Live Session Recap: Boards Role, Materiality, and Strategic Integration

On January 21, 2025, Boards Impact Forum hosted a pivotal webinar under the theme “Boards’ Role, Materiality, and Strategic Integration.” This thought-provoking session brought together board members, sustainability experts, and corporate leaders to discuss how boards can lead sustainability integration for long-term value creation.

Presenters and Panellists:

Magdalena Gerger, Chair Colart and NEFAB, NED Investor AB, Curry PLC, Lindengruppen, PEAB and on the Sustainability Advisory Council to VW Group.
Emily Farnworth, Director of Climate Governance Initiative, the Centre for Climate Engagement at Hughes Hall, chair of the RE100 Advisory Committee, a member of the Carbon Pricing Leadership Coalition Advisory Group and a member of the We Mean Business Grants Advisory Committee.

Moderation by Liselotte Engstam, chair of Boards Impact Forum and professional NED.

This live session is also part of the Board Oversight of Sustainability for Value Creation, a CGI-certified program designed for board members seeking to deepen their understanding of sustainability, ESG, and climate change while enhancing their governance capabilities. The first hour of this exclusive live session that we now share was open to all and the final 30 minutes were reserved for program participants, offering a more in-depth and tailored discussion around the Boards role, Materiality and Strategic Integration of Sustainability into Business.

Table of Contents

Key Themes and Insights

1. Understanding the Board’s Role in Sustainability
Liselotte Engstam, Chair of the Boards Impact Forum, opened the session with an overview of the growing pressures on boards to address sustainability. She referenced the World Economic Forum’s 2025 Risk Report, which highlights climate-related risks as central to global stability. The call to action for boards was clear: boards must prioritize sustainability alongside profit, considering long-term value for all stakeholders.

Emily Farnworth, Director of the Climate Governance Initiative, delved into the evolving role of boards. She emphasized the principles of climate governance, encouraging directors to lead with stewardship and integrate sustainability into strategy and decision-making processes. Her insights highlighted that sustainability is not separate from profit-making but a necessary driver of resilient, future-ready businesses.

Emily has also co-authored a new book For the World’S Profit – How Business Can Support Sustainable Development , where she has contributed to a specific chapter Key Actions for Corporate Boards in Accelerating Sustainable Development. The book For the World’s Profit (Brookings, 2025) explores how businesses can align profit with global sustainability goals. Edited by experts, it highlights collaboration, innovation, and accountability to drive sustainable development while creating market opportunities. The book can be downloaded for free vi link in end of the blogpost.

2. Strategic Integration: A Key Challenge
Data from Boards Impact Forum surveys revealed a concerning gap in board-level understanding and integration of ESG and sustainability risks into strategy. Nearly 67% of respondents admitted their boards had not adequately aligned these risks within their enterprise risk maps or strategies. This underscored the urgent need for boards to develop mechanisms for embedding sustainability into every aspect of governance.

3. Lessons from Leadership
Magdalena Gerger, Chair of Colart and NEFAB, provided a practitioner’s perspective on driving sustainability at the board level. Drawing on her leadership experience, she shared strategies to integrate sustainability with business goals, such as:

Establishing clear, purpose-driven frameworks that balance environmental, social, and business objectives.
Prioritizing collaboration between boards, management, and stakeholders to develop actionable, measurable goals.
The importance of education and capability-building for board members to understand sustainability at a deeper level.

Magdalena also highlighted practical examples, such as conducting climate workshops for her board members and using tools like climate-focused value equations to assess and measure impact across all dimensions of the business.

4. Navigating Current Challenges and Opportunities
The panelists acknowledged the dual pressures of rapid technological innovation, like AI, and sustainability imperatives. They emphasized the need for cohesive strategies that integrate both dimensions to future-proof businesses. A recurring theme was the importance of maintaining board alignment and focus in the face of polarization, geopolitical fragmentation, and misinformation.

5. Practical Steps for Boards
The session concluded with actionable advice for board members:

Foster open communication between boards, management, and stakeholders to accelerate progress.

Build board-level knowledge on sustainability and climate risks through programs like the Climate Governance Initiative.

Move beyond compliance-focused sustainability reports to deeply embed ESG into risk and strategy discussions.

Poll Results: Where Do Boards Stand Today?

Participants’ responses to a live poll revealed areas for improvement:

AI and Sustainability: A similar split showed limited engagement in aligning AI initiatives with sustainability goals.

Risk Integration: Only one-third of boards were integrating sustainability into enterprise-wide risk management.

Looking Ahead

The webinar reaffirmed the Boards Impact Forum’s commitment to empowering directors with the tools, networks, and knowledge needed to lead on sustainability. Upcoming sessions will address topics like shared visions for 2025, board-driven ecosystem strategies, and the interplay between AI, geopolitics, and sustainability.

To continue the conversation and access additional resources, explore the Board Oversight of Sustainability for Value Creation program.

Together, let’s embed sustainability at the heart of governance and lead with purpose.