Climate Governance Initiative

Climate Governance Initiative Overview

The Climate Governance Initiative (CGI) is a project in collaboration with the World Economic Forum. It supports the growth of groups of board directors around the world to form networks, known as Chapters.

The core mission of the Chapters is to promote the implementation of the Principles for Effective Climate Governance published by the World Economic Forum in 2019 by mobilising, educating and equipping non-executive director members with the skills and knowledge necessary to address climate change at board level.

The 8 WEF Climate Governance Principles are:

Principle 3

Board structure

The board should implement the right board and committee structures to ensure that climate risks and opportunities are understood, managed and reported.

Principle 4

Material risk and opportunity assessment

The board should ensure that management fully identifies climate-related risks in the short, medium and long-term, assess their materiality, and takes appropriate action according to the materiality of the risks.

Principle 5

Strategic integration

The board should ensure that management factors material climate-related risks and opportunities into the company’s strategy, risk management process and investment decisions.

Principle 6

Incentivization

The board should align executives’ incentives with the long-term success of the business. This may include climate-related targets in executive incentive schemes.

Principle 7

Reporting and disclosure

The board should ensure that the company discloses its material climate-related risks, opportunities and strategic decisions to all stakeholders – especially investors and regulators. These disclosures should be included in financial reporting.

Principle 8

Exchange

The board should stay informed on current best practice in climate governance by maintaining dialogue with peers, policy-makers, investors and others.

The CGI Governing Board, chaired by an elected representative from a Chapter, sets the overall governance and direction of CGI. The CGI Governing Board comprises one World Economic Forum representative and elected representatives from the CGI network. The CGI Secretariat coordinates resources, originates some materials and events, as well as tracks and disseminates the activities of the various Chapters.

Climate Governance Initiative