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COP26 and the boardroom: What’s next?
16 Plays4 years ago
The upcoming COP26 meeting is likely to have far-ranging implications for businesses across many sectors. Listen to Mark Tucker, Chair of HSBC, Nicola Brewer, NED at Iberdrola SA, and Emily Farnworth, Co-Director at the Centre for Climate Engagement, as they explore the critical role that non-executive directors and boardrooms have to play in the coming global transition. This session was hosted by Chapter Zero, an organisation dedicated to helping non-executive directors lead discussions on climate change.
To find out more about HSBC’s Business Plan for the Planet, click here
Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.
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Transcript
Introduction to HSBC Global Viewpoint
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This is HSBC Global Viewpoint, your window into the thinking, trends and issues shaping global banking and markets.
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Join us as we hear from industry leaders and HSBC experts on the latest insights and opportunities for your business.
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A heads up to our listeners that this episode has been recorded remotely, therefore the sound quality may vary.
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Thank you for listening.
Focus on ESG and Sustainability
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Welcome to the Business Plan for the Planet podcast, a series centered around ESG insights.
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In these episodes, you'll hear from experts whose work is at the heart of sustainability-linked trends and opportunities, as well as from businesses that are delivering change for a better future for us all.
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Join us as we shine a spotlight on their commitment to a sustainable future.
Emily Farnworth on COP26 Engagement
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Hello everyone.
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Welcome to this Chapter Zero session on COP26.
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And we're going to be hearing about what this means in boardrooms.
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My name is Emily Farnworth.
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I'm co-director of the Centre for Climate Engagement, working closely with Chapter Zero to support non-exec directors in helping them to understand some of the opportunities and challenges that they can bring into the boardroom.
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I'm joined today by the chair of HSBC, Mark Tucker, and Nicola Brewer, who's a non-executive director on the board of Iberdrola.
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And we're going to be discussing really kind of what boards around the country and also around the world should be expecting and hoping for from the upcoming COP.
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Just for those of you that are not familiar, Chapter Zero is working with UK non-exec directors.
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They have now over 1,700 members and looking to really ensure that those non-executive directors have the right tools, the right information, the right support from their peer group that they need to bring the climate action agenda into the boardroom.
Climate Champions and Net Zero Goals
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But the conversation today is very much one of those conversations where we're wanting to really understand the insights from boards and as they're thinking about the next stages for planning towards a net zero transition.
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So thank you again, Mark and Nicola, for joining us.
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Just before we kind of dig into the questions, just a reflection.
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I mean, you are very much both climate champions in your boards.
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How would you describe yourself in that role?
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And Mark, maybe take you first.
HSBC's Climate Leadership and Board's Role
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Thank you.
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Good to be here this morning.
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We see ourselves that as the board, right across the board, that being a climate champion is essential.
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And fundamentally, the reason we've
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adopted at HSBC a leadership position is because we believe that getting to net zero is tied to the future of the planet, tied to our clients' futures and tied to our own future.
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And we do want to be successful and we understand that we need to change, adapt, invest, innovate.
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and really look to seize the opportunities that Net Zero presents.
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All of our directors understand the importance of climate change and the need for businesses to drive their own transitions.
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But they also recognize that there's a need to be up to speed on climate issues.
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And that's an essential part of their role.
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And it's needed for them to do their jobs to the best of their abilities.
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and as one of the expectations that we have of them as an organization.
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And the Labber member can not only the non-executive, but clearly for us, the executive, I think it's definitely worth noting that one of the key board champions is our global chief executive, Noel Quinn, who, as well as leading the work on our own net zero ambitions, chairs the financial services group of 11 global banks.
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operating under the Sustainable Markets Initiative from His Royal Highness the Prince of Wales.
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And this is part of the group, the Glasgow Financial Alliance for Net Zero or GFAN.
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So not only executive, but non-executive and the whole board see this as critical to our current and our future.
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Yeah, such an important thing to connect across the whole board.
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And Nicola, what's your perspective as a climate champion on your board?
