Business for a Better World Center

Research

Envisioning a sustainability-oriented future for corporate governance

Jennifer Anzaldi — Thu, 01 Dec 2022 14:19:59 +0000

Envisioning a sustainability-oriented future for corporate governance Jennifer Anzaldi Thu, 12/01/2022 - 09:19

The “G” in “ESG”, which stands for governance, comes last, but not least. In fact, corporate governance may become the most important member of the trio, as mounting ESG awareness continues to enlarge the current conception of risk management. Soon, directors of publicly traded companies may be held increasingly responsible for heading off business risks related to the “E” and the “S”, such as the societal ramifications of carbon emissions and human capital flight due to less-than-living wages.

Cases in point: Boards of directors of Facebook and other high-profile companies have been sued by shareholders for breach of DEI pledges. The Securities and Exchange Commission (SEC) has broadened its regulatory agenda to include climate change, cyber risk governance, board diversity and human capital.

Given this context of change, it was an appropriate moment for the Business for a Better World Center (B4BW) to convene an in-person Stakeholder Roundtable on the subject of Corporate Governance. The half-day event took place at Point of View International Retreat & Research Center at Mason Neck in Lorton, VA on October 21.

Previous Stakeholder Roundtable events were held virtually with the stated mission of “engag[ing] tri-sector leadership, our faculty and students to ensure forward progress is made on business meeting the values and expectations of society as well as its various stakeholders and to drive stakeholder capitalism further into the mainstream.”

After encouraging opening remarks from Dean Ajay Vinzé, a keynote speech was given by Michael Sion, a partner at Bain & Company who also sits on B4BW’s Advisory Board. In his talk, Sion laid out four main stumbling blocks preventing corporate boards from pivoting from the doctrine of shareholder primacy to a more stakeholder-oriented view. Lack of information means that directors are often ill-equipped to understand trade-offs between stakeholder and business outcomes. Lack of representation results in board composition that is misaligned with the demographics – and thus the concerns – of the broader society. Lack of incentives lessens the motivation for directors to rethink how they make decisions, unless they are pressured to do so for core business reasons. Lack of transparency hinders corporate accountability for decisions incurring environmental and/or social risks.

B4BW Executive-in-Residence Rashed Hasan then described a solution that would address the aforementioned challenges. Currently in development, the Stakeholder Value Index uses a wealth of corporate data to quantify the value firms bring to their employees, communities, customer and suppliers as well as the planet, shareholders and the company itself.

Narrowing the focus to one key stakeholder – employees – Tannia Talento, regional director from the office of U.S. Senator Mark Warner (D-VA), spoke of the Senator’s efforts to advance legislation that would incentivize corporations to invest in worker training by offering a business-related tax credit. Warner also co-authored a letter to the SEC urging the agency to require labour-related corporate disclosures, including the percentage of workers classified as “independent contractors” and thus exempted from many protections.

The following speaker was Cambria Allen-Ratzlaff, managing director and head of investor strategies for JUST Capital, an independent non-profit whose rankings and indices are designed to “drive capital toward good corporate citizens.” Allen-Ratzlaff explained that JUST Capital derives its priorities by polling the American public on their priorities. Consistently, paying a fair and living wage and job creation in the U.S. come in first and second in the polls. In addition, she presented a data-driven case that fair and equitable human capital management was completely in line with business objectives. Better corporate citizens, she argued, are also better managers and can deliver higher shareholder returns on average.

Usman Ahmed, head of global public affairs and strategic research for PayPal, described how the digital-payments giant launched the Worker Financial Wellness Initiative. The purpose of the initiative was to increase workers’ Net Disposable Income (i.e. the amount left over after taxes and necessary expenses) from as low as four percent in some regions to 20 percent across the board. To achieve this, PayPal extended equity eligibility to all employees, reduced healthcare costs, reviewed and raised wages, and provided financial consulting services. Consequently, the minimum global NDI for PayPal employees reached an estimated 16 percent in 2021.

