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Board guidance note This guidance note gives a brief overview of the role of corporate boards of directors in relation to the concept of “affected stakeholders”.
However, board members are the people at the end of a long chain linking those affected by a company’s actions with those ultimately responsible for the decisions and actions taken.
With increasing nonfinancial expectations of boards (through concepts such as ESG), boards will need to be more precise about who these stakeholders are and whose interests take precedence.
The following list has been prepared following interviews with corporate board members; their relevance would depend on the nature of a particular business.
Boards should consider which of the mechanisms mentioned are in place within the company (including any additional mechanisms) and whether they span the interests/have the capacity to respond adequately to the concerns of all affected stakeholders.
Contributors This report was researched and written by the World Economic Forum’s Global Future Council on Human Rights (2020-2022).