Governance

Governance encompasses all of the decisions that determine the culture, values, norms, and direction of an organization. A company’s business and behavioral goals are reflected in the way it is structured, the policies it adopts, and the plans it puts in place. The effectiveness of governance in reaching those goals is reflected in the actual practices, operations, and results of the business.

Good governance ensures accountability, fairness, and transparency in a company’s relations with internal and external stakeholders. It is the moral compass for a business.

A strong commitment to sustainability provides the context for a broader perspective of governance that balances the environmental, social, and economic impacts of a business. Decisions about distribution of revenue and how to make that balanced vision a reality follow. This does not mean that profits and shareholder return are ignored; they are just put in balance with other sustainability concerns and commitments.

What will I learn in this section?

Understanding governance topics is essential to creating the commitments and systems that will make a company more sustainable. Without support at a governance level, a sustainability program will fail to take hold. Efforts to take environmental, social, and economic considerations into account when making business decisions must be sanctioned and required at this level.

Understanding governance topics will help you to see where systems changes may be needed to steer your organization to a sustainable future.

Take a moment to look at the list of topics in the left navigation to learn what is covered in this section.