In 2020, 36% of total global assets under management report that they consider environmental, social and governance (ESG) factors in portfolio selection and management – up from 21% in 2012. Over the past decade, the share of executives, board members, and investment managers who consider climate risk, racial justice and other ESG issues to be material to their business decisions has doubled. However, the same stakeholders report that their confidence in their ability to undertake such analysis has halved. If a business case for ESG issues can be demonstrated, pools of capital are poised to make an impact. Join Wharton Professor Witold Henisz for a discussion about the rapidly evolving ESG landscape in financial services, corporate strategy, consulting, and entrepreneurship.
Witold Henisz is the Vice Dean and Faculty Director of the ESG Initiative and Deloitte & Touche Professor of Management in Honor of Russell E. Palmer, former Managing Director at The Wharton School, The University of Pennsylvania. He also serves as an advisor to Engine No. 1 for whom he developed the Total Value Framework and co-authored a recent report for Focusing Capital on the Long Term (FCLT) on ‘Walking the Talk’: Valuing a Multi-Stakeholder Orientation. His research examines the impact of political hazards as well as ESG factors more broadly on the strategy and valuation of global corporations. He has won multiple teaching awards and teaches extensively in executive education programs on these topics. He also helped design and participated in Dean James’ Fall 2021 Lecture Series Beyond Business.