Iberdrola's Wind Power Leadership at COP26
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Pretty much like Mark and HSBC for Iberdrola, because it's the world's number one producer of wind power.
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It's absolutely natural for everybody on the board, whether non-exec like me or the executives, or indeed the workforce, to feel that they are climate champions.
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It's absolutely central.
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to the strategy and the approach.
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Before Iberdola, I was on the board of one of its subsidiaries, Scottish Power.
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And the role it's playing as a principal partner at COP26 is very much about being a champion outside the boardroom as well as inside.
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So it's great to be associated with that.
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I'd add three things, one of which is similar to a point Mark made about a responsibility to educate yourself, to make sure you're keeping up with all of the latest trends.
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I think as a climate change champion, that's really important.
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So getting your head around not only TCFD, but the forthcoming NFRD as well, for example, or the difference between green and blue hydrogen.
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Secondly, being a really active member, in my case, of the Bidola Sustainable Development Committee.
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So you get to see and comment on all of the key ESG reports going to the board in advance.
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And thirdly, I hope I'm able to make a bit of a contribution because I know something about the COP process from the governmental side.
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So back in 2001, I was a member of the UK delegation.
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to the COP in Berlin.
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Thank you both.
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Well, I mean, that tees off the first question I was going to ask quite nicely, because it is to do with COP26 in November in Glasgow.
Urgency for Ambitious Climate Policies
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Mark, to you first, what do you hope will come out of this?
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And also sort of in the context of the private sector, you know, what will that mean as sort of next step?
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Clearly, the build-up to COP26 has been a significant one, and I feel, and I think...
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It's felt widely that there's now a sense of real urgency and the recent IPPC report sounding the alarm and sounding that alarm even more clearly that time is running out for us to keep up with the
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within 1.5 degrees centigrade of warming.
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And COP26, as we know, is framed by the so-called race to zero, which means net zero by 2050 and halving global emissions by 2030.
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And in addition to the push to see countries align on these targets, we expect some big announcements on coal, on internal combustion engine phase-outs, on carbon markets, on
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deforestation, all of which will have a significant effect on business.
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The public-private side, I think the most encouraging feature of the upcoming COP is that it will be the first time that the public sector and private sector come together really to find the solutions that we need to tackle climate change.
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We've seen net zero commitments made by some of the
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the largest economies, largest countries in the world, and over 3,000 global companies across many different sectors.
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And that's a terrific platform.
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That's a strong platform for us to build on.
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But I think everybody understands, and the IPPC report, I think, was a further alarm to this, was that we need to go further and faster.
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And for us, the vast majority of our clients want to transition or at the very least understand the need and are starting to thinking about it.
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And they recognize that we've reached a tipping point socially, scientifically, politically.
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Our job now is to help ensure there's sufficient funding in place.
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So COP26 is an opportunity to set more ambitious policies in place that will clearly move the needle on carbon emissions with every country.
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This is both developed economies and emerging markets, doing it in a way that hasn't been done before and doing it in a way that has global scale.
Private and Public Sector Roles in Climate Transition
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Yeah, thank you, Mark.
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And I think that sort of point around looking forward to some more ambitious commitments and rather actual policies coming out from government will be really interesting to see.
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Nicola, from your perspective, what are you hoping to see?
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Well, totally agree with Mark's stress on urgency.
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I think it was the UN Secretary General who said that that report that came out in August was a code red warning.
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We're actually on track to a 16% increase in carbon emissions by 2030 when we need a 45% decrease.
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That's pretty stark.
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I'd like to see some more really concrete, really specific medium term, by which I mean 2030 targets.
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in addition to being really ambitious for 2050.
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I'd like to see more ambition in many of the nationally determined contributions from everybody, but from the G20.
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And I totally agree with what Mark said about this is a public-private partnership.
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So there are some commitments that non-state actors need to make as well.
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One other thing I would add is I'd like to see real commitment with deadlines to meeting it.
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for financing, financing for developing countries, maybe even going beyond that $100 billion that has been talked about before.
