Boards in our sample have on average three committees. 54% of companies this year combine the remuneration and
nomination committees. One company, Brederode, maintains only one committee, the audit, governance and risk
committee. Twelve companies have four committees, five companies have five committees and one company has more than
five.
Committees
Audit committee
All companies in both indices maintain an audit committee, either separately or combined with another. On average,
audit committees met five times and have six members. 30% of all companies combine their audit committee with
another committee (usually, risk, finance, or compliance). On average 65% of audit committee members are
independent, with 65% of companies having an audit committee composed exclusively of independent members.
Independence among audit chairs is also high, at 84.6%.
The gender balance of audit chairs is greater than noted in 2022 — 46.2% of chairs are women, compared to 41.8% last
year. Among Bel 20 audit chairs, 50% are female, compared with 44% in the Bel Mid.
Remuneration and nomination committees
More than half of companies in our sample combine their remuneration and nomination committees.
Nomination committees report the largest membership on average, at seven members, compared with 4.2 for remuneration
committees. Both remuneration and nomination committees convened on average four times in the period under review.
Among the nomination and remuneration committees, 24.3% have a female chair, a decrease from last year’s 29% female
chairs give the change in sample.
Other committees
In addition to the core audit, nomination, and remuneration committees, 55% of companies in our study maintain
additional committees, the most commonly noted of which is the investment committee, followed by the strategy
committee.
Other committees include those dedicated to innovation, technology, and compliance.
One clear trend is the continued growth of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) committees. Our 2022 Board
Index reported that bpost, Shurgard, Sofina, and Solvay had established ESG committees, and TINC set up an ESG
committee within its management board. Euronav and Ion Beam Applications established its sustainability committees
in 2021.
This year, a further four companies set up ESG or sustainability committees, at Euronav, Xior Student Housing,
Warehouses De Pauw, and Umicore.
These other committees meet an average of three meetings per year. The average chair committee fee remains at €2 750
and the average member committee fee is €833.