Experts from the OECD and the business community recommended that companies promote sustainability and investor confidence at a webinar on the G20 and OECD Corporate Governance Principles (see EUROPE 13247/3) organised by the International Federation of Accountants (IFAC), the European Confederation of Directors’ Associations (ecoDa) and Business at OECD (BIAC) on Wednesday 20 September.
An international benchmark in corporate governance, these principles have recently been revised to include a new ‘Sustainability and Resilience’ chapter.
According to the experts invited to the webinar, this revision marks a turning point for corporate governance. “The revised principles have an emphasis on sustainability, on risk management, on improved transparency, and have profound implications for all businesses today”, said Dan Konigsburg, Chair of BIACs Corporate Governance Committee. “They pave the way for more market confidence and guide us on a path towards sustainable growth”, he continued. He called on companies and boards of directors to become more involved in ensuring that the principles have a positive impact.
For Carmine di Noia, Director for Financial and Enterprise Affairs at the OECD, the commitment of the private sector is crucial to promoting good governance.
Odile de Brosses, Director of Legal Services at the Association française des entreprises privées (AFEP), welcomed the OECD’s proposed revision. “This chapter is really key for attracting investors and ensuring the proper functioning of the of capital markets”, she commented.
She also welcomed the recent European standards for non-financial reporting, set out in the ‘Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive’ (CSRD) (see EUROPE 13243/22). “These European directives seek to enhance the reliability accessibility relevance of financial Information to facilitate stakeholders judgment in terms of sustainability”, she said.
She did, however, criticise a number of aspects of the directive, including the lack of time allowed for implementation. (Original version in French by Anne Damiani)