It may not be the first thing that comes to mind when you think of ESG, but governance has an important role to play in the wellbeing and mental health of your staff.

Governance is crucial to embedding ESG in decision-making and avoiding the creation of conflicting policies.

A change in market sentiment on ESG has seen fund inflows fall. But new legislation and regulation of ESG rating agencies could arrest the current backlash by firming up ESG criteria and helping companies demonstrate compliance with good, objective, ESG criteria.

For ESG initiatives to thrive, the need to be led by individuals with the right mix of specialist knowledge and broad business experience.

Companies need to understand how investors and stakeholders use their ESG data to make sure that it is communicated in the most effective way.

Governance professionals in 2021 will be focusing their attention primarily on Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) matters, remote working risk, climate change and diversity this year, according to a poll by ICSA: The Chartered Governance and governance recruitment specialist The Core Partnership. Of these, ESG is seen as the top priority, with the majority of respondents stating that it would be the biggest area of governance focus for 2021.

Diligent Institute set out to understand why environmental sustainability issues are elevated to the board level.

As a result of being easier to measure and less likely to conflict with profit making, the E of ESG has dominated efforts – it’s time for the S to claim its place at the centre of this acronym.

The Red Sea Project which is being developed on the Saudi Arabian Red Sea coast by The Red Sea Development Company took the award for ‘ESG Initiative of the Year’ at The Chartered Governance Institute UK & Ireland’s 2021 Awards at the London Park Lane Hilton Hotel last night. The Awards, which were hosted by BBC Breakfast presenter and Strictly Come Dancing contestant Dan Walker, recognise those individuals, teams, projects and initiatives that help organisations to better serve their stakeholders and society through innovative and exemplary governance.