Board level
Board advisory and corporate governance
Climate and ESG oversight now sits explicitly with the board. We work with directors and company secretaries so that oversight is real, documented, and proportionate to the business — rather than a paragraph in the governance report.
What the board is now expected to do
The HKEX ESG Reporting Code requires disclosure of the board's oversight of ESG and climate matters: how it is informed, how often, by whom, and how climate considerations feed decisions. The Corporate Governance Code adds expectations around board effectiveness and review. Together these move ESG from a management reporting exercise to a governance one.
Directors ask us reasonable questions that no framework answers directly. How much technical detail does a non-executive actually need? Which committee should own climate — audit, risk, or a dedicated sustainability committee? What does adequate oversight look like for a company of our size and sector? We give a view, and explain the trade-offs rather than reciting best practice.
Where we help
- Board and committee terms of reference covering ESG and climate oversight
- Board ESG and climate briefings, pitched for directors rather than specialists
- Board performance review and effectiveness assessment
- Reporting packs so the board receives decision-useful ESG information at the right intervals
- Governance disclosure drafting for the ESG and corporate governance reports
- Support for company secretaries managing the ESG reporting cycle
- Director-level briefings ahead of investor or analyst engagement on sustainability
Boards preparing for engagement with international investors and stakeholders consistently tell us that generic, machine-assembled material is the weak point. When a director is questioned directly by an overseas institutional investor, the depth of preparation shows immediately.
What the engagement includes
- Board and committee ESG governance structure design
- Terms of reference drafting and review
- Board briefing sessions on ESG and climate
- Board performance and effectiveness review
- Board reporting pack design and cadence
- Governance disclosure drafting
- Ongoing company secretarial support through the reporting cycle
Who this is for
Boards of HKEX-listed issuers; company secretaries managing ESG reporting; nomination and audit committees; boards preparing for a first year of mandatory climate disclosure; pre-IPO boards establishing governance.
Request a quotationCommon questions
Should climate sit with the audit committee, the risk committee or a new committee?
It depends on how your risk oversight is already structured and on where the expertise sits. Creating a sustainability committee to signal commitment can backfire if it becomes a place where climate is discussed instead of the risk committee. We look at your actual structure before recommending one.
What does a board performance review involve?
Typically structured questionnaires and confidential interviews across directors, an assessment of composition, information flow and meeting effectiveness, and a written report with recommendations. We have conducted these for listed companies supporting Corporate Governance Code compliance.
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Read moreReady to scope this?
Tell us your listing status and reporting year end. We come back with a defined scope, a fee and a realistic timeline — not a brochure.