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Yeah, thank you for that.
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I think it's so important, this urgency piece and this sort of short-term goals are becoming more and more important.
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And just on that note, where do you think it is that
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the private sector can move ahead on delivering on some of those short-term goals?
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What should we be expecting to see both from the financing and delivery side?
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And what do you think it's going to really require governments to intervene to help with?
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Mark, from your perspective on a financing side of things, what's your thoughts on that?
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Emily, as you say, it's clearly significant roles for both the private and the public sector.
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I think for the private sector side, I mean, the first thing to say is that we're all ultimately responsible for making our own transition.
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No one's going to do it for us.
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And we have to take a country by country, sector by sector and company by company approach.
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to determine, I think, what is both reasonable and achievable while remaining, as we've said already, both ambitious and science-led.
00:11:05
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And here it gets complex.
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Factors like size, like sector, like ownership, like business model, like current emission levels all come into play and are clearly location too.
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And, you know, we have a particular...
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focus on some of the emerging markets and emerging markets are on a whole more dependent on fossil fuels in today's energy mix and more vulnerable to the to the impacts of climate change i mean that's not a an excuse we we need to to be ambitious and every firm needs to have a climate transition plan aligned to a net zero future or be in the process of preparing one
00:11:47
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So the private sector, significant role.
00:11:51
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Governments, too, have a critical role.
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They've got to continue to help create the environment to encourage, and I think, where necessary, incentivize and ultimately demand change.
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And governments have also an important role to play in creating demand signals for new technologies and solutions.
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And I think you know well, the UK government and many others have announced the phasing out of the ICE, of the internal combustion engine.
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But another example which I think is helpful is requiring airlines to include a percentage of sustainable aviation fuel within their overall fuel mix.
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would help create the demand to enable sustainable fuel refineries to be built.
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And this itself will help drive technological developments.
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Smart regulation, lastly, is also crucial at the macro level.
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We've got to get a robust global minimum carbon price.
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That clearly would have a big impact.
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And the market still can't price in the negative impact of emissions.
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But getting all countries to agree on this is enormously challenging.
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And at a micro level, blended finance is vital.
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We've got to use public funds on green infrastructure projects, using them clearly de-risks from the perspective of the private sector and attracts investment.
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And there's a virtuous investment cycle.
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And certainly we're working with the Climate Policy Initiative and the OECD to find ways to do this.
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Lastly, I think we'd want to see governments publish sector transition targets and capacity targets for scaling up low-carbon solutions, effectively to incentivise market action, looking to catalyse the whole transition process.
Sector-specific Initiatives and Policies
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Thank you, Mark.
00:13:53
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And I think this point around, you know, there are many things that governments can do beyond just sort of hard regulation.
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And this point around demand signals and sort of showing transition plans is actually quite helpful for companies to plan and for that market signal to be given.
00:14:10
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So, that's a really useful point.
00:14:13
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Nicola, from your side, from your perspective, what would you like to add?
00:14:17
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Well, I'm in violent agreement with all the points that Mark has made.
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I do think that looking at this sector by sector is really important.
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And I think some of the examples Mark gave in the transport sector, transport is responsible for 22% of emissions.
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And I think that sector and the companies in that sector are responsible.
00:14:37
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will be wanting to get really serious about what they can do.
00:14:42
Speaker
I mean, there's a whole, there's a lot that business can do for itself, looking at its approach, the risk management, strategic integration, reporting disclosure, voluntary and mandatory, the more difficult area of pre-competitive collaboration.
00:14:57
Speaker
There's a lot that they can do.
00:14:59
Speaker
I would say, you know, all companies need to get their heads around their scope two and three initiatives, not just their direct
00:15:06
Speaker
emissions.
00:15:08
Speaker
And I heard one investment manager recently talking about the TCFD reports, or essentially companies transition reports.
00:15:15
Speaker
And Otto was presented that way, but that's essentially one of the tools they can use.
