Newsletter | Great challenges are best addressed as a community

Notes from the Council | Newsletter September 2022

The Council for Inclusive Capitalism exists because there is both a moral and a market imperative to work together to advance a more inclusive and sustainable economic system for the benefit of future generations. The most valuable companies of the future are those that recognize today that sustainability, inclusivity, and strong governance are critical to their bottom lines.

Since the Council for Inclusive Capitalism launched in 2020, it has grown from 25 private and public sector organizations to a global community of more than 300 CEOs. On our commitments platform, our members are taking more than 600 (and growing every day) concrete, measurable actions to practice capitalism in ways that meet the great inequality and climate challenges of our time. This platform is so powerful because of the ideas, impactful stories and lessons within it that can challenge and motivate us all.

Telling stories is one of the best ways that leaders have to share what they have learned and inspire others to push their boundaries. Hearing their experiences gives us an opportunity to dig deeper, and it can shape, strengthen, or challenge our perspective.

Today, the Council for Inclusive Capitalism is publishing our first annual magazine, Steps Forward, sharing just a few of these stories from our members. You can download the digital magazine below. I hope you will find inspiration in their work, and if you haven’t already, consider joining our growing network of leaders pursuing profit in ways that lead to a more inclusive and sustainable economy.

Lynn Forester de Rothschild
Founder and Co-Chair

Webinar: “Preparing for ‘S’ Disclosure”

Join the Council for Inclusive Capitalism, the Thomson Reuters Foundation, and Shift for a two-part webinar on September 13 and September 15 to help companies and investors prepare for the fast-changing ‘S’ in ESG disclosure landscape. These events are designed to provide clarity on developments and trends and to explore what good looks like in practice.

Part One: Preparing for ‘S’ Disclosure: Regulations and Standards on September 13 will explore evolving regulations and standards and will provide clarity on the scope of social disclosures and the characteristics of good ‘S’ metrics and indicators with featured guest speakers Clare Connellan, Partner at White & Case, Natalie Nicholles, Senior Director at Capitals Coalition, and Vincent Siegerink, Economist/Policy Analyst for the Centre for Well-being, Inclusion, Sustainability and Equal Opportunity at OECD.

Part Two: Preparing for ‘S’ Disclosure: Best Practices on September 15 will explore best practices for corporate ‘S’ disclosure and evolving investor evaluation of companies’ social performance with featured guest speakers from Equinor: Nikolaj Halkjaer Pedersen, Senior Manager for Human Rights, Principles for Responsible Investment; and Marte Johnsen Stensrud, Vice President for Human Rights and Social Responsibility.

Council members, please find an invitation to the event and link to register in your email inbox. For more information about attending this event, please contact Programs Manager Melissa Celestin at melissa@inclusivecapitalism.com.

A Q&A with Lynn Forester de Rothschild about pensions, ESG, and the future of capitalism

As pension managers seek prosperous retirements for their beneficiaries, should they also act to shape a healthier world for people to retire in? Lynn Forester de Rothschild speaks with Buyouts about the evolving power and priorities of pension funds, the managers of which direct the impact of more than $23 trillion invested in markets and portfolios across the globe.

“Thinking of pension systems only in terms of the stock price return may have worked in 1945. But in 2025, it might not be that simple,” she said. “Our climate has become more fragile and endangered. Our societies have become more divided.”

Read the full interview

💡 FT Opinion: Governments must seize the chance to transform our unsustainable energy systems

Writing for the Financial Times, Council for Inclusive Capitalism Co-Chair Mark Carney presents the crucial role the financial sector can play in the global energy transition by redeploying its formidable firepower in support of climate action.

“Current high energy prices are, in part, the product of energy policies that have been too timid. As a consequence, the burden of adjustment is falling on households, oil majors are amassing record-breaking windfall profits and progress on energy security and environmental sustainability is lagging. Turning this around requires bold actions by governments, companies and the financial sector.”

Carney highlights the mismatch between the “limited” action of most oil and gas companies, and urges investors to “redirect capital to companies with credible transition plans.” Read the full article in FT.

✅ U.S. Department of Commerce recommends job quality improvements

The Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism brings together leaders across the private, public and civic sectors to rethink how capitalism works and who it works for. It provides ideas and resources that shape public and corporate policies around the world.

The Coalition’s Framework for Inclusive Capitalism contributed key principles to the U.S. Department of Commerce’s recently released Job Quality Toolkit. The Toolkit outlines several drivers of job satisfaction that organizations can improve to grow employee engagement and the organization’s ability to compete for talent and achieve success in the marketplace. Download the Job Quality Toolkit.

The Framework for Inclusive Capitalism comprises 21 bipartisan policy recommendations for creating an economy that produces sustainable growth and social equity over the long term. Click below to learn more. Read the Framework.

📉 Steward action: First Balfour will establish emissions baseline to measure impact climate action

Construction and engineering company First Balfour is committed to addressing climate change and reducing its greenhouse gas emissions. To enable action, the company will establish an emissions baseline by the end of 2022.

Balfour will gather monthly emissions data including fuel, electricity, and water consumption as well as wastes generation from across all its engineering and construction operations in the Philippines. The new information on emission types, sources, and levels will allow First Balfour to begin crafting strategies in early 2023 to lower their emissions.

Explore more climate actions.

Ally resource: “What is DEI? Market Signals of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion”

Investors, and the corporations they invest in, increasingly want to do a better job of advancing “diversity, equity, and inclusion” (DEI). But there is much confusion among investors, companies, and standard setters about how to measure performance toward these goals. A new report from Council for Inclusive Capitalism Ally Rights CoLab analyzes the reporting metrics used by 21 influential organizations to reveal common core understandings of DEI, significant differences among understandings, and the capacity for current models to meet the objectives of global companies and investors. Key findings include:

• The frameworks considered place an emphasis on quantitative metrics, particularly in disclosures of recruitment, retention, and promotion rates.
• Expressed DEI goals are mainly concerned with an enterprise’s direct workforce, not workers in its supply chains or in the communities where the enterprise operates.
• Most frameworks do not capture the multiple identities that people hold — and the various forms of discrimination that individual workers may experience.

The report concludes with suggestions from the Rights CoLab team on suggestions for how enterprises can extend DEI strategies beyond the direct workforce to reduce risks for companies, workers, and communities throughout a company’s operations.

Download the report.

🤝 Welcome New Council Members

See all council members.

📰 Inclusive Capitalism in the News

Nasdaq | Board effectiveness is a foundational issue at every stage of the business

Ford Foundation | Darren Walker: Five years of mission investments. Our impact and lessons learned

bp | Bernard Looney: Iberdrola and bp to collaborate to accelerate EV charging infrastructure and green hydrogen production

Eni.com | Claudio Descalzi: Eni details the main outcomes and opportunities in the human rights field in its new report

Time Magazine | A better version of capitalism starts With board diversity

Nestlé | Mark Schneider: Nestlé launches ‘Nestlé Needs YOU,’ empowering the next generation to make their impact

AVPN | Naina Subberwal: Philanthropic leaders unite to launch new $1 million fund to close the gender gap in STEM

IR Magazine | ESG in transition: Can sustainability still save the world?

Daily CSR | Punit Renjen: Deloitte announces new asset roadmap to mitigate climate change related challenges

Investment Week | 65 firms join PRI in calling for global baseline of sustainability disclosure requirements

WVXU Cincinnati Edition | Audrey Treasure: How some Greater Cincinnati business leaders want to make capitalism work better for us all