Faculty & Research - Business & Environment

62 Results

2020
Working Paper

A Preliminary Framework for Product Impact-Weighted Accounts

By: George Serafeim, Katie Trinh and T. Robert Zochowski

While there has been significant progress in the measurement of an organization’s environmental and social performance, metrics to evaluate the impact of products once they come to market lag far behind. In this paper we provide a framework for systematic measurement...

Forthcoming
Journal of Business Ethics

Material Sustainability Information and Stock Price Informativeness

By: Jody Grewal, Clarissa Hauptmann and George Serafeim

As part of the SEC’s revision of Regulation S-K, many investors proposed the mandatory disclosure of sustainability information in the form of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data. However, progress is contingent on collecting evidence regarding which...

Forthcoming
AEA Papers and Proceedings

Tackling Climate Change Requires Organizational Purpose

By: Rebecca Henderson and George Serafeim

Unchecked climate change presents a profound threat to economic growth and political stability but despite widespread public concern about the issue, global emissions of greenhouse gases (GHGs) have not declined. Indeed current “business as usual” predictions imply...

Forthcoming
Financial Analysts Journal

Public Sentiment and the Price of Corporate Sustainability

By: George Serafeim

Combining corporate sustainability performance scores based on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data with big data measuring public sentiment about a company’s sustainability performance, I find that the valuation premium paid for companies with strong...

2019
Book Chapter

The Consequences of Mandatory Corporate Sustainability Reporting

By: Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim

A key aspect of the governance process inside organizations and markets is the measurement and disclosure of important metrics and information. In this chapter, we examine the effect of sustainability disclosure regulations on firms’ disclosure practices and...

Forthcoming
Accounting Horizons

Voluntary, Self-Regulatory, and Mandatory Disclosure of Oil and Gas Company Payments to Foreign Governments

By: Paul M. Healy and George Serafeim

Concerns about high rates of government corruption in resource-rich countries have led transparency advocates to urge oil and gas firms to disclose payments to host governments for natural resources. Transparency, they argue, can increase government accountability and...

October 16, 2019
Institutional Investor

Where ESG Fails

By: Michael E. Porter, George Serafeim and Mark Kramer

We are entering a new stage of understanding of the linkage between investment performance and social impact. Previous approaches, such as socially responsible investing and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) screening, have obscured the opportunities for...

July 2019
Management Science

Market Reaction to Mandatory Nonfinancial Disclosure

By: Jody Grewal, Edward J. Riedl and George Serafeim

We examine the equity market reaction to events associated with the passage of a directive in the European Union (EU) mandating increased nonfinancial disclosure. These disclosures relate to firms’ environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance and would be...

Barron's

3 Ways Investors Can Pressure Companies to Take Sustainability Seriously

By: Mindy Lubber and George Serafeim

March 1, 2019
Barron's

ESG Returns Eventually Will Win Over Critics

By: George Serafeim

2019
Harvard Business Review (website)

Yes, Sustainability Can Be a Strategy

By: Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim

January 2019 (Revised February 2020)
Case

Should a Pension Fund Try to Change the World? Inside GPIF's Embrace of ESG

By: Rebecca Henderson, George Serafeim, Josh Lerner and Naoko Jinjo

In the fall of 2018, Hiro Mizuno, the Chief Investment Officer (CIO) of GPIF, the Japanese Government Pension Fund, was reflecting on his efforts to integrate Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues into every aspect of GPIF’s portfolio. His efforts ranged...