ESG Reporters' Bootcamp 2022:
Covering the Truth about Ethical Investing and ESG
Around the globe, the demand for ethical investing is exploding amid shareholder concerns about climate change, social justice, and corporate responsibility.
In 2021, more than $649 billion poured into funds focused on environmental, social, and corporate governance (ESG) issues, a set of standards used by socially conscious investors to screen investments. In response to Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, corporations are pulling out of Russia or suspending their operations. As ESG-labeled funds take in billions, what do journalists need to know to report the truth about them?
In May 2022, the Ross School of Business and the Knight-Wallace Fellowships for Journalists at the University of Michigan presented three engaging and interactive sessions for journalists on understanding and evaluating industry claims around ESG. We heard from newsmakers, corporate leaders, and Michigan faculty experts on how to look beyond the corporate gloss, dig into data, and bring transparency to this complex and often politicized topic.Â
Whether you’re a reporter covering business, climate, social justice, or general news, these sessions were designed to help you understand the most current issues driving the business and investing world.Â
Click on the tabs below to see videos on each subject of the ESG acronym:
Corporations are speaking out on political and social issues that they avoided in the past, while re-thinking how they engage their workforce. Why is this happening now, and what can we expect in the coming years as corporations adapt to the new expectations of millennials and Generation Z?Â
Introduction & Definition of Terms | Watch Video 🎥
Lynette Clemetson, Director of the Wallace House at the University of Michigan
Jerry Davis, Faculty Director of Business+Impact, Gilbert and Ruth Whitaker Professor of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business and Professor of Sociology, The University of Michigan.
Opening Discussion | Watch Video 🎥
Scott Tong, co-host of Here & Now, NPR’s midday news magazine, produced at WBU
Rana Foroohar, global business columnist and associate editor at the Financial Times
Michigan Ross faculty talk | Watch Video 🎥
Sarah Miller, assistant professor of business economics and public policy
Faculty workshops | No Breakout videos; subjects shown for context
The payoff for good employers | Achyuta Adhvaryu, Alexander M. Nick Professor, Associate Professor of Business Economics and Public Policy
Business and K12 education | Samantha Keppler, assistant professor of technology and operations
Can platforms combat racism? | Jun Li, assistant professor of technology and operations
Business & reproductive care | Sarah Miller, assistant professor of business economics and public policy
Censorship and misinformation | Mohamed Mostagir, assistant professor of technology and operations
The generation-long consensus that corporations exist to create shareholder value is under siege. CEOs and boards of directors, as well as some of the world’s largest investors, are creating new expectations around corporate responsibility and elite accountability — including who should be represented at the top. What are the new rules for these new rulers, and who gets a say?
Introduction | Watch Video 🎥
Lynette Clemetson, Director of the Wallace House at the University of Michigan
Jerry Davis, Faculty Director of Business+Impact, Gilbert and Ruth Whitaker Professor of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business and Professor of Sociology, The University of Michigan.
Opening discussion | Watch Video 🎥
Judy Samuelson, vice president at the Aspen Institute and founder and executive director of the Aspen Institute Business and Society Program
Michigan Ross faculty talk | Watch Video 🎥
Cindy Schipani, Merwin H. Waterman Collegiate Professor of Business Administration and professor of business law
Faculty workshops | No Breakout videos; subjects shown for context
Supply chains and human rights | David Hess, professor of business law and business ethics
Shareholder democracy | Nadya Malenko, associate professor of finance
Big Data and DEIÂ |Â Chris Rider, Thomas C. Kinnear Professor and Associate Professor of Strategy
Corporate crime | Will Thomas, assistant professor of business law
Effective boards | James Westphal, Harvey C. Fruehauf Professor of Business Administration
Corporations are central both to creating and addressing climate change. Dozens of corporations have made commitments to achieving zero carbon emissions in the years and decades ahead. How much of this commitment is greenwashing, and what are the most promising paths toward sustainability?
Introduction | Watch Video 🎥
Lynette Clemetson, Director of the Wallace House at the University of Michigan
Jerry Davis, Faculty Director of Business+Impact, Gilbert and Ruth Whitaker Professor of Business Administration at the Ross School of Business and Professor of Sociology, The University of Michigan.
Opening discussion | Watch Video 🎥
Niala Boodhoo, host of Axios Today, a daily morning news podcastÂ
Tariq Fancy, BlackRock’s first global chief investment officer for sustainable investing, founder of the Rumie Initiative
Michigan Ross faculty talk | Watch video 🎥
Tom Lyon, Dow Professor of Sustainable Science, Technology and Commerce, professor of business economics and public policy, and professor of environment and sustainability
Read Tom Lyon’s article in The Conversation: “How a sustainability index can keep Exxon but drop Tesla – and 3 ways to fix ESG ratings to meet investors’ expectations”
Faculty workshops | No Breakout videos; subjects shown for context
Is on-demand sustainable? | Kate Astashkina, assistant professor of technology and operations
Adapting to the anthropocene | Andy Hoffman, Holcim (US) Professor of Sustainable Enterprise
Climate finance | Jeremy Kress, assistant professor of business law
Employee climate advocacy | Sara Soderstrom, associate professor of organizational studies
Responsibility beyond borders | Maggie Zhou, associate professor of strategy
