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- January 2022
- Article
Why Is Corporate Virtue in the Eye of the Beholder? The Case of ESG Ratings
By: Dane Christensen, George Serafeim and Anywhere Sikochi
Despite the rising use of environmental, social, and governance (ESG) ratings, there is substantial disagreement across rating agencies regarding what rating to give to individual firms. As what drives this disagreement is unclear, we examine whether a firm’s ESG...
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- December 2021
- Case
Bed Bath & Beyond: The New Strategy to Drive Shareholder Value
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel W. Fisher
At one time, Bed Bath & Beyond was one of the most successful specialty retailers in the United States—it’s growth and profit margins far exceeded both peer retailers in the home goods market as well as many other discount retailers. But in 2014, its stock price...
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- December 2021
- Case
Danish Crown: Feeding the Future
By: David E. Bell, Damien P. McLoughlin, Daniela Beyersdorfer and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej
Danish Crown, one of the world’s largest exporters of pork meat and one of Europe’s tops five producers of beef, faced increasing headwinds in 2021, making CEO Jais Valeur feel like the core of the meat business was under attack. As a cooperative and prominent player...
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Keywords:
Agribusiness;
Animal-Based Agribusiness;
Food;
Environmental Management;
Climate Change;
Environmental Sustainability;
Nutrition;
Cooperative Ownership;
Change Management;
Transition;
Leadership;
Leading Change;
Marketing;
Product Marketing;
Corporate Strategy;
Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry;
Food and Beverage Industry;
Europe;
Denmark
- Working Paper
ESG: Hyperboles and Reality
By: George Serafeim
ESG has rapidly become a household name leading to both confusion about what it means and creating unrealistic expectations about its effects. In this paper, I draw on more than a decade of research to dispel several myths about ESG and provide answers to important...
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- November 15, 2021
- Article
Putting Your Corporate Purpose to Work
By: Hubert Joly
Making a company purpose come to life is an arduous journey that requires a multi-pronged and sustained approach. Yet as hard as it is, the journey is well worth it and will yield positive transformation not only for the company, but also for the people who work there....
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- Article
Accounting for Climate Change
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Karthik Ramanna
Corporations are facing growing pressure—from investors, advocacy groups, politicians, and even business leaders themselves—to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions from their operations and their supply and distribution chains. About 90% of the companies in the S&P...
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- Article
B Corps: Can It Remake Capitalism in Japan?
By: Geoffrey Jones
This article examines the B Corporation movement that originated in the United States in 2006. The founders sought to create a new type of company whose governance structure mandated them to consider financial, social and environmental performance. A certification...
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- September 2021 (Revised October 2021)
- Case
Dream: Impact Through Real Estate
By: Michael Chu and John Masko
The Canadian city of Toronto had one of the largest housing affordability problems of any city in the developed world. One company trying to address this problem was Dream, one of the largest real estate groups in Canada. In 2021, Dream had just launched a new system...
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Keywords:
Impact Investing;
Real Estate Development;
Renewable Energy;
Energy Conservation;
Income;
Values and Beliefs;
Borrowing and Debt;
Equity;
Private Equity;
Public Equity;
Financing and Loans;
City;
Government Legislation;
Immigration;
Housing;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Mission and Purpose;
Property;
Business and Government Relations;
Civil Society or Community;
Human Needs;
Sustainable Cities;
Environmental Sustainability;
Social Enterprise;
Real Estate Industry;
Canada;
Toronto
- August 2021
- Case
Danone S.A.: Becoming a Mission-Driven Company (A)
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Emilie Billaud
Emmanuel Faber became CEO of Danone SA, the French food and beverage company, in 2014. Right from the start, he ran the company with a dual commitment to both profit and purpose (i.e., ESG objectives). In fact, in 2018, he said, “It’s time to make sustainable business...
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- August 2021
- Supplement
Danone S.A.: Becoming a Mission-Driven Company (B)
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Emilie Billaud
Describes the events that took place in the first six months after Danone became France’s first “entreprise à mission” (mission-driven company).
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- August 2021
- Supplement
Danone S.A.: Becoming a Mission-Driven Company (C)
By: Benjamin C. Esty and Emilie Billaud
Describes the events that took place in the first year after Danone became France’s first “entreprise à mission” (mission-driven company).
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- August 2021
- Case
Danaher Corporation (Abridged)
By: Bharat Anand, David J. Collis and Sophie Hood
Between 1985 and 2007, Danaher has been one of the best-performing industrial conglomerates in the U.S. This case examines the corporate strategy of this diversified, global corporation. It describes the firm's portfolio strategy and the Danaher Business System—a...