00:15:22
Speaker
I think for government,
00:15:26
Speaker
those sort of three broad things that the private sector looks for, a stable and predictable policy framework, a regulatory framework that is absolutely fully aligned with the carbon neutral goals, and then the kind of demand signals and the investment signals that you and Mark were talking about.
00:15:47
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And I would say, in particular, things like
00:15:50
Speaker
For example, the infrastructure, the charging infrastructure for electric vehicles.
00:15:56
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And then something a little bit more specific in terms of government negotiations.
00:16:01
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I think at this COP, they really need to conclude the Paris rule book, especially on carbon markets, which Marcus touched on.
HSBC's Client Transition Approach
00:16:09
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Absolutely.
00:16:10
Speaker
Well, you've touched on a couple of really important things there, but Mark, I just want to kind of dig in a little bit more to this point around net zero transition plans.
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Speaker
And from your perspective, and also in the context of the conversation going on in the boardroom about sort of risk and opportunity, what's kind of credible for you when you're looking at clients who are presenting some of these plans?
00:16:32
Speaker
I mean, I think what is critical here that –
00:16:36
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Investment, not divestment, is really key to our whole climate plan.
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And it's fundamental that we want to help our clients to transition.
00:16:47
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Again, as I said earlier, I think it's good for them and good for the planet.
00:16:53
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And if we divest our heavy emitting clients, which we could do, which would be the easiest way for us to get to net zero quickly is just divest heavy emitting clients.
00:17:05
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But doing so would starve important sectors, geographies and societies of transition investment or force them to look for funding elsewhere.
00:17:17
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And elsewhere, maybe those less focused on transition.
00:17:22
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And effectively, all you're doing is brushing the problem under the carpet.
00:17:27
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So helping our clients transition is the most significant contribution we can make to tackling climate change, effectively helping finance the transition to net zero.
00:17:37
Speaker
And we've said publicly that we expect to provide somewhere between 750 billion and a trillion dollars of financing by 2030 to enable this to happen.
00:17:48
Speaker
So we're not just, these are not just words, we're putting substantial capital and monies behind that.
00:17:56
Speaker
And as I said earlier, I think it's important to recognize that HSBC has a huge footprint in emerging economies, where if you look at the next three decades, 90% of
00:18:10
Speaker
of the emissions nine zero percent of the emissions growth in the next three decades is expected to come from the emerging markets and if the world has any chance of not overshooting 1.5 degrees centigrade then finance financing the transition transition at scale in these economies is is key and what we've done we've started the process of working with our clients sector by sector on their transition plans we want to put uh transition at the forefront of the of the conversations we want to develop
00:18:41
Speaker
and help develop tailored financing solutions to accelerate transition.
00:18:46
Speaker
And I think we're not, again, naive in this either, Emily.
00:18:51
Speaker
We know this means a transformation of our own organization, our capabilities, our policies, our processes, our culture.
00:18:59
Speaker
And it's critical that companies are enabled to diversify their business models, move away from carbon towards long-term sustainable and profitable growth.
00:19:10
Speaker
in a process that takes significant financial support.
00:19:13
Speaker
Broadly, we're finding our clients are responding well.
00:19:16
Speaker
And if you look at the first half of 2021, and we're the leading green financier in the world at this point, we helped raise
00:19:27
Speaker
in the first half of this year, more green social sustainability and sustainability-linked bonds for clients than we did in the whole of 2020.
00:19:35
Speaker
So that election is a positive one.
00:19:39
Speaker
And these funds pay for green projects, pay for new technologies and initiatives that open up the opportunities.
00:19:47
Speaker
We'll continue to increase our portfolio of transition finance with the latest areas in the area of nature-based products, which is growing quickly in importance.
00:19:59
Speaker
And lastly, I mean, we are absolutely committed to work with every single one of our clients on their transition journey.
00:20:05
Speaker
But I think it's important to say also, without their willingness and without their commitment to transition in a timely manner, we also have to be ready to walk away.
00:20:17
Speaker
Yeah, yeah.
00:20:17
Speaker
I'm sure some of those more difficult conversations are going to start facing as we get closer to 2030 as well.
