GREEN BASHING. Few things focus a chief executive’s mind more than a large thwack to his or her back pocket. With that in mind, activist Cevian Capital wants to tie executive pay directly to a company’s performance on areas like carbon emissions. Key to changing behaviour, rather than simply producing more aspirational guff in places like Davos, is making targets specific, measurable and short term. Companies are paying increasing attention to environmental, social and governance issues, but too often it amounts to PR or inconsequential box-ticking. Research firm Sustainalytics reckons just 3.2% of FTSE All-World index firms link executive pay to environmental performance. Besides reducing greenhouse gases, incentives should yield rewards by getting companies ready for the eventual arrival of punitive carbon pricing. Last week, Germany’s HeidelbergCement tied bonuses to specific CO2 emissions reductions targets from 2021. Now others have a concrete example to follow. (By Ed Cropley)