Ethical Leadership

For corporations, bold action on climate is already a must. Net-zero commitments – essentially, a promise to balance GHGs emitted with GHGs removed and/or avoided – are everywhere.

Over the coming weeks, we’ll continue to track significant racial equity announcements and actions from companies not captured in the first iteration of our Tracker here.

“The problems that are tearing at the fabric of American society require all of us – government, business and civic society – to work together with a common purpose.”

The EEO-1 form has rapidly become the gold standard of disclosure, and the numbers and metrics within it reveal a picture of the state of gender and racial diversity at America’s largest companies

Do companies that act ethically out perform their peers that lag behind?

2020 was a year that exposed a simple truth – that society’s shift to stakeholder capitalism is now an urgent necessity.

With Election Day less than a week away, and concerns of a contested election mounting, we expanded our recent polling asking Americans what role they think companies and corporate leaders should play in upholding and protecting democracy. 

With Election Day less than a week away, we built upon our recent polling and asked Americans what role they think companies and corporate leaders should play in upholding and protecting democracy.

Arguments in support of shareholder primacy and against stakeholder capitalism are out of sync with the voice of the American public, institutional investors, shareholders, and corporations themselves. 

We analyze how the BRT purpose statement signatories measure up to Americans’ expectations, and compare to other Russell 1000 companies.

Timed with the one-year anniversary of the Business Roundtable’s landmark redefinition of corporate purpose, we asked the public how they believe companies are doing in shifting from a myopic focus on shareholders to better serving the needs of all stakeholders. 

In response to an empowered Black Lives Matter movement, JUST is transparently auditing its pay equity, diversifying its board, and continuing to cover racial equity as part of its work, among several other actions.

We’ll unpack Humana’s stakeholder performance, long-term plan for sustainable value creation, response to COVID-19, and more.

Turning to the American public to ask them what they’d like to see from corporate America today – and particularly, how Black Americans want companies to act.

As many corporations begin to address the systemic inequity within their own organizations, this week’s chart shows that ethical leadership could connect to financial outperformance.

Jay Clayton, the nation’s top securities regulator, has been thrust into a political firestorm. Where does that leave the S.E.C.?

Now is the time for boards, investors, and other corporate leaders to revisit executive pay structures.

The second edition of our video series with Laurel Strategies and CNBC – Building a Just Future: The Road to a More Inclusive Economy. 

We encourage corporate leaders who have committed support to Black Americans to take these critical actions for their workers.

Leading companies support all their stakeholders, even when they’re not yet being rewarded in the market.

Business leaders have been acknowledging the racial divides that plague our society and economy. That’s an important step, and it is welcomed. But we need more.

We unpack the insights behind the Forbes Corporate Responders list.

Martin appears on CNBC to discuss the top issues employees and Americans believe companies should be focusing on, and which businesses are taking steps to effect real change.

“An auto company’s top priority right now is simple: survive,” said leading auto analyst Adam Jonas of Morgan Stanley.