The Handbook of Board Governance, 3rd Edition

21Responsible Boards for a Sustainable Future: Not ESG but G(EES)

Yilmaz Argüden, BS, PhD

Strategist, governance expert, advisor, and board member of major public and private institutions, and NGOs

Gizem Argüden Oskay, BSc

Managing Partner at ARGE Consulting

“Trust is the essence of good governance and the foundation of sustainable development.”

The year 2015 was a milestone for a sustainable future: the world leaders adopted the Sustainable Development Goals at the UN Sustainable Development Summit in New York on September 2015. The title of the agenda was Transforming our world: The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development. In November, under the Turkish presidency, the G20’s focus was on ensuring inclusive and robust growth through collective action in accordance with the “three I’s”—Implementation, Inclusiveness, and Investment for growth. In December, an enduring, legally binding treaty on climate action, which contains emission reduction commitments from nearly 200 countries starting in 2020, was signed to keep the global warming below the 2°C level, and even target actions to achieve the below the 1.5°C level.¹ This represents a turning point for action to limit climate change below dangerous levels. It signals the end of business as usual. Future investment will need to be compatible with a zero-carbon world.

In 2019, the Business Roundtable, consisting of 181 chief executive officers (CEOs) of American business world, redefined the purpose of the corporation from ...