However, corporations must balance the feel-good factor and social mission of stakeholder capitalism against potential legal limitations, especially in our age of rising shareholder activism. Donald Kochan, a professor at ��AV’s Scalia School of Law and deputy executive director of the Law & Economics Center, cautioned the group that shareholder value maximization has been enshrined in the U.S. legal framework for corporate oversight. He zeroed in on the distinction between a “corporation”, which is owned by shareholders and holds a unique legal status, and a “business”, an entity with no prescribed ownership structure that has wider decision-making latitude. For corporations, shareholder value is the sole legally acknowledged criterion for measuring managerial performance. Adding other decision-making criteria – beneficial as they may be for society – would give shareholders actionable cause for complaint. Therefore, Kochan argued, boards of directors need to develop ways of driving business growth (and, by extension, shareholder returns) that also, as a secondary effect, benefit other stakeholders.

Other than the above-named speakers, attendees at the Roundtable included B4BW staff, Mason School of Business faculty, MBA students and law students. Rounding out the proceedings, participants engaged in breakout sessions on corporate information transparency and how boards can advocate on behalf of employees.

Rashed Hasan, who leads the Stakeholder Roundtable Series, observed at the end of the day, “This is very exciting to see everyone is opening up to meet in person and now we are able to convene a small group of tri-sector leaders, our faculty and our students to engage in open and frank discussion on some of the challenging issues facing business and society.” The next Roundtable is being planned for the later part of spring 2023.

Topics

Costello College of Business Faculty Research

Management Faculty Research

Costello College of Business

Community Partners

Point of View

Campus News

Mason leads the way on sustainable business education

Colleen Rich — Wed, 05 Oct 2022 19:12:28 +0000

Mason leads the way on sustainable business education Colleen Rich Wed, 10/05/2022 - 15:12

Since 2019, ��AV’s Business for a Better World Center (B4BW) has led the university’s contribution to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Management Education (PRME) North America chapter.

B4BW academic co-director Lisa Gring-Pemble (standing) with student panelists. Photo provided

"As educators, we have a moral imperative to educate our students about sustainable business,” said B4BW academic co-director Lisa Gring-Pemble. “Our future is dependent upon young global leaders solving our complex problems with creativity, persistence, and a commitment to people, planet, and prosperity."

As part of the UN Global Compact, PRME’s purpose is to foster greater commitment to sustainability, as defined by the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), across pedagogy, research and community engagement at business schools.

Earlier this year, Mason hosted a three-day meeting of North American chapter at Mason Square, bringing in 70 representatives from 25 U.S. and Canadian business schools.

Mason’s hosting of this meeting was a milestone in its close association with UN PRME, which dates all the way back to the initiative’s inception in 2007. Former Mason president Angel Cabrera was the lead author of the initiative’s founding document.

“We’re recognized as leaders, and that’s why we were chosen to do this,” said B4BW academic co-director Anne Magro.

B4BW academic co-director Anne Magro (at podium) moderates a panel on “Partnerships to Effect Change.” Photo provided

In 2018, Mason was inducted as a member of PRME Champions, a leadership group composed of about 40 academic institutions. All told, UN PRME has more than 880 signatory members.

The April 2022 meeting had a special atmosphere. For many attendees, it marked a return to work-related travel after a protracted, pandemic-mandated pause. In addition to an even greater-than-usual gratitude for being together, there was a heightened feeling of urgency to resume the collective mission.

The meeting’s agenda was constructed around the key strategic questions, Magro said, such as “How can we get more recognition for the work that is done? And how can we prepare people to do this work?”

The three levels on which PRME’s signatory schools can make a difference—pedagogy, research and community/societal engagement—were balanced on the agenda.

A few highlights:

A panel on experiential learning, featuring the work of B4BW Impact Fellows, showcased the sustainability-focused activities of Mason students, including volunteering, a summer “wicked problems bootcamp” and participating in mental health outreach to Afghan refugee communities.

