Sustainability
Tenured Harvard Business School professor, now at Oxford University.
Speed is not always your friend. Sometimes it’s better to take the time to make the right decision than to rush to meet a false deadline. In this instance I am referring to the process to select the Chair of the “Sustainability Reporting Board” (SRB) which has been established under the European Financial Reporting Advisory Group (EFRAG). This is a very significant position to fill. I have no opinion on who should be selected and do not know the opinions of those who have a say in the matter. But I do know that a number of people have expressed concerns about the speed and lack of proper debate and scrutiny in this process, as well as in the process to develop the first draft standards that preceded it.
The reason I’m writing is to encourage the EU to have, and be perceived as having, a credible process for selecting the Chair of the SRB. Failure to do so will put both the standards they put forward and the EU’s “Green Deal” at risk. But this is not simply an EU issue. It is one that matters to the world. Thus, it is important to put the work of EFRAG in a broader context.
Robert G. Eccles of Saïd Business School, University of Oxford is the author of a number of books on integrated reporting, sustainability and the role of business in society. His focus is on sustainability from both a company and investor perspective. Professor Eccles is also involved in a variety of initiatives to embed environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues in real world decision making. One of these is the Sustainability Accounting Standards Board (SASB), of which he was the founding chairman. In 2018, Professor Eccles was selected by Barron’s as one of the top 20 influencers on ESG investing.
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