These days, it\u2019s hard to ignore the debate over the role business should play in society.<\/p>\n
The terms greenwashing, tech monopolies, and corporate greed seem ubiquitous. But what if business could actually help solve some of today\u2019s biggest problems?<\/p>\n
The\u00a0Is Business Broken?<\/em> podcast features conversations with academics, industry leaders, and politicians that ask the thorny questions necessary for this moment and help us navigate real world solutions.<\/p>\n The series is a production of the Ravi K. Mehrotra Institute for Business, Markets, & Society at BU Questrom School of Business and the ESG episodes were done in collaboration with IMAP.<\/p>\n Release date: May 2, 2024<\/p>\n This episode features a debate between <\/span>BU Strategy and Innovation <\/span>Professor, <\/span><\/span>Andrew King<\/span><\/span>, and Witold <\/span>Henisz<\/span>, <\/span>Faculty Director <\/span>of the ESG Initiative at The Wharton School, about what ESG<\/span> is and <\/span>isn\u2019t<\/span>, what it<\/span> can and <\/span>can\u2019t<\/span> do \u2013 and what we need to do to make it better. ESG <\/span>metrics grew out of <\/span>investors’<\/span> de<\/span>sire<\/span> to better understand the risks within their assets. Later it was used to refer to social impact funds that worked to create environmental or social change, but the two are not the same. These <\/span>two<\/span> distinct, but overlapping goals, have been mixed up in many people\u2019s minds and greenwashing from some investment firms has helped aid this confusion. Both King and <\/span>Henisz<\/span> argue that self-regulation is insufficient, and that more government regulation is needed, but King argues that government regulation should come first and <\/span>Henisz<\/span> argues that regulation <\/span>won\u2019t<\/span> come until after corporations have had practice <\/span>disclosing<\/span> the risks, because regulation typically follows industry standards and rarely leads it.\u00a0 <\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span> <\/p>\n Release date: May 9, 2024<\/p>\n In this episode we<\/span> <\/span>focus on the history of ESG with commentary by <\/span>BU <\/span>Accounting Professor, <\/span><\/span>Eddie Riedl<\/span><\/span>, and <\/span><\/span>John Streur<\/span><\/span>, former CEO of Calver<\/span>t Research and Management<\/span><\/span>. <\/span>T<\/span>hey remind us that t<\/span>hroughout history, <\/span>companies<\/span> have <\/span>factored<\/span> nonfinancial issues<\/span> into their <\/span>business <\/span>plans<\/span>. <\/span>Questionab<\/span>le practices like <\/span>child labor and<\/span> the slave trade have been adopted or rejected<\/span>, based on competing priorities for profit or<\/span> e<\/span>thics<\/span>. <\/span>Global trade and finance, the physical impacts of climate change, and an increase in demands for diversity and equal pay have all served to put a spotlight on ESG-related issues. Reporting requirements have evolved from investor demand for <\/span>additional<\/span> information, to corporations responding with sometimes <\/span>incomplete<\/span> <\/span>data, to best practices that <\/span>emerge<\/span> as companies learn from each other,<\/span>\u00a0to regulators setting standards based on best practices. <\/span>Both profi<\/span>tability disclosure, and fair value reporting are <\/span>examples of <\/span>topics that were once controversial, yet now commonplace. <\/span>The<\/span>se guests <\/span>discuss the <\/span>parallels<\/span> they see<\/span> in today\u2019s<\/span> evolution of ESG disclosure <\/span>to <\/span>the historical development of past reporting standards.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span> <\/p>\n Release date: May 16, 2024<\/p>\n Although ESG (environmental, social, governance) has become politically controversial, businesses are still working to address the impacts of ESG factors. <\/span><\/span>Chief Impact Officer<\/span><\/span> of Energy Impact Partners, <\/span><\/span>Peter Fox-Penner<\/span><\/span>, <\/span><\/span>and Mindy Lubber, CEO and President of C<\/span>eres<\/span> discuss how companies are integrating climate risk data into their core business operations, how today\u2019s political pushback against ESG is affecting business decisions, and where we are with the data on environmental risks. <\/span>Both Lubber and Fox-Penner maintain that businesses are taking into account environmental and social risks as part of their bottom line.<\/span> Sustainability officers are no longer off to the side but<\/span>\u00a0are now reporting to the C-suite and fully integrated into planning for all departments. The <\/span>SEC (Securities and Exchange Commission)<\/span> included climate risk in its new rules because the SEC regulates risk to companies – and climate risk is a material and financial risk. Metrics and data are plentiful, despite the challenges of measuring some risks <\/span>\u2013 essentially, the<\/span> data is good enough to provide guidance to companies and the learning curve is ongoing. Lubber argues for a price on carbon. <\/span><\/span> Release date: May 23, 2024<\/p>\n The future of ESG depends on how we approach our current moment, according to today’s show guests.<\/span> <\/span>Associate Professor at BU School of Law, <\/span><\/span>Madison Condon<\/span><\/span>, and Bob Eccles, Visiting Professor of Management Practice at Sa\u00efd Business School, University of Oxford, talk about the politicization of ESG and the need for a bipartisan approach to the critical risks surrounding climate change and other systemic issues. ESG as a term is going away, but the environmental risks created by climate change are not. Condon argues that asset managers will need to take creative leaps of judgement in assessing investments <\/span>in light of<\/span> climate change \u2013 how should we invest in a climate change future? <\/span>Many<\/span> <\/span>asset managers support the new SEC rules <\/span>regarding<\/span> climate disclosures.<\/span> Eccles argues that people are expecting too much from reporting alone and that there is substantial support for a carbon tax across the political spectrum.<\/span> <\/span>Finally, the panelists describe how <\/span>new <\/span>t<\/span>echnology<\/span>, both in terms of tracking emissions and creating new low<\/span>–<\/span>emission <\/span>versions of <\/span>products like cement, is <\/span>also <\/span>an important part of <\/span>the <\/span>evolution of <\/span>ESG investing.<\/span><\/span>\u00a0<\/span> Listen to the rest of the Is Business Broken? Podcast here:<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":" These days, it\u2019s hard to ignore the debate over the role business should play in society. The terms greenwashing, tech monopolies, and corporate greed seem ubiquitous. But what if business could actually help solve some of today\u2019s biggest problems? The\u00a0Is Business Broken? podcast features conversations with academics, industry leaders, and politicians that ask the thorny […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":0,"parent":668,"menu_order":4,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"footnotes":"","_links_to":"","_links_to_target":""},"class_list":["post-2042","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"yoast_head":"\nPromises and Perils of the ESG Movement<\/h3>\n
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\n[bu_list_profiles format=”advanced” include=”983, 2097″]\nRevisiting ESG: How Did We Get Here?<\/h3>\n
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\n[bu_list_profiles format=”advanced” include=”991, 1098″]\nWhat Are Today\u2019s Business Leaders Saying About ESG?<\/h3>\n
\n[bu_list_profiles format=”advanced” include=”1092, 2092″]\nThe Future of ESG: Where Do We Go from Here?<\/h3>\n
\n[bu_list_profiles format=”advanced” include=”905, 2101″]\n<\/div>\n