In this module, entitled Introduction to Environmental, Social and Governance Factors and Concepts. There are eight videos. In this first welcome video. I'll briefly introduce the content in the next seven videos of the first module, as well as introduce myself. The introductory module, is designed to define and to limit what we mean by ESG factors and how they relate to corporate performance, as well as shareholder returns. I'll also situate these factors and concepts within a broader debate occurring today, surrounding two alternative visions of the purpose of the corporation. ESG factors are a critical element in reconciling the arguments that on the one hand, the purpose of a corporation is to maximize shareholder value. Versus on the other hand, that the purpose of the corporation is to achieve harmony among a broader set of stakeholder interests. Including those of employees, suppliers, communities, government actors, civil society as well as the natural environment. In the following six videos, I'll introduce and motivate the importance of each of the three factors that collectively comprise ESG for corporate performance and for shareholder returns. First, environmental than social, finally, governance. Then I'll highlight that while their myriad pathways linking s key factors to performance and returns, they all share two common elements. First, they link affirms impact on ESG factors to stakeholders. And stakeholders actions or reactions that in turn and in time, impact a firm's profits and loss statement. Specifically, its revenue growth, gross margins or productive efficiency. Second, they flow through a firm stakeholders, again its employees, suppliers, the communities where it does business, the government officials, in those communities, states or nations and the natural environment in which all of these stakeholders are embedded. These stakeholders may enhance the firm's ability to create an appropriate value or they may disrupt those processes. In the seventh video will acknowledge that despite these common elements, different factors will be material for different industries, through different pathways over different time arises. Conceptually, not all ESG factors are equally important in the abstract for each industry. In some cases, the most important or salient ESG issue may not be under the managers control, but upstream in the supply chain or downstream. In the use of your product or service by your customer. A firm stakeholders may privilege one set or subset of factors at a given moment in time, due to recent headlines, scandals or political or activist campaigns. Technology or market structure may also play a role in influencing the pattern of firms actions and reactions on ESG issues. Let me also introduce myself. My name is Witold Henisz and I'm the Deloitte and Touche professor of management at the Wharton School. We're also direct the war and political risk lab and founded ESG analytics lab. Over more than two decades, award my research and teaching as well as my consulting. Have all focused on the material impacts of nontraditional business risks. I've worked to show that the value of a gold mine or an oil field or defense technology, is crucially dependent not only in its operational characteristics or its costs, but also on how it's perceived by a firm stakeholders. My work focuses on a wide range of industries and sectors. Beginning with privatized electricity and telecommunications utilities and then broadening to oil, gas, mining as well as heavy manufacturing, including defense and semiconductor fabrication facilities. Have published this work broadly in journals focused on strategic management, international business, international relations, sociology and even corporate finance. Throughout this academic work and in my consulting, I've sought to bring new data and means visualizing that data into the analysis, that's both academically rigorous and practically relevant. In recent years, a growing focus of my work has been on identifying, analyzing and advocating for better measurement of material, environmental, social and governance factors. That research has been done in partnership with asset managers, including the Calvert institute, Bank of America, Merrill Lynch Northern Trust, Credit Suisse, the TIA Institute. Companies offering professional services and risk management, governance and strategy such as the Wise US Geo Strategic Business Group, the Diligent Corporation and Logic Manager. As well as nonprofits and civil society organizations including the United Nations, the Children's Investment Fund Foundation, the Bay and Paul foundations and the World Wildlife Fund. I've consulted with a wide array of firms spanning the extractive manufacturing and service sectors. As well as with government, inter governmental and civil society organizations. My most recent major client, has been the asset manager engine number one, which waged a successful Proxy fight to replace three board members of ExxonMobil. Claiming that their failure to adapt to the climate transition, destroyed billions of dollars of shareholder value. I worked with them to develop their total value framework, which extends this logic to the firms in which they invest in their concentrated equity portfolio, their engagement strategy and their index fund and other investment strategies to come. I'm excited to share the perspective that I've gained on ESG factors through this research and consulting as well as some of the cutting edge research were developing at the ESG analytics lab at the Wharton School. Which is designed to push the frontier of academically rigorous, but practically relevant knowledge forward.