00:20:25
Speaker
Nicola, kind of almost sort of on the other side of the end of the equation, if you like, of an organization providing information and data to financial institutions.
00:20:35
Speaker
How do you see sort of this increased need to provide disclosure, to provide sort of plans on transition to your financial services providers?
00:20:46
Speaker
I think it's absolutely critical.
00:20:49
Speaker
Ibu Joller was an early adopter of TCFD and reports against it and indeed against
00:20:55
Speaker
impact on the SDGs routinely and in an integrated way, which is really important.
00:21:03
Speaker
I think, you know, you measure what matters to you and then when you've measured it, you can manage it.
00:21:07
Speaker
And in the context that we talked about urgency, you can manage it more quickly.
00:21:12
Speaker
So not only do you have a transition plan, but that you can implement it more urgently.
00:21:18
Speaker
So when
00:21:19
Speaker
eBirdrola states that it's going to reduce its global CO2 emissions intensity by 73% by 2030.
00:21:27
Speaker
As a non-executive, because I see the metrics, I have confidence that it is going to deliver that.
00:21:33
Speaker
And it's that kind of ambitious, but measurable and managed targets that you need to see.
Mandatory ESG Reporting Importance
00:21:43
Speaker
I think that the move from voluntary to mandatory reporting is important and going to continue.
00:21:52
Speaker
I think that if companies don't provide the data themselves, they'll find that investors are starting to estimate their ESG performance for themselves, so much better for the company to do it.
00:22:04
Speaker
And I think, finally, that financial disclosure is a really helpful way, not only of quantifying climate-related risks,
00:22:13
Speaker
in a financial way that companies are used to, the kind of data they're used to, but applied in a different way.
00:22:19
Speaker
But it will also help to quantify climate-related opportunities.
00:22:23
Speaker
And I think that's really important because the kinds of financial disclosure that are increasingly being used are a new way of looking at value and value creation.
00:22:33
Speaker
Yeah, no, it's a really important piece.
00:22:35
Speaker
And both of the organizations that you're kind of here to sort of talk about today, you know, are quite enlightened.
00:22:42
Speaker
And I would say probably in a leadership position on much of this.
00:22:46
Speaker
What have you seen kind of evolve in the boardroom to kind of get to this stage?
00:22:50
Speaker
What do you, you know, what are some of the conversations that have been happening lately?
00:22:55
Speaker
Well, I mean, with experience in other boards I've sat on and being able to contrast it with, for example, Eberdrola, where 20 years ago it got that electrification was the way forward and increased use of renewables and huge investment and continuing investment in both onshore and offshore wind, for example.
00:23:16
Speaker
Comparing that with other companies which are
00:23:19
Speaker
Perhaps their business model was based on the internal combustion engine and coming to terms with the fact that a transition plan is a radical look.
00:23:30
Speaker
You've got to unpick every element of the business model.
00:23:35
Speaker
I think you play a role as a climate change champion in a slightly different way, depending on which sector you're in and what stage of the journey that company's at.
00:23:46
Speaker
Yeah, you just touched on, Mark, I'll come to you with this question.
00:23:49
Speaker
You touched on this point around the fact that some businesses have got more challenging business models and have more of a leap to make in terms of a net zero.
00:23:58
Speaker
I mean, Mark, what have you seen in your own, in the organizations that you've sort of sat on boards, but also maybe some of the observations of the clients that you're working with?
00:24:08
Speaker
What does the boardroom conversation have to look like when there's a very difficult conversation about a change in business model?
00:24:15
Speaker
I think the whole area, Emily, of ESG has developed rapidly and significantly over recent years.
00:24:23
Speaker
And I think all of this is recognized by stakeholders as key elements and risk for managing the business.
00:24:29
Speaker
So for us, sustainability isn't a new focus at HSBC.
00:24:32
Speaker
We put significant effort into building a strong reputation in sustainable finance over the last decade.
00:24:40
Speaker
But we need to do more.
