LONDON / CAMBRIDGE, UK. Wednesday 23rd April: The Climate Governance Initiative and Kantar today publish Empowering board directors to drive climate action, a global study of 240 independent board directors that provides a pulse-check on how well they are influencing sustainability practices in their organisations.
Influencing change
The findings highlight that while almost all board directors (96%) feel able to influence their organisation’s direction on climate change, almost nine in 10 (88%) are calling for new forms of leadership from the boardroom to address climate challenges. This includes a mindset shift on climate and adopting new leadership and collaboration techniques.
More than four in five independent board directors (84%) report that climate action is a mid-high priority on their board’s agenda, rising to 89% of chairpersons interviewed. Of the six countries surveyed, board members in the UK are most likely to be prioritising climate, with 94% saying it’s a mid-high priority (compared with 74% in the US.).
But despite average global temperatures rising to 1.5% above pre-industrial levels in 2024, for many organisations there is still work to be done on the climate transition, the research shows. Not only that, organisations are missing out on growth through sustainable action: more than half of organisations (52%) are not expected to publish a transition plan in the next 12 months, despite the vast majority of respondents (84%) saying that climate is an innovation opportunity for businesses.
While most respondents are optimistic about their ability to shape the climate conversation in their businesses, there are several high priority climate action areas they feel less able to influence. Value chain engagement and product and services development are the two areas with the biggest gap, reflecting a disconnect between board directors’ strategic ambition and their organisation’s implementation.
Gap between reported importance to board in coming year, and ability to influence (global)
Jonathan Hall, Executive Managing Director, Sustainable Transformation Practice, Kantar added: “It’s reassuring that board directors see the transition as critical to business resilience. However, their influence over activation areas like product development and value chain engagement is limited due to the nature of their roles. Addressing the widespread strategy-action gap is essential, alongside new forms of leadership, enhanced communications skills and a focus on sustainable growth and opportunity. And with the EU’s Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive still on the horizon, and reporting taking up so much airtime, it’s encouraging that board directors are still making strategy their top climate priority for 2025.”
Chapters drive climate impact
Board directors’ engagement with local Climate Governance Initiative Chapters does drive boardroom action on sustainability; a Chapter is a group of board directors in a specific country or region with a dedicated network, which aims to enable chairs, non-executive and independent directors to take climate action.
Some 44% of board directors report having taken action in the boardroom inspired by their engagement with local Chapters. This increases to 58% for those who have been members for over a year and to 76% of those who say they are highly engaged with their local Chapter. Actions taken include staying up to date on the latest climate risks and regulatory requirements (57%) and assessing materiality (35%).
Commenting on the study, Emily Farnworth, Executive Director, Climate Governance Initiative, said: “This study clearly demonstrates the transformative impact that engaged external board directors can have on their organisations’ response to the climate challenge. But many still feel unable to influence important elements of transition planning and delivery. Now’s the time for board directors to enhance their knowledge, build confidence and equip themselves with the skills they need to tackle the pressing climate challenges of our time.”
Read the full report ‘Empowering Board directors to drive climate action’ at https://hub.climate-governance.org/. Visit https://climate-governance.org/join-a-chapter/ to find out more about the Climate Governance Initiative and find a local Chapter.