The SDG 17 Rooms working session. Photo provided

Reflecting on her panel appearance, Impact Fellow Ashanti Martin said, “The most gratifying take away from PRME was being able to express my newfound passion on zero hunger and food insecurity from a student perspective.”

Panelist Oishee Mukhopadhyaya stated, “Professionals from NYU-Stern, University of Quebec and others referred to our panel and even spoke with me to learn more about our initiatives. It felt like people were hearing us.”

A working session for junior scholars gave advice on accomplishing—and attaining institutional support for—impactful research aligned with the SDGs. A separate panel featured a group of professors working to integrate sustainability criteria based on the SDGs into the research standards used to rank business schools.

In a fireside chat, Paula Sorrell, Mason’s associate vice president for innovation and economic development, and B4BW director of research Toyah Miller discussed how the entrepreneurship ecosystem could break down barriers to inclusivity.

Also, Maury Peiperl, then dean of Mason’s School of Business, and Alp Özerdem, dean of the Jimmy and Rosalynn Carter School for Peace and Conflict Resolution, led a talk about how business can contribute to international conflict resolution, with a focus on the humanitarian situation in Ukraine.

In addition, the event was intended to provide a platform for initiating real-world change, starting with the UN PRME North America signatory institutions and hopefully radiating outward from there.

“How do we take our ideas and come up with some actionable plans?” said Magro. “It’s supposed to be a creative process that then leads to actionable steps, by thinking about how we might work together across different universities.”

Top future goals for the North America chapter include growing the membership—already the largest within U.N. PRME—and expanding its diversity to include more HBCUs and Hispanic-serving universities.

Topics

Campus News

Costello College of Business

United Nations Sustainable Development Goals

Institute for a Sustainable Earth (ISE)

New Course for Fall 2022 - BUS 491: Building Business for Impact

Mary Byerley — Mon, 25 Apr 2022 13:47:06 +0000

New Course for Fall 2022 - BUS 491: Building Business for Impact Mary Byerley Mon, 04/25/2022 - 09:47

Fall 2022

BUS 491-003: Building Business for Impact - Rethinking Business and How it Drives Change in the World

Instructor: Professor Leila Austin
Day/Time: Wednesday,1:30pm - 4:10pm
CRN: 82709

About This Course: What is the role of business in addressing our biggest shared challenges? Join us to explore why both practically and morally, business leaders can no longer sit on the sidelines of major societal shifts or treat human and planetary issues as "someone else's problem." In this class, you will learn how a growing number of leading companies are unlocking greater value for their businesses while helping solve larger problems for the benefit of all. Bringing together concepts from multiple disciplines, you will gain an understanding of the depth of today’s global challenges and how businesses can thrive from helping to solve the world’s problems.

Course Highlights
Gain advanced business knowledge and leadership skills for today’s complex world
Meet visionary leaders who are actively transforming industry to meet the needs of people and planet
Learn about the power of purpose-driven business models Understand the transformative power of business innovation through high-impact partnerships

*BUS 491 is a multidisciplinary course open to students of all majors. No prerequisites required.

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Business Buzz

Watch On-Demand: October 7, 2021 Stakeholder Capitalism Discussion Series with Perry Chen

Marianne Klinker — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 19:10:12 +0000

Watch On-Demand: October 7, 2021 Stakeholder Capitalism Discussion Series with Perry Chen Marianne Klinker Thu, 01/27/2022 - 14:10

Bringing leaders to campus is central to the mission of the Business for a Better World Center within the School of Business at ��AV. The Center launched the Stakeholder Capitalism Discussion Series in 2021 to explore how stakeholder capitalism can be applied to businesses in a world rife with persistent inequality, social injustice, racial bias, and environmental degradation. On Thursday, October 7, 2021, the Business for a Better World Center welcomed Perry Chen, founder of Kickstarter. The conversation focused on Chen's vision for a more generative and less extractive society, and the structures, tools, and institutions needed to enable that transformation. Watch the recording:

Interested in upcoming events from the Business for a Better World Center? See our events page.

