The Society is committed to providing a safe, productive, inclusive, and welcoming environment for attendees, volunteers, staff, and others engaged in Society programs, meetings, events, activities, and services – public, private, and digital – such as the National Conference, Essentials and Essentials Express, the online communities, webinars, roundtables, including but not limited to those hosted by the National Office, national committees, and chapters, and other activities (collectively, “Society events”).
Those attending any Society event agree to abide by this Event Participation and Engagement Code of Conduct. This includes, but is not limited to, registered attendees, speakers, volunteers, guests, exhibitors, sponsors, advertisers, vendors, Society employees, and others engaged in, participating in, or attending any Society event (hereinafter collectively and individually referred to as “participant(s) for ease of reference).
Participants are required to abide by the following guidelines, which are illustrative, but not necessarily exhaustive, examples of expected professional, respectful conduct (Do’s) or conduct that does not meet those standards (Don’ts).
Do’s
- Treat all participants with respect and consideration, valuing a diversity of views and opinions.
- Alert on-premises personnel and Society executive staff if you notice a dangerous situation or someone clearly in distress.
- Abide by any session-specific restrictions such as Chatham House Rules or other limitations on the use of social media, photography, etc.
- Register for Society events and carry your registration badge/name tag with you.
Don’ts
- Engage in harassment or discrimination based on race, color, religion, national origin, sex, or any other legally protected characteristic.
- Intimidate or threaten others using verbal or non-verbal conduct.
- Commit sexual harassment, including but not limited to, unwanted or inappropriate conduct, unwanted sexual attention, comments, jokes, or advances.
- Use lewd, derogatory, or otherwise offensive speech or non-verbal conduct.
- Disrupt the event, a session, or other formal or informal meeting or event through your behavior or comments
- Destroy or vandalize personal property or event site or materials.
- Record, photograph, or republish another participant’s content without their prior approval.
- Engage in continual live-tweeting during or about an event, meeting, or sessions.
- Use video recording, audio recording, or other recording devices.
- Republish data presented at the meeting without approval in writing by the Society.
- Applicable to service providers including law firms, consultants, and advisors: To avoid the perception of commercializing the Society events, do not blog, report out, or otherwise write about or report on the substantive content shared or discussed by other participants at the event without approval in writing by the Society, except as relates to: (i) content you/your firm created for the event or (ii) information that is made publicly available such as an SEC Commissioner’s or other public official’s prepared remarks. To request approval, contact Randi Morrison, General Counsel
Note that the foregoing provision does not preclude service providers from posting photos and social media items that relate to their own services, thought leadership, or exhibit booth at the National Conference or other Society events.
- Post derogatory, demeaning, inflammatory, offensive, disrespectful, hateful, or otherwise inappropriate comments.
We also encourage:
- Following us on LinkedIn: Society for Corporate Governance.
- Using event-specific hashtags.
- Posting or tweeting (other than continual live tweeting) about the Society event and sessions (without sharing proprietary information or data or violating session-specific restrictions such as the Chatham House Rule).
Reporting Procedure
If any participant believes they or another participant has been subject to conduct that violates this Code of Conduct, or witnesses such conduct, they should report the violation to the Society CEO, General Counsel, VP of Events, or another member of the Society staff while on-site at the event or as soon after the event as possible. The Society asks that anyone who experiences or witnesses behavior (such as assault of any kind) that constitutes an immediate or serious threat to safety contact the appropriate authorities.
Consequences of Unacceptable Behavior
In response to any incident of unacceptable behavior, the Society may take any action it deems appropriate, including immediate removal from an event without warning or refund. The Society reserves the right to prohibit attendance at any future Society event and denial of the opportunity to speak, exhibit, sponsor, or serve in any capacity under the Society’s auspices, upon a joint decision of the Society’s President & CEO and Chair of the Board of Directors, with a right to appeal to the full Board of Directors.
Questions
If you have any questions about this Code of Conduct, please contact the Society's Events Team.