions—shareholders? This is a critical question that needs clear answers.
CSRD Data: Can future data help us better understand the link between sustainability and market cap? It's a possibility we’re excited about.
🤓 The answers aren't clear yet, but it’s super exciting to see so many bright PhDs ready to help us steer through the sustainability transition.
🚀🚀🚀
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