These terms create a small working group for one named firm. They do not create a board committee and do not appoint non-executive directors. Completing the required Part A content prepares a draft. The wording is adopted only after the authorised role actually approves it and that role and date are recorded. Do not fill an approval date in advance. An agenda prepared in advance is not a meeting held, and a recorded deferral is unfinished work.

Read the strategy guide’s steering-group table. Keep a staff green team distinct from these terms. Leave public claims outside the group’s decision rights.

What these terms can and cannot create

Completing Part A prepares a draft. The terms become adopted only after the authorised role actually approves them and that role and date are recorded. Leave approval_role and approval_date blank until approval occurs. Completing Part A is not proof the group has met. No independent-director field exists. A group of two or three operational roles is a firm’s choice, not a prescribed staffing rule.

record_status is incomplete, draft or adopted. Those labels are editorial template rules. incomplete means required authority content is missing: purpose, roles, decision limits, quorum, decision procedure, reporting line, meeting cadence or review date. draft means that content can be read, but actual approval has not occurred. adopted records the approval role and date after approval. A document with undefined authority cannot appear adopted. A deliberate not-applicable entry must say why that field does not apply.

Write the terms and one meeting record

Download both files. Save a copy of the blank file and type into that copy.

The files are plain text.

Part A fields: organisation_name, group_name, purpose, membership_roles, decision_rights, cannot_decide, meeting_cadence, quorum_rule, decision_procedure, reporting_line, review_date, approval_role, approval_date, record_status.

Part B keeps three facts separate: agenda_status (prepared or not_prepared), meeting_held (yes or no), and log_status (open or recorded). A recorded log row needs meeting_date, item and decision_or_deferral. If the meeting generates an action, action_needed is yes and owner and due_date are required. A decision that needs no follow-up leaves action_needed as no and does not invent an action.

Worked example: three roles and one deferred item

The example is fictional. Northgate Services is invented. The three-role membership and two-role quorum are this firm’s choice.

Part What was written Status
Terms Sustainability working group. Decision rights: internal task owners and the policy review date. Cannot decide public claims or supplier contracts. Monthly meetings. Quorum two of three roles. Reporting line managing director. Managing director adopts the terms on 12 March 2026. Adopted. Not a board committee.
Agenda and meeting Agenda prepared before 19 March 2026. Meeting held yes. Prepared and held are separate from the decision.
Log row Electricity-bill folder deferred until the April bill arrives. Action needed. Owner office manager. Due 16 April 2026. Recorded deferral. Completed record, unfinished work.

Limits

Do not claim independence, board authority, or coverage of a governance code. Association, public-estate and university working-group rules are not SME requirements. A green team on the engagement guide is a staff group, not these terms.

Your next action

Review the 90-day tracker in the working group.

Sources