Where theory and practice meet: Sustaining and impactful, and especially for governance fiduciaries.
Link to article:
To pre-register for the program:
https://www.marquette.edu/business/executive-education/esg-sustainable-finance.php
A visit to Arizona last year brought this home…When on a pink Jeep tour of the Cococino National Forest near Sedona, I asked our guide whether the area had seen a reversal of fortune on rainfall, and he said that the green we saw was only from a recent reprieve of some precipitation, otherwise the mostly brown vegetation was from the 20-year mega drought, with average annual rainfall 75% below average.
https://www.wsj.com/articles/arizonas-dry-future-begins-as-colorado-river-shrinks-11650718801
In this interview with Marquette Today, I attempt to define ESG.
The Financial Economist Roundtable weighs in on the SEC’s proposed climate-related disclosure rules. Their advice: limit rules to ESG related-cash flows and avoid “proxy legislation” of social and environmental policy.
https://www.tandfonline.com/doi/full/10.1080/0015198X.2022.2044718
The Financial Economist Roundtable (FER) is a group of senior financial economists who have made significant contributions to the finance literature and seek to apply their knowledge to current policy debates. FER was founded in 1993 and meets annually. Members attending an FER meeting discuss specific policy issues on which the FER may adopt statements. When the FER issues a statement, it reflects a consensus among at least two-thirds of the attending members, and all the members who sign it support it. The list of signatories for the 2021 statement can be found at http://www.financialeconomistsroundtable.com/.
Interesting take in this essay on what ESG is and isn’t in the current context of the Russian invasion of Ukraine from Robert Eccles.
For sustainability, 2021 was a year of strong words, a couple of practical steps forward and some contact with harsh realities. Let’s review.
1) Commitments to net zero increased, but so did carbon emissions.
2) Water scarcity came back into focus.
3) Governments continued to demonstrate unbridled haplessness despite all words and enthusiasm at COP26.
4) The world received its first sustainability accounting body, the most important development of the year..
5) We learned that an energy transition takes years and not months.
6) Greenwashing started to not pay as experienced by Deutsche Bank.
7) China made some noises, and then erected a massive array of coal burning utilities.
8) Germany surrendered its energy policy to Russia.
9) The U.S. came up with a massive climate policy and then failed to pass it.
10) Boards upped their diversity efforts (prompted by SROs/regulators).
Looking forward to seeing what 2022 brings.
This is an excellent interview and captures a number of timely issues and dilemmas facing the contemporary company, CEO and board.
2. CFA Institute announces final ESG Investment Product Disclosure Standards
https://www.cfainstitute.org/en/ethics-standards/codes/esg-standards
We announced this week at the Marquette Sustainability 2.0 Conference our partnership with the Value Reporting Foundation (SASB) on a brand new Executive Education Sustainability Track program.
Now taking pre-registration for 2022! www.Marquette.edu/ESG #esg #sustainability
Last day to register!
https://www.marquette.edu/business/companies/sustainability.php