Topics

Business for a Better World Stakeholder Capitalism Discussion Recap

Watch On-Demand: October 27, 2021 Ideas to Impact Speaker Series with Joshua Specht

Marianne Klinker — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 19:08:20 +0000

Watch On-Demand: October 27, 2021 Ideas to Impact Speaker Series with Joshua Specht Marianne Klinker Thu, 01/27/2022 - 14:08

Bringing leaders to campus is central to the mission of the Business for a Better World Center within the School of Business at ��AV. The Center’s Ideas to Impact Speaker Series brings social impact and sustainability thought leaders from top-tier organizations directly to Mason students. On Friday, April 16, 2021, the Center welcomed Joshua Specht, author of Red Meat Republic: A Hoof-to-Table History of How Beef Changed America. Specht, an environmental and business historian of the United States, explores how American rich and poor came to expect affordable high-quality fresh beef. The book further outlines the human and environmental costs of this abundance. Watch the recording:

Interested in upcoming events from the Business for a Better World Center? See our events page.

Topics

Business for a Better World Stakeholder Capitalism Discussion Recap

Watch On-Demand: November 19, 2021 Panel Discussion on Empowering Climate Action

Marianne Klinker — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 18:59:03 +0000

Watch On-Demand: November 19, 2021 Panel Discussion on Empowering Climate Action Marianne Klinker Thu, 01/27/2022 - 13:59

Bringing leaders to campus is central to the mission of the Business for a Better World Center within the School of Business at ��AV. In this panel discussion, held on Friday, November 19, leaders from a wide range of disciplines and communities outlined a framework by which the United States can empower the American people, in partnership with government, business, and civil society, to act on the climate crisis. Watch the recording:

Interested in upcoming events from the Business for a Better World Center? See our events page.

Topics

Business for a Better World Stakeholder Capitalism Discussion Recap

Watch On-Demand: December 2, 2021 Stakeholder Capitalism Discussion Series on Assessing Company Performance

Marianne Klinker — Thu, 27 Jan 2022 16:27:07 +0000

Watch On-Demand: December 2, 2021 Stakeholder Capitalism Discussion Series on Assessing Company Performance Marianne Klinker Thu, 01/27/2022 - 11:27

Bringing leaders to campus is central to the mission of the Business for a Better World Center within the School of Business at ��AV. The Center launched the Stakeholder Capitalism Discussion Series in 2021 to explore how stakeholder capitalism can be applied to businesses in a world rife with persistent inequality, social injustice, racial bias, and environmental degradation. On Thursday, December 2, 2021, the Center welcomed B Lab, JUST Capital, and World Benchmarking Alliance to discuss the importance of measuring companies in aligning their strategy and tactics with Stakeholder Capitalism. Watch the recording:

Interested in upcoming events from the Business for a Better World Center? See our events page.

Topics

Business for a Better World Stakeholder Capitalism Discussion Recap

Lisa Gring-Pemble on How Sustainability Is Good Business

Marianne Klinker — Mon, 06 Dec 2021 16:47:15 +0000

Lisa Gring-Pemble on How Sustainability Is Good Business Marianne Klinker Mon, 12/06/2021 - 11:47

In This Story

Lisa M. Gring-Pemble

Listen to the podcast.

Lisa Gring-Pemble, associate professor of business foundations, thinks business can be a force for good in society. Also the co-director of ��AV’s Business for a Better World Center and co-founder of the university’s Honey Bee initiative, Gring-Pemble is an outspoken champion of that sensibility. She tells Mason President Gregory Washington how and why business should be a force for addressing world challenges on ��AV's Access to Excellence podcast. She also describes how business can drive sustainability success and shouldn’t be measured simply by profits but how it affects the environment and the communities in which we live. Listen here.

