The Dam Breaks
We’ve been highlighting the area of corporate political contributions this past year and are delighted with this news: it’s a large stride in the direction of robust self-governance.
While suspending PAC contributions is a first step, it would be useful to also know if these firms are still funding their multitude of lobbyists, the ‘soft power’ utilised, and for which agendas. A cynic might note that many of the tech corporates normally suspend PAC funding in the first quarter anyway, especially with a new administration taking over.
It’s also worth monitoring to see how these commitments develop over time. This is also a wake-up call for investors and boards in an area that’s been in the background for some time, but will now be poured over by many.
Apple Will Modify Executive Bonuses Based on Environmental factors in 2021
A respectable down payment by Apple towards incorporating ESG principles in the short term pay (cash bonuses) of its executives. This is clearly only a first step and needs to be developed and then iterated. However, this is exactly the kind of innovation in governance leadership that we’ve been advocating for at Creating Future Us. We will be adding this, with others, to our Governance Toolkit.
How to Deal With China
Whether on the digital fronts, where China has established a surveillance state with social credit scoring, or more widely: the West, its investors, and companies will increasingly be asked to discern their way through a murky set of trade-offs. The Economist has presented an interesting trifecta to consider: confronting China on human rights, competing in most areas of trade, and co-operating on health and climate change. The new world order is emerging and ESG investors will have challenging choices to consider, especially on the digital front.
Venture Capital Hits Record High in US in 2020 Despite Pandemic
The ‘Winner Takes All’ business model we flagged in Governance Rebooted is now being borne out by investment facts: “”What we’re seeing is a ‘rich get richer’ phenomenon where successful, high momentum technology companies are vacuuming up most of the financing,” CB Insights chief executive Anand Sanwal told Reuters by email.” This can lead to less competition, with declining innovation and an unhealthy business landscape.
More Than 200 Google Workers Form a Union
A shot across the bows at Google parent, Alphabet, and a first at a tech firm. More than 225 employees have signed on to a labor union, and as with all things tech, it’s innovating the purpose of such a union: “Our history is that labor unions fight for people who are being exploited unfairly. This is not exactly that,” Freeman said. “It’s more that employees want a bigger voice in the sort of non-monetary things that they really care about.” In other words, they want to weigh in on Digital Age ESG.