TORONTO, Dec. 17, 2024 /CNW/ - Bedford Group/TRANSEARCH today announced the publication of the 2024 Report on Board and Executive Compensation in the Clean Technology Industry. The report gathers detailed compensation data from over 175 publicly traded cleantech companies listed on the CVE, TSX, TSXV, ASX, Nasdaq and NYSE, covering over 860 named executive officers and 1,200 board members.



This is Bedford's fourth annual industry-wide report on compensation awards and practices, and provides insights and analysis about the global cleantech industry with a focus on Canadian and US companies with market caps under CA$10 billion.

"The cleantech industry continues to face challenges like rising turnover and increasing pressure on executive salaries," said Amrit Sandhu, Client Partner at Bedford Consulting Group. "But what stands out is the resilience and resourcefulness of these companies. They're finding ways to navigate labour shortages and funding constraints by making smarter, more strategic executive hires that position them for long-term success."

Turnover continued to rise in 2023 amongst the C-Suite, with 16.4% of companies changing their CEO compared to 12.9% in 2022, and 10.2% in 2021. CFOs also saw movement as over 23% of companies changed theirs, with the highest rate in companies with market caps under $100 million.

This fuelled upward pressure on base salaries across the C-Suite, with increased salaries from $100 million to $4 billion market cap tiers for both CEOs and CFOs. CEO salaries remained flat in companies below $100 million or above $4 billion. Smaller companies (<$100M) likely reflected constrained budgets, while large-cap firms ($4B–$10B) reduced base salaries by 6%, potentially aligning compensation with performance or shifting emphasis to equity incentives. Across all other market cap tiers, CEO base salaries rose by double digits. 

Diversity amongst CEOs and NEOs remains low, with a continued decrease in female CEOs – 3.8% in 2023, down from 4.4% in 2022 and 5.2% in 2021. NEO diversity has been more consistent, at 12.2% in 2023, up from 12.2% in 2022 and 11.7% in 2021. It's clear that significant work remains to be done for diversity.

The Board retains a stronger diversity showing, with a more significant increase in female representation in 2023 (29%) than we saw in 2022 (22%). Canadian companies are not required to report on ethnic diversity, so we have no figures yet, though this is due to change as the ISS will expect all S&P/TSX Composite Index constituents to have at least one racially/ethnically diverse director.

Bedford's Executive and Board Compensation and Governance Report highlights year-over-year compensation changes at the board and executive level for base salary/retainers, equity and non-equity incentives and total compensation. The 2024 report also includes information and guidance around good governance and reporting best practices in the areas of diversity, board composition, severance and change of control benefits, share ownership, and problematic pay practices.

The 2024 Executive and Board Compensation and Governance Report – Clean Technology can be accessed here | The Bedford Group/TRANSEARCH

About Bedford Group/TRANSEARCH

Bedford Group/TRANSEARCH is one of North America's leading privately held executive search and talent strategy firms, with offices in Toronto, Oakville, Calgary, and Boston. Founded in 1980, The Bedford Consulting Group is the North American partner of TRANSEARCH International, one of the Top 10 largest executive search firms in the world, with 60 offices in 40 countries.

SOURCE Bedford Group/TRANSEARCH