Topics

Honey Bee Initiative

A Better World is Everyone’s Business

Marianne Klinker — Fri, 03 Dec 2021 19:02:42 +0000

A Better World is Everyone’s Business Marianne Klinker Fri, 12/03/2021 - 14:02

In This Story

Lisa M. Gring-Pemble

It wasn’t until 1972, during a United Nations conference in Stockholm, that the nations of the world formally announced what was already self-evident to most—human activity was detrimentally impacting the environment, and in turn, threatening our future prosperity. Nearly 50 years on, it seems that the more things change, the more they stay the same.

Perhaps the earth’s most essential forest, the Amazon is under tremendous threat from international economic and agricultural forces that are exchanging trees for pasture and cropland. Compounding matters are the pressures generated Local beekeepers Pilar Muravari and her husband Gabriel Caritimari, with Honey Bee Initiative Master Beekeeper German Perilla, sustainably extract honey from a nest of native stingless Melipona eburnea in Peru. by residents. Many local and indigenous communities, lacking better options, have turned to unsustainable, and environmentally damaging, income-generating activities such as logging, hunting, and fishing.

The combined effect is that the Amazon’s ability to shelter universally significant levels of biodiversity, regulate local and global hydrological cycles, and serve as a critically important sink for carbon dioxide are all imperiled. So too are the lives and livelihoods of those who depend on it for their survival.

In this challenge, the Business for a Better World Center (B4BW), through its Honey Bee Initiative (HBI), sees an opportunity to act with people, planet, and prosperity in mind to help change the fate of both an environment and its inhabitants.

Led by Germán Perilla, MAIS ’12, HBI is, of course, well known here on campus. Its expansion into the Amazon (Colombia and Perú specifically) highlights the initiative’s and the center’s fundamental ambition: making an impact globally, and at scale. By empowering communities through entrepreneurial beekeeping programs, B4BW has created sustainable economic opportunities for rural and indigenous communities. Importantly, the beehives are more lucrative endeavors than the extractive practices they are seeking to replace.

The effort has been well-received, and many program participants share the pride of Exiles Guerra, a local government leader in Perú, who observed that “The program is very important for the community...it is a new opportunity for all.” The work in Colombia has been so successful that it recently was selected as the 15th best overall social and environmental project in Latin America and the Caribbean by the Latinoamérica Verde, the largest social environmental festival in Latin America. Moving forward, HBI seeks to expand its impact by establishing a meliponiculture (study of stingless bees) school in Perú, taking the Colombia project nationwide, and using the HBI model in countries around the globe.

The success and global footprint of the Honey Bee Initiative serves as a template B4BW seeks to replicate. With a belief that a better world is everyone’s business, center leadership realize that as educators, we play a role in preparing the next generation to help reorient the business environment.

“Our goals are lofty,” says Lisa Gring-Pemble, co-executive director for B4BW. “We seek to lead a movement that will reshape business education so that it inspires students to act not just in the best interest of shareholders, but for the benefit of all stakeholders.”

Here in Virginia, the center sees its Impact Fellows program as one piece of that puzzle. Launched in Fall 2020, this signature two-year, cohort-based undergraduate program responds to the needs of first-generation students, and those from lower-income groups and who are underrepresented in business, by providing an immersive learning environment based on the United Nations Global Goals, with elements such as local and/or global field study and personalized mentoring. Additionally, the center is engaged in an audit of all School of Business courses, focused on what and how students are taught about the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). We then intend to develop an undergraduate concentration and a minor on the topic of responsible business.

In spring 2021, B4BW hosted the Ashoka U Exchange’s international conference bringing thought leaders, students, faculty, and foundation representatives to Mason’s campus for discussions around social innovation and responsible business. The center, its board members, and international partners share a focus on embedding the SDGs throughout business education, and creating educational programs and experiences to help students see, and visualize, how business can act as a force for good in the world.

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