CECP 2019-2020 Accelerate Community on Long-Termism

OverviewIncreasingly, investors and consumers alike are placing pressure on companies to disclose on their social, environmental and financial performance in a more unified, transparent way. Typically, a company’s cadence of investor communications and annual sustainability reporting disclose backward-looking information about its performance over the past 3-12 months.  While it is important to know what companies have achieved to date, investors and consumers also want to know how companies will mitigate ESG-related risks and continue to generate value for all stakeholders in the years ahead.

Designed for a cohort of 10-20 IR, CSR, and Sustainability executives, CECP’s 2019-2020 Accelerate Community on Long-Termism will explore how companies can be more transparent with investors and consumers about how they plan to create sustainable value for business, people, and planet over the long-term. Specifically, the Long-Term Plan Framework explored in this Community provides forward-looking information   as to how a company plans to navigate a rapidly changing world, address risk, and sustain its social, environmental, and financial performance over the next 2-7 years or beyond.

Program DetailsAs a participating company, you will:

  • Learn WHY your company should bake long-term sustainability into its strategic business plan, WHAT information/disclosures should be included, HOW to do it, and what the VALUE/ROI would be of your Long-Term Plan with investors and consumers.
  • Develop an in-depth understanding of the 9 thematic/disclosure areas, developed in partnership with KKS Advisors and Harvard Business School: Corporate Purpose, Long-Term Value Creation, Human Capital, Corporate Governance, Mega Trends, Competitive Positioning, Risks & Opportunities, Capital Allocation, and Financial Performance.
  • Hear from leading companies about their experience (e.g. challenges and opportunities) creating and sharing their Long-Term Plans. 31 companies have committed or presented to date, most of which are Fortune 500.
  • Enjoy guest presentations from leading practitioners in corporate purpose, sustainability, and ESG disclosure from partner organizations including but not limited to: SASB, GRI, JUST Capital, Long-Term Stock Exchange, among others (FCLT Global, KKS Advisors, Harvard Business School).
  • Frame an investor-facing, Long-Term Plan Presentation and develop an abridged version to include in your Investor Toolkit and/or Annual Sustainability Report.

Participation includes up to 3 seats per company. Over the course of the workshop series, there will be 4 meetings, 1 per quarter. The deliverables will be an investor-facing Long-Term Plan Presentation (not another report) and an abridged version for your 1) Investor Toolkit or 2) Annual Sustainability Report. Between meetings, all companies will receive one-on-one support and office hours with our in-house experts to help frame and develop their Long-Term Plan Presentation.

Meeting 1: WHY (early October)Program Overview

Meeting 1 will lay the foundation for this Accelerate Community and establish the rationale for WHY companies should bake sustainable value creation into the core of their strategic business plan.  We will explore long-termism, provide an overview of Long-Term Planning, and examine market trends around corporate responsibility, sustainability, and ESG disclosure. Companies will hear from industry experts and develop a greater understanding of recent shifts in consumer and investor demand for increased disclosure around a company’s Environmental, Social, and Governance performance. Then, we will explore how ESG performance increasingly drives consumer purchasing behavior, recruitment and retention, among other issues, and ultimately impacts a company’s financial performance over the long-term.

Invited Speakers Include: FCLT Global, Cone Communications, Forum for Sustainable and Responsible Investment (USSIF)

Required Pre-Reading

Suggested Reading

 

Meeting 2: WHAT (early December/late January)Program Overview

Building on Meeting 1, Meeting 2 will explore the Long-Term Plan Framework in greater depth, focusing specifically on WHAT content areas and disclosures are included. Led by CECP’s Research Director and resident expert Brian Tomlinson, companies will develop a deeper understanding on the 9 Themes and 22 Content Areas included in a successful Long-Term Plan.  Developed in partnership with KKS Advisors and Harvard Business School, the 9 thematic areas include: Long-Term Value Creation, Human Capital, Corporate Purpose, Corporate Governance, Risks & Opportunities, Competitive Positioning, Trends, Capital Allocation, and Financial Performance. Participants will explore corporate case studies and enjoy guest presentations on select themes from industry experts. They’ll also conduct a rough-and-ready gap analysis comparing their current IR and CSR disclosures against the Long-Term Plan Framework. Invited Speakers Include: SASB, GRI, JUST Capital Required Pre-Reading

Suggested Reading

Meeting 3: HOW (late March/early April)Program Overview

In Meeting 3, companies will explore how to frame, develop and socialize their Long-Term Plan at their firm. Specifically, companies will explore HOW to incorporate the Long-Term Plan Framework into their existing strategic business plans and cadence of investor communications and stakeholder reporting. Companies will enjoy guest presentations from IR, CSR, and Sustainability executives at leading companies that have already gone through the process of developing a Long-Term Plan and presenting at one of CECP’s CEO Investor Forums (click here to view the full past companies and presentations). These companies will share their experience creating a Long-Term Plan, evaluating risk, deciding on content disclosures, securing leadership buy-in and approvals, navigating internal silos and hurdles, aligning on messaging, and presenting the plan publicly to investors and other external stakeholders.

Invited Speakers Include: Equinix, Prudential, American Electric Power, NRG Energy, Medtronic

Required Pre-Reading

Suggested Reading

Meeting 4: VALUEProgram Overview

In the first three meetings, companies will have developed a solid understanding as to WHY they should adopt a long-term, sustainable business plan; WHAT thematic areas to address and content disclosures to include; and HOW to go about framing, developing, and socializing a Long-Term Plan at their firm. In Meeting 4, companies will learn the VALUE, return on investment, and impact of their hard work to date. Companies will enjoy guest presentations from industry experts on the early evidence of the material impact that Long-Term Plan disclosures have had on presenting companies’ performance in the capital markets. We will also explore market research and preliminary findings that companies that adopt sustainable business practices outperform competitors over the long-term.

Invited Speakers Include: Harvard Business School, KKS Advisors, JUST Capital, Long-Term Stock Exchange (LTSE)

Required Pre-Reading

Suggested Reading

Additional Resources & Reading:

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