For the past few years, the GECN Group has published research on global trends in corporate governance, including Seven Lessons from Engaged Investors, published in 2019. This year, our Global trends research entitled, “2021 Global Trends in Stakeholder Incentives” focuses on the efforts companies are making to incorporate the interests of stakeholders into their incentive plans. The research is timely given the global COVID-19 pandemic and the accelerating effect this has had on ESG matters. In early 2020, two of the world’s largest global asset managers, State Street Global Advisors and BlackRock, threatened to vote against directors and divest from companies with poor stakeholder disclosures. This continues to signal a real financial cost for companies who fail to have and disclose a compelling stakeholder strategy. Further, the COVID-19 pandemic has forced many companies to examine the balance between financial performance and non-financial performance, as well as how to take into account stakeholder interests, including those of employees, customers, suppliers, and the communities in which they operate.
As a result we are pleased to present this report which analyzes the extent to which objectives pertaining to stakeholders are making their way into executive incentive plans.