Academic Signatories
Academic Leaders Affirm Commitment to Assessing Environmental, Social and Governance Factors as Part of Fiduciary Duty
Dear federal and state policy makers,
We the undersigned faculty and researchers are writing to express our concern about the nature of attacks on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) screening, sustainable investing and stakeholder capitalism. Critics argue that investors should not have access to ESG information about companies they invest in. We think they should. Disclosure is not political; it is a tool to make sure markets work properly.
Many of us have researched these topics for years and have examined how best to protect investors from the risks presented by financially material impacts caused by climate change, water scarcity and economic inequality amongst other challenges affecting our workforces, supply chains, business models and capital markets.
We are already seeing the consequences of climate change: extreme weather damages reached more than $165 billion in the U.S. in 2022. In fact, while the 1980–2022 annual average is 7.8 events (CPI-adjusted); the U.S. has seen a significant rise in the annual average in the last 5 years (2017–2022) to 17.9 events, while climate models predict increasing losses from more frequent and extreme weather-related disasters.
ESG is a framework used to assess the current or potential impact of issues that affect a company’s bottom line to ensure that the company and its shareholders are adequately protected against risk and/or taking advantage of related new business opportunities. Corporate leaders and investors have measured and managed these factors for decades. Investors want early signals of whether a company is a good manager of material ESG issues to be good fiduciaries. Opposing disclosure makes it more likely markets will fail, because real costs and risks are not priced in.
Critics have pointed to the lack of credibility of corporate claims about ESG performance. However, strides are being made. U.S. and international regulators are working on regulatory frameworks to ensure that corporate claims are credible and vetted. These improvements are needed to ensure ESG reporting provides useful market signals.
In a world where shocks from climate change, water scarcity and poverty drive negative impacts for people and the bottom line, taxpayers, shareholders and pensioners need science-based efforts to ensure that asset managers are embracing their fiduciary duty to protect the long-term viability of shareholder returns.
In the hopes that our research into ESG will be of help in understanding its strengths and weaknesses, we have linked some academic work below:
What ESG Is and Is Not:
ESG, Stakeholder Governance and the Duty of a Corporation
ESG Reports are Not a Substitute for Sustainability
Rescuing ESG From the Culture Wars
Rethinking Environmental/Social/Governance Metrics for the Mainstream Investor
ESG and Financial Returns:
Meta-Analysis on the Correlation between ESG and Financial Performance
How Sustainability Drives Improved Corporate Performance
Five Ways That ESG Creates Value
Corporate Goodness and Shareholder Wealth
How Media Coverage of Corporate Social Irresponsibility Increases Financial Risk
The True Cost of States Banning Investors with ESG Policies:
Financial Costs of Banning ESG Policies
The Need for Stakeholder Capitalism
Edward Freeman on Business and Its Stakeholders
Spinning Gold: The Financial Returns to Stakeholder Management
We stand ready to provide more research and insights for policy discussions.
Ajai Gaur, Rutgers University, Professor and Chair
Alison Taylor, NYU Stern School of Business