00:24:41
Speaker
We know we're not doing enough.
00:24:42
Speaker
And then
00:24:44
Speaker
I think the climate ambitions we announced last year, last October, were an indication of a need to go further.
00:24:51
Speaker
And the board was deeply involved in developing and ultimately approving that plan, which goes right to the heart of our strategy.
00:24:59
Speaker
Again, you know, in the first half of this year towards the AGM, we were involved and the board was also critically involved in engaging with shareholders about how we intended to meet that target.
00:25:14
Speaker
And it ended and culminated in putting a climate resolution to our AGM in May, which was backed by 99.7% of shareholders.
00:25:24
Speaker
So again, a strong, strong support.
00:25:28
Speaker
These discussions continue and we clearly hold ourselves to account for making progress.
Board's Role in Climate Strategy at HSBC
00:25:37
Speaker
the need for all of us to move from ambition to action is clear.
00:25:41
Speaker
We will actively discuss the growing body of targets, how this is being translated into action plans to achieve against the demanding timescales.
00:25:54
Speaker
At the same time, we're having conversations with regulators who want to know about our climate risk exposure today in the context of stress testing within different jurisdictions.
00:26:05
Speaker
But fundamentally, for us, meeting our ambition means embedding climate into each part of our business.
00:26:10
Speaker
This is not an added extra.
00:26:13
Speaker
It's fundamental and embedded in the business from product development to wealth to asset management.
00:26:21
Speaker
And we've got to be comfortable in assessing business models on the contribution to supporting this in a new world.
00:26:29
Speaker
And all of this
00:26:31
Speaker
The board, and I'm sure Nicola finds the same, all of this helps to build new skills, new capabilities and innovation in the company, but on the board as well.
00:26:41
Speaker
Absolutely.
00:26:42
Speaker
You both referenced the fact that both HSBC and Iberdrola have been looking at this for a long, long time.
00:26:49
Speaker
And so in terms of some of these sort of structural changes to the board, committees, particular roles on boards,
00:26:56
Speaker
incentives.
00:26:57
Speaker
I mean, what things have you found that have worked quite well that you would sort of, you know, if there's an organization having this conversation in the boardroom, maybe not for the first time, but at an early stage in the journey, what would some of the advice be from your perspective as to what's worked quite well?
00:27:14
Speaker
Maybe Nicola, to you first.
00:27:15
Speaker
Yeah.
00:27:16
Speaker
Yeah, well, look at the terms of reference and the remit of the relevant sub-board committee.
00:27:23
Speaker
So the Sustainable Development Committee at EBITDA has got a very wide remit.
00:27:27
Speaker
Every time I look at it again, it gives me a bit of a jolt to realise how wide the responsibility is.
00:27:34
Speaker
And I think in some boards in other companies might treat sustainability as a whole of board responsibility.
00:27:41
Speaker
Yeah.
00:27:42
Speaker
but worth looking at the sub-board committees and their remits.
00:27:47
Speaker
One of the recent changes that e-bidrall, something similar to what Mark was saying about HSBC and its latest AGM, we've just amended our Articles of Association to strengthen the responsibility for climate governance of the board.
00:28:06
Speaker
It's now explicit.
00:28:08
Speaker
And we have the board has ultimate responsibility for the companies fighting against climate change.
00:28:13
Speaker
So approving, supervising, reporting on its climate action plan to achieve climate neutrality by 2050.
00:28:21
Speaker
And we asked our shareholders at the AGM in June.
00:28:25
Speaker
to approve our climate action policy and that reformed the Articles of Association.
00:28:33
Speaker
Like Mark, I'd highlight two things that I think are really critical.
00:28:37
Speaker
One is, and one of the other companies I've sat on
00:28:42
Speaker
One of the committees I chaired was responsible for workforce engagement.
00:28:46
Speaker
This was an ethics and corporate responsibility committee, so the focus was not particularly on climate.
00:28:52
Speaker
But engaging the workforce and talking to them about the issues they think matter to them personally and to the future of the company's strategy.
