Charmain Klaus Schwab explained;

“The early 21-century corporate climate will not fit a shareholder-centric mindset. Climate change, globalization and digital transformation requires a profound change in corporate responsibility.

Now it’s up to each corporation to treat the manifesto as merely a statement of principle or a guide to a new era of responsible corporate governance.”

Several points made throughout the manifesto are particularly aimed at the fact that companies are more than just wealth generators. Instead, it highlights the importance of considering organisations as part of our broader social system. From supporting and serving society to improving the overall state of the world (and the future), companies play a bigger role in our ecosystem than one might be aware of.

A company aiming to create and sustain long-term value creation is a company that understands the bigger picture. It understands that value creation isn’t mirrored by the return of investments to shareholders, but how well the company serves employees, communities, customers and the rest of its stakeholders.

As read in the manifesto;

“The best way to understand and harmonize the divergent interests of all stakeholders is through a shared commitment to policies and decisions that strengthen the long-term prosperity of a company.”

So, how do the stakeholders of a company achieve a shared commitment to policies and decisions? How do they become aligned with each other and with business objectives?

To reach this common ground, a company needs transparency. It needs a non-biased evaluation of all leadership levels to get an overview of where betterment is necessary, and where it may already fulfil certain criteria. Basing this roadmap on measurable facts and data is key in ensuring the direction of future strategic decisions.

Joining WEF’s challenge of the status quo, BoardClic wants to promote the profound change mentioned in the manifesto and bring these modern best practices to light. For example, we don’t settle on checking diversity in the composition of leading teams, instead digging deeper into how diversity is used in decision-making processes. BoardClic encourages continuous improvements from the top, not letting such instances be isolated to the shop floor.