A public health crisis often leads to regulatory changes, as well as shifts in cultural expectations and human behaviour. What can companies do to mitigate the worst impacts of a major crisis? There are several areas for board members and company executives to consider.

ConocoPhillips has improved its climate policies, practices and disclosures to help assure investors of its preparation towards the low-carbon economy. EOS has engaged with the company to achieve best practice and communicate this publicly.

In 2010, Duke Energy adopted its first carbon dioxide emissions reduction target – it planned to reduce emissions 17% below the 2005 levels by 2020. The Clean Power Plan (CPP) was finalised in 2015 by the US Environmental Protection Agency, targeting power generation emissions reductions of 32% by 2030 relative to 2005. The Supreme Court stayed the CPP’s requirements in early 2016 and it was never implemented.

Ping An has made substantial progress on managing climate change and disclosing its approach to AI governance. This case study explores how Hermes EOS has engaged with the company on these topics since 2017.

Why do we engage on the SDGs, when these are policy goals and not always directly applicable to companies? Our view is that the long-term success of business is inextricably linked to that of the goals.

In the summer of 2014, its board made the decision to appoint a new CEO, which we viewed positively, as the retailer had been underperforming, leading to a series of profit warnings. In addition, in September 2014, the business announced that it had identified an overstatement of profits, principally due to the accelerated recognition of commercial income and delayed accrual of costs. The company’s new management identified three immediate priorities, namely regaining competitiveness in its core UK business, protecting and strengthening the balance sheet and rebuilding trust and transparency with key stakeholders. In the UK, it reset its target margins significantly and embarked on a far-reaching turnaround programme to reverse negative like-for-like sales growth and market share loss. It also initiated extensive restructuring, with large UK property write-downs and the sale of a number of assets, including its South Korean business.