ISEQ 20 Companies are increasingly prioritising environment, social and governance (ESG) issues, with half of Ireland's top publicly-listed companies now including ESG metrics in remuneration policies for executive directors, Spencer Stuart Ireland has found.
The 2022 Ireland Spencer Stuart Board Index shows a 15% of firms have indicated that they would be revising their policies to include ESG metrics by the end of 2022.
The study found that 40% of ISEQ 20 boards now have an ESG or sustainability committee, while 65% of those analysed now have an executive specifically dedicated to leading sustainability.
Of the eight boards with an ESG or sustainability committee, five were newly established in 2021 or early 2022. A further 40% of boards highlight sustainability as a key competency for leadership appointments.
Commenting on the new report, Ruth Curran, managing partners of Spencer Stuart Ireland, said: “While ESG has been an established part of the board agenda for a while, the year-on-year changes in the data reflect a significant growth in the efforts being made to address ESG, and specifically sustainability at a board level.
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"Critically, we’re seeing that awareness and understanding of sustainability issues is now a core competency for boards. Companies are bringing fresh talent into both their executive and non-executive director roles and linking executive remuneration to delivery in this area.
"This is a trend we expect to continue in the coming years. This will be critical to delivering genuine ESG impact.”
Some 85% of ISEQ 20 companies appointed at least one new director to the board during the survey period, up from 55% a year earlier, and 17% of all non-executive directors were newly appointed to the role.
The proportion of women directors rose 10% year-on-year, with women now representing a third of all board members and all ISEQ 20 companies having at least one woman.
Some 55% of boards are now at least 30% women, but primarily in non-executive director roles. There are just five women serving as executive directors on the boards of ISEQ 20 companies, per the latest available data.
The proportion of foreign directors (both executive and non-executive) rose from 28% to 30%, demonstrating the increasing trend of internationalisation on Irish boards.
Each board now has at least one director from outside of Ireland, while three boards had at least one foreign executive director. Overall, the ISEQ 20 includes 14 nationalities, with directors from North America, South America and Europe.
"Boards are continuing to diversify, building on the positive momentum of the last few years," Curran said.
"Companies know that ensuring a multitude of perspectives is critical to their success in overcoming the complex challenges faced by businesses today and into the future.”
