ESG - Publications - Faculty & Research

March 2009 (Revised October 2009)
Case

CalPERS' Emerging Equity Markets Principles

By: Robert G. Eccles and Aldo Sesia

The California Public Employees' Retirement System (CaIPERS)—the largest public pension fund in the U.S.—had adopted a new principles-based approach to investing in emerging market equities in November 2007. Previously, CalPERS internal and external money managers were... View Details

Keywords: Values and Beliefs; Investment Return; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Emerging Markets; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Value; Financial Services Industry; Public Administration Industry; China; California

Citation

Educators

Purchase

12 Mar 2024
HBS Case

How Used Products Can Unlock New Markets: Lessons from Apple's Refurbished iPhones

Some of Apple’s most loyal customers think nothing of upgrading to the latest iPhone every time one comes out. But what about consumers who can’t splurge on a $1,000 iPhone 15 Pro? And what about the electronic waste that would accrue if people threw away functional... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne; Electronics; Information Technology

17 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Are Companies Getting Away with 'Cheap Talk' on Climate Goals?

Companies regularly set ambitious climate goals, but these plans often end up like many people’s New Year’s resolutions: unmet aspirations that quietly fizzle out. While companies often gain positive media attention by trumpeting plans for reducing greenhouse gas... View Details

Keywords: by Tim Gray

21 Oct 2011
Working Paper Summaries

Market Interest in Nonfinancial Information

Keywords: by Robert G. Eccles, Michael P. Krzus & George Serafeim

12 Sep 2023
What Do You Think?

Who Gets the Loudest Voice in DEI Decisions?

social, and governance issues at the heart of so-called “stakeholder capitalism.” Corporations that become too visible in support of stakeholder capitalism run the risk of losing public investors, such as pension funds in states in which View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

22 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

When Does Impact Investing Make the Biggest Impact?

important sector.” You Might Also Like: ESG Activists Met the Moment at ExxonMobil, But Did They Succeed? As Climate Fears Mount, More Investors Turn to 'ESG' Funds Despite Few Rules Are Companies Actually Greener—or Are They All Talk?... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

09 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Could Clean Hydrogen Become Affordable at Scale by 2030?

Hydrogen is poised to move from the sidelines of global clean energy as the industry learns to produce it more efficiently and at lower cost, according to newly published research led by Gunther Glenk, a climate fellow with Harvard Business School's Institute for the... View Details

Keywords: by Desmond Dodd; Energy; Green Technology

04 Apr 2023
Book

Two Centuries of Business Leaders Who Took a Stand on Social Issues

While shareholders still reign supreme at many companies, a widespread shift toward more responsible business practices is driving more leaders to take a stand on social and environmental issues today, says Harvard Business School Professor Geoffrey Jones. Jones... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Consumer Products; Fashion; Retail; Green Technology

01 Mar 2023
What Do You Think?

How Much Does 'Deep Purpose' Matter to the Bottom Line?

importance for a concept that inevitably will become confused with other developments in management. For example, how will answers to that question be clouded by the political debate surrounding the importance of ESG (environment, social,... View Details

Keywords: by James Heskett

03 Dec 2018
Research & Ideas

How Companies Can Increase Market Rewards for Sustainability Efforts

flavijus For the first time, a link has been drawn between public sentiment about a company’s sustainability practices and how that company is valued in the market. The results are important both for investors searching for under-valued, socially responsible companies,... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

16 Feb 2021
Research & Ideas

To Fight Climate Change, Should Green Investors Reconsider Big Oil?

allocated to sustainable funds that invest in companies with specific environmental, social, and governance (ESG) factors and goals. Since 2015, when the US Department of Labor began allowing pension fund managers to incorporate ESG... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Energy

28 Aug 2017
Research & Ideas

Should Industry Competitors Cooperate More to Solve World Problems?

relationships of competitors,” he says. Serafeim, the Jakurski Family Associate Professor at Harvard Business School, discusses his theory in a recent email interview. His paper is called Investors as Stewards of the Commons? Sean Silverthorne: Why is your proposal... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne; Financial Services; Manufacturing; Agriculture & Agribusiness; Mining

06 May 2019
Research & Ideas

Consumers Blame Business for Global Health Problems. Can Business Become the Solution?

measures. The Global Reporting Initiative captures ESG information from over 80 percent of the world’s largest corporations. Every company wants to be known as a good global citizen, and ESG reporting helps... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost; Health

29 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

'Green Bonds' May Be Our Best Bet for Environmental Damage Control

environment by accessing finance at better terms. “The whole idea of ESG investing is predicated on the notion that by tilting their portfolios towards securities that have better ESG properties, investors... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy; Utilities; Construction; Green Technology; Public Administration

12 Apr 2010
Research & Ideas

One Report: Better Strategy through Integrated Reporting

Report begins with identifying the most important financial and ESG metrics for the company in its given industry and the strategy it is pursuing to achieve its goals. In some cases, revenue growth may be critical; in others, earnings... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

23 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 23, 2018

performance has increased over time and that the premium is increasing as a function of positive public sentiment momentum. An ESG factor going long on firms with superior or increasing sustainability performance and negative sentiment... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

02 Jan 2018
Research & Ideas

The Most Popular Stories and Research Papers of 2017

publishes summaries of working papers written by Harvard Business School faculty—along with links to the full text of those papers. Here are the five most downloaded working papers of 2017: Why and How Investors Use ESG Information:... View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

10 Jun 2015
Research & Ideas

The Transparency Revolution in Corporate Reporting

inclusive capitalism. Below, he describes how such standardized reporting could empower both companies and investors, and how it could revolutionize business practices in the future. Christian Camerota: What prompted you to study the impact of View Details

Keywords: Re: George Serafeim

23 May 2011
Op-Ed

Leading and Lagging Countries in Contributing to a Sustainable Society

earnings. Thus integrated reporting requires a change in the behavior of investors: They must take a longer-term view and more explicitly incorporate ESG metrics into their financial models, thereby transforming them into business models.... View Details

Keywords: by Robert G. Eccles & George Serafeim

06 Mar 2018
First Look

First Look at Research and Ideas, March 6, 2018

forthcoming Financial Analysts Journal Why and How Investors Use ESG Information: Evidence from a Global Survey By: Amel-Zadeh, Amir, and George Serafeim Abstract—Using survey data from a sample of senior investment professionals from... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

Publications