The Board’s Role in Sustainability: A new framework for getting directors behind ESG efforts

Although most CEOs now recognise that ESG issues should inform their corporate strategy, corporate boards continue to be a source of friction when it comes to linking corporate purpose to strategy and performance. To address this, Rupert Younger - the director of the Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation and the chair of the Enacting Purpose Initiative - created the SCORE framework. This framework outlines five actions that can help boards to articulate their purpose and embed it within their organisation's value proposition. These actions include Simplifying your purpose and making it straightforward; Connecting to strategy and capital allocation decisions; taking Ownership of purpose; Rewarding executives appropriately by linking compensation with purpose; and Exemplifying purpose in both quantitative and qualitative terms.