Richard Howitt
Strategic Advisor, Corporate Responsibility and Sustainability, Business and Human Rights
Richard works with companies and organisations in Britain, across Europe and internationally, to meet the challenges of sustainable and responsible business. Drawing on his experience of major leadership roles in business, government and civil society, he is able to offer companies knowledge of corporate best practice and all the major international initiatives and frameworks in the Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) impact of the business.
Advice, training and evaluation at Senior Executive and Board level; keynote speaker at conferences, training and other events.
Working with companies to ensure sustainability is truly embedded in the company’s business strategy and corporate governance. High profile speaker and skilled events facilitator. Assisting in recruitment, training and mentoring for Chief Sustainability and Responsible Investment officers. Based on championing the concept of ‘integrated thinking’, Richard also draws on personal involvement in major projects on corporate purpose and is a trained counsellor.
Strategic advice to companies and organisations, drawing up and reviewing existing ESG policies and practices.
Able to advise on drawing up or reviewing strategies for Sustainability, Corporate Social Responsibility and/or Corporate Purpose, with knowledge and experience in all the major trends in responsible and sustainable business, both at a global level and in individual companies
Reviewing individual reports and advising on changing reporting practices.
Support to companies reviewing or reforming business reporting, including CSR, integrated and sustainability reporting. Based on visiting and advising companies in 31 markets worldwide. Richard oversaw and personally contributed to the IIRC’s ‘Leading Practice’ database of 100 company reports. He has personally assessed in-depth 30 award-winning company reports per year, as a member of PwC’s ‘Building Public Trust’ jury for the past three years.
Serving as an independent member on review and advisory groups.
Invite Richard to be an independent expert in company, multi-stakeholder and organisational groups to develop and implement ESG strategy and initiatives. Examples of his work including serving for eight years on the Government Advisory Group of the Global Reporting Initiative, on the advisory council for the Coalition for Inclusive Capitalism, as member of the Prince’s Accounting for Sustainability Forum and currently appointed to the Stakeholder Advisory Council of the 2000-member ‘amfori’ business association.
Specific advice on how reporting meets current and future regulatory trends; relations with governments and inter-governmental bodies on sustainable, responsible and purposeful business.
Based on high-level government experience in Europe and worldwide, and personal involvement in the major international standard-setting over the last twenty years: UN Guiding Principles on Business and Human Rights, OECD Guidelines on Multinational Enterprise, UN Sustainable Development Goals, FSB Task Force for Climate-related Financial Disclosure. Personally responsible for proposing and negotiating the EU Non-Financial Reporting Directive and currently working on its review. Former member of UK Government Ministerial team, with detailed knowledge of British politics and institutions.
Specific advice on how company reporting meets the requirements of the major voluntary sustainability frameworks and moves towards standardising ESG (Environment, Social, Governance) reporting.
Based on convening the Corporate Reporting Dialogue globally, working directly with GRI, SASB, CDP and CDSB at senior level. Experience in the major World Economic Forum, European Union and accountancy profession moves towards standardisation of ESG reporting.
Author and editor for articles and publications.
I write and am published regularly, including by the major sustainable business websites and other media internationally. I write for books and other publications. I can author or co-author articles with or on behalf of companies and write, edit and review publications.
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