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- Article
Making Small Farms More Sustainable—and Profitable
By: Lino Dias, Robert S. Kaplan and Harmanpreet Singh
Smallholder farms provide a large proportion of food supply in developing economies, but 40% of these farmers live on less than U.S.$2/day and their deforestation produces environmental degradation. With a rapidly growing global population, it is imperative to improve...
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- 2021
- Working Paper
How to Fix ESG Reporting
By: Robert S. Kaplan and Karthik Ramanna
Investors, advocacy groups, academics, and the 200 CEOs of the US Business Roundtable have asked corporations to take on an added purpose beyond a narrow pursuit of shareholder value. In response, many companies now issue ESG (Environmental, Societal, and Governance)...
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Keywords:
ESG Reporting;
Sustainability;
Corporate Purpose;
Greenhouse Gas;
Activity-Based Costing;
Environmental Sustainability;
Environmental Management;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Measurement and Metrics;
Goals and Objectives;
Agreements and Arrangements;
Corporate Accountability
- 2021
- Book
The Power of Trust: How Companies Build It, Lose It, Regain It
By: Sandra J. Sucher and Shalene Gupta
Trust is the most powerful force underlying the success of every business. Yet it can be shattered in an instant, with a devastating impact on a company’s market cap and reputation. How to build and sustain trust requires fresh insight into why customers, employees,...
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Keywords:
Power;
Corporate Culture;
Future Of Work;
Innovation;
Technology Strategy;
Automation;
Stakeholder Engagement;
Employee Attitude;
Customer Behavior;
Shareholder Value;
Government And Business;
Impact Investing;
Corporate Change And Sustainability;
Trust;
Power and Influence;
Globalization;
Leadership;
Organizational Culture;
Innovation and Invention;
Human Resources;
Technology;
Strategy;
Corporate Accountability;
Asia;
Europe;
South America;
Middle East;
North and Central America
- July 2021
- Article
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...
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Keywords:
Voluntary Disclosure;
Accounting Standards;
Sustainability;
Nonfinancial Information;
Corporate Social Responsibility;
Stock Price Informativeness;
Synchronicity;
Environmental Sustainability;
Corporate Disclosure;
Corporate Accountability;
Stocks;
Price;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Accounting;
Standards
- 2021
- Working Paper
Accounting for Product Impact in the Oil and Gas Industry
By: Katie Panella, George Serafeim and Katie Trinh
We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the oil and gas industry. We design a monetization methodology that allows us to calculate monetary product impact estimates of...
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Keywords:
Product Innovation;
Impact;
Impact Investing;
Impact Measurement;
ESG;
ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance;
ESG Ratings;
Social Corporate Responsibility;
Corporate Social Responsibility;
Social Impact;
Oil;
Oil ＆ Gas;
Oil And Gas;
IWAI;
Impact-Weighted Accounts;
Product Design;
Product Positioning;
Society;
Environmental Sustainability;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Product
- 2021
- Working Paper
Accounting for Product Impact in the Pharmaceuticals Industry
By: Amanda Rischbieth, George Serafeim and Katie Trinh
We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the pharmaceuticals industry. We design a monetization methodology that allows us to calculate monetary impact estimates of accessible...
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Keywords:
Product Innovation;
Impact;
Impact Investing;
Impact Measurement;
ESG;
ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance;
ESG Ratings;
Social Corporate Responsibility;
Corporate Social Responsibility;
Social Impact;
Pharmaceutical Companies;
Pharmaceuticals;
IWAI;
Product Design;
Product Positioning;
Society;
Environmental Sustainability;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Product;
Safety;
Pharmaceutical Industry
- 2021
- Working Paper
Accounting for Product Impact in the Interactive Media and Services Industry
By: DG Park, George Serafeim and Katie Trinh
We apply the product impact measurement framework of the Impact-Weighted Accounts Initiative (IWAI) in two competitor companies within the interactive media and services industry. We design a monetization methodology that allows us to calculate monetary impact...
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Keywords:
Product Innovation;
Impact;
Impact Investing;
Impact Measurement;
ESG;
ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance;
ESG Ratings;
Social Corporate Responsibility;
Corporate Social Responsibility;
Social Impact;
Social Media;
Product Design;
Product Positioning;
Society;
Product;
Environmental Sustainability;
Measurement and Metrics;
Framework;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Technology Industry
- June 2021
- Case
Building the Governance to Take Capital SAFI to the Next Level
By: V.G. Narayanan, Asis Martinez Jerez and Mariana Cal
Asset management firm Capital SAFI wanted to attract new strategic investors and expand to other countries. Having the right corporate governance in place was critical to achieve this goal.
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Keywords:
Board Of Directors;
Transparency;
Sustainable Finance;
South America;
Latin America;
Corporate Governance;
Governance Controls;
Governing and Advisory Boards;
Business Organization;
Corporate Strategy;
Transformation;
Investment Funds;
Financial Services Industry;
Bolivia;
South America;
Latin America