Category: News

ICGN Investor Viewpoint: The assurance of sustainability reporting

This Viewpoint starts with a guide to understand assurance of sustainability reporting, before setting out investors’ expectations on the preparation of sustainability reporting, and on the quality of external assurance. Finally, it presents some questions investors may ask company boards, as part of their stewardship dialogue.

Convening global stakeholders in London to focus on governance

Global investors, advisors and corporates will convene in London this month for the International Corporate Governance Network’s (ICGN) Annual Conference, taking place on 15-17 July 2024. Led by investors responsible for assets under management of around US$77 trillion, ICGN advances the highest standards of corporate governance and investor stewardship worldwide.

ICGN Investor Viewpoint: The governance of controlled companies

There are a number of different models of company equity ownership; while many companies are widely held by a large number of different shareholders, many others have more concentrated ownership. According to the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD), today’s equity markets have two key characteristics: the prevalence of concentrated ownership in listed companies and a wide variety of ownership structures across countries; […] the ownership landscape has changed into something that no longer fits the assumption of a dispersedly owned equity

Assurance of sustainability reporting – what do investors need to be thinking about?

It might not be the most glamorous topic, but audit and assurance are unsung heroes of corporate governance.

If investors want to be able to use sustainability-related financial information in a similar way to traditional financial reporting, to fully integrate it into investment decisions and stewardship activities, then we need companies to prepare it in a similar way. Companies need to have appropriate processes and controls in place, with good governance oversight and sign off from the board, and we need high quality assurance of that information to build trust in the data.

Follow-up of Japan’s Stewardship Code and Japan’s Corporate Governance Code

Led by investors responsible for assets under management of $77 trillion, ICGN is a global authority on the highest standards of corporate governance and investor stewardship. These standards are defined in ICGN’s Global Governance Principles and Global Stewardship Principles. As such, our commentary is based on these standards, together with ICGN’s Japan Governance Recommendations.

ICGN Member Consultation: Proposed Revisions to the ICGN Global Stewardship Principles

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ICGN Member Consultation: Proposed Revisions to the ICGN Global Stewardship Principles

Will Farrell

Federated Hermes
Assistant Manager, EOS
London

Will co-leads the climate change theme at EOS, the stewardship arm of Federated Hermes Limited, where his coverage includes companies in Europe and Australia, primarily financial services, energy, chemicals, and materials. Prior to joining EOS, Will worked in the energy and infrastructure investment banking team at Macquarie Capital, where he specialised in renewable energy. Before that, Will held a number of roles across the UK climate policy space, including as a parliamentary researcher for Rt. Hon. Chris Skidmore MP on climate and energy issues, and as a climate and economic policy analyst at a diplomatic institute. He was appointed as a voluntary adviser to Rt. Hon. Alok Sharma MP, President of COP26, on preparations for COP26 after co-founding a Westminster climate policy group in 2019, which engaged MPs and Members of the House of Lords to advocate for more ambition on climate action in public policy. Will has a Bachelor’s degree (1st Class Honours) in Economics from the London School of Economics and Political Science.