SUSTAINABILITY: BUSINESS AND INVESTMENT IMPLICATIONS

This book explores the business and investment implications of sustainability, both opportunities and challenges. The volume lays the groundwork for understanding the growing areas of sustainable business and sustainable finance. Over the past few decades, the world has witnessed significant improvements in economic development that meet a wide range of human needs. Ensuring that such development takes place in a 'sustainable' way is the central focus of the book. The book provides insights for businesses, investors, and others on how to navigate this complex and evolving landscape.

The United Nations and global leaders in business and investment have emphasized the important role that the private sector can play in protecting the environment and promoting a more sustainable use of resources.

'What is needed now is a new era of economic growth — growth that is at the same time socially and environmentally sustainable. This call for action in the Forward to the 1987 Bruntland Report (Our Common Future), which emphasizes that economic growth is part of the solution not the problem, still rings true nearly 40 years later.

'Private sector leadership is vital to advance sustainable development and fight the existential threats of climate change, biodiversity loss and pollution.'

Like Henry Ford's strategy over 100 years ago at the time of the mass introduction of the Model T Ford, Elon Musk had a similar strategy for switching from fossil fuels to renewable energy powered cars. '[Initially enter] the high end of the market, where customers are prepared to pay a premium, and then drive down [the] market as fast as possible to higher unit volume and lower prices with each successive model.'

'Investing for the long term requires taking a long-term view of what will impact returns, including demographics, government policy, technological advancements, and the transition to a low carbon economy.'

'Capital markets are an extraordinarily powerful tool in the fight against climate change. Government action is certainly critical. But ultimately, reducing emissions globally depends on the private sector recognizing the commercial opportunities that sustainability presents.'

Contents:

• Preface
• Acknowledgments
• List of Figures
• List of Tables
• Abbreviations and Acronyms
• Summary of Chapter Abstracts
• About the Editors
• About the Contributors
• Background and Context (Diane-Charlotte Simon)
• Science and Challenges of Sustainability (R Daniel Bressler)
• Business Implications:
  • Business and Sustainability (Diane-Charlotte Simon and Laurie Lane-Zucker)
  • Entrepreneurship and Sustainability (Andrea E McGrath and Laurie Lane-Zucker)
  • Corporate Sustainability and Financial Performance (Diane-Charlotte Simon)
  • The Financial Case for Embedding Sustainability Core into Business Strategy (Tensie Whelan)
  • Risk Management and Sustainability (Robert Pojasek)
• Investment Implications:
  • Introduction to Sustainable Finance & Investing (Diane-Charlotte Simon)
  • Building a Sustainable Portfolio (Diane-Charlotte Simon)
  • Impact Investing (James Gifford and Jerome Tagger)
  • Shareholder Engagement (James Gifford and Robert L Berridge)
• Environmental Implications:
  • Environmentally Sustainable Businesses, Energy Transition, and Climate Finance (Diane-Charlotte Simon)
  • Business and Financial Implications of Climate Change (Alan S Miller)
• Policy Implications:
  • Market Imperfections: Internalizing the Externalities (Ingmar Schumacher)
  • Environmental Policies, Laws, and Regulations (Karl Boyd Brooks and Diane-Charlotte Simon)
  • Climate Change Adaptation, the Role of the State, and Fiscality (Peter S Heller)
  • Macro-economic Implications of Sustainability (Alexander S Preker and Susan C Hulton)
• Afterword: Pitfalls of Industrial Policy
• Glossary A: Sustainability Terms
• Glossary B: Business and Investment Terms
• Index

Readership: The book provides insights for businesses and investors on how to navigate this complex landscape of sustainability. It is intended as a primer for university business schools and schools of public policy and administration. It also appeals to a broader readership, including thought-leaders, policymakers, regulators, technical specialists, professionals, entrepreneurs, the press, social media, and the public at large.

Key Features:

• Books on sustainability focus either on the societal dimension, the company perspective, or the investing perspective. This book covers both
• This multi-author book gathers prominent authors and field experts in sustainable finance and sustainability such as James Gifford, the founding executive director of the UN Principles for Responsible Investment, Peter Heller, the former Deputy Director of the Fiscal Affairs Department of the International Monetary Fund and current lecturer at Williams College in the Center for Development Economics, Allan Miller who developed the Climate Department in the IFC and is now a contributor to the COP, Jerome Tagger from UNEP, or Tensie Whelan, Director of NYU Center for Sustainable Business
• This book provides a foundation for persons interested in understanding sustainability and its impacts on companies and the financial sector. It also provides theoretical background and hands-on applications of how a person makes a difference to tackle sustainability issues either in business, finance, or policy in a pragmatic way