00:29:01
Speaker
climate and environmental and social issues come up time and again.
00:29:05
Speaker
So engaging externally with workforce, with shareholders, with wider stakeholders is really important.
00:29:13
Speaker
And the second thing I would say is being confident that you've got inside the executive the real expertise, perhaps headed up by a chief sustainability officer or chief innovation officer, which is what Ibra Dola has, who get regular face time with the board.
00:29:31
Speaker
I mentioned blue and green hydrogen earlier.
00:29:35
Speaker
I wouldn't want to be put on the spot to explain all of the differences, but I'm absolutely confident having heard a presentation from our innovation officer, they're really on top of this and what it could mean for the company, where are the business opportunities and the risks.
00:29:50
Speaker
So, engagement and innovation expertise.
00:29:54
Speaker
Mark, anything you'd add?
00:29:56
Speaker
I think, again, fully support what Nicholas said.
00:30:00
Speaker
I mean, I think the whole area of governance for me has been a top priority.
00:30:06
Speaker
And I think, again, looking at this holistically, generally speaking, governance has involved slimming down the number of board committees, ensuring clear oversight and accountability for the
00:30:18
Speaker
issues that are of greater strategic importance to HSBC and enhancing the links and connectivity to our subsidiaries.
00:30:24
Speaker
The other part of the question you asked about the skills and expertise of the board, this is something that we keep under constant
Sustainability Skills and Governance in Boards
00:30:34
Speaker
review.
00:30:34
Speaker
The overall composition mix of skills of the board is considered whenever we make changes and also part of the process of succession planning.
00:30:44
Speaker
But sustainability is certainly an area of growing importance to HSBC and to our stakeholders.
00:30:49
Speaker
And I think going back to Nicola's point, we don't need to be scientists, but we do need to be able to apply what the scientists and our own experts tell us about our business.
00:31:02
Speaker
And therefore, we've got to continue to learn and upscale, which we do internally.
00:31:07
Speaker
And we have, a few months ago, appointed our first group chief sustainability officer on the group executive committee.
00:31:18
Speaker
So again, a senior member of government, of the executive at that level.
00:31:25
Speaker
And we're working with external experts and clearly
00:31:28
Speaker
Also supporting as best we can Chapter Zero, who we think do an excellent job in trying to get these messages out to the non-executive community.
Chapter Zero's Educational Role on Climate Issues
00:31:39
Speaker
Well, I was actually just going to reflect on something similar.
00:31:42
Speaker
I mean, it just seems like the role of Chapter Zero is quite important in this effort to really sort of skill up as many non-execs as possible.
00:31:50
Speaker
Thank you both so much.
00:31:52
Speaker
I think we'll all remain extremely hopeful going into and coming out of COP26 next month.
00:32:00
Speaker
And it's just wonderful to know that, you know, you're seeing the value of having well-informed non-executive directors and chairs on your boards and
00:32:08
Speaker
I'm sure the role that Chapter Zero has in continuing to educate and inform more non-execs to ensure that the same happens across all companies, both in the UK and as we grow through the broader international platform, the Climate Governance Initiative globally as well.
00:32:26
Speaker
So many thanks to you both for your time today.
00:32:31
Speaker
It's been extremely valuable to get your insights.
00:32:34
Speaker
Thanks, everyone.
00:32:35
Speaker
Thanks, Emily.
00:32:35
Speaker
Goodbye.
00:32:36
Speaker
Thank you, Emily.
00:32:39
Speaker
This has been a special podcast in the Business Plan for the Planet series.
00:32:43
Speaker
More episodes will follow shortly, so please do keep an eye out for those.
00:32:47
Speaker
For more information on the programme, visit business.hsbc.com forward slash sustainability.
00:33:02
Speaker
Thank you for listening today.
00:33:04
Speaker
This has been HSBC Global Viewpoint Banking and Markets.
00:33:08
Speaker
For more information about anything you heard in this podcast or to learn about HSBC's global services and offerings, please visit gbm.hsbc.com.