Minutes | Meeting of the Strategic Planning Committee of the Board (SPC) | 15 October 2024

SPC Attendees: Maarten Botterman – Co-Chair, Chris Chapman – Co-Chair, Alan Barrett, Becky Burr, Chris Buckridge, Edmon Chung, James Galvin, Wes Hardaker, Danko Jevtovic, Patricio Poblete and Leon Sanchez

Other Board Member: Sally Costerton

SPC Apologies: Christian Kaufmann

Executive and Staff Attendees: Margaret Benavides (Planning Manager), Xavier Calvez (SVP, Planning and Chief Financial Officer), Franco Carrasco (Board Operations Specialist), Samantha Eisner (Deputy General Counsel), Breda Lund (Editorial Supervisor, Global Communications), Becky Nash (VP, Planning), Sally Newell Cohen (SVP, Global Communications) and Laena Rahim (Associate General Counsel, APAC)

The following is a summary of discussions, decisions, and actions identified:

The meeting was called to order at 19:00 UTC.

1. Agenda – Maarten Botterman and Chris Chapman (Co-Chairs) established the agenda for the meeting and gave an overview of items to be discussed.
2. Review of SPC Action Items and SPC Workplan – ICANN organization provided a brief summary of the status of the activities under the SPC's action items. Several action items will be followed up in time for the next SPC meeting, and there are also other action items which will require more time to complete.

   The SPC workplan was reviewed, which sets out the SPC's scope of responsibilities and relevant timelines for performance of its work. ICANN org and the Co-Chairs will monitor the workplan on a regular basis, to ascertain whether it requires any further modifications to encapsulate the SPC's additional responsibilities.

3. Discussion on Environmental Sustainability Project and Baseline Assessment Study – ICANN org previously provided a presentation on this topic to the SPC in May 2024.

   Global environmental concerns prompted discussions among the ICANN Board, community and ICANN org about ICANN's roles and responsibility in understanding and addressing its own ecological footprint. In FY24, ICANN org initiated the development of a comprehensive approach for implementing an environmental sustainability strategy for ICANN, which will integrate environmental strategy principles into ICANN's core operations, policies and practices, in collaboration with the ICANN community and other relevant stakeholders.

   Maarten observed that at this juncture, the work on the baseline assessment study has not begun. Thus, the objective of this agenda item is for the SPC to discuss and determine whether it should make a recommendation to the Board to direct the Interim President and CEO to initiate a baseline study on environmental sustainability to guide efforts in reducing ICANN's environmental impact, within FY25.

   Some observations from the SPC include:

   • While the SPC noted the current and anticipated fiscal constraints, the SPC also acknowledged the importance of addressing environmental sustainability, and that the assessment study should not wait for the implementation of the related goal included in the FY26-30 Strategic Plan.
   • The SPC is generally supportive of taking the appropriate next step, i.e., to initiate a sustainability baseline study to help identify the most effective and strategic actions ICANN can take to achieve its targeted goals, and to lay a strong foundation for meaningful, long-term change.
   • The SPC agreed to recommend to the Board to initiate a baseline assessment study, while recognizing that future discussions on this topic at the full Board level may result in the Board not agreeing to promote this as a priority in FY25, as it involves prioritization with limited funding.
   • The SPC discussed and agreed to make some edits to the draft Board Paper.
     • Action Item:
       • Pursuant to an in-depth discussion on this topic, the SPC expressed its support for ICANN org to modify the Board Paper, incorporating the relevant suggestions from the SPC, for the SPC for its review and approval. Thereafter, the SPC to forward its recommendation to the Board for its consideration.

The Chair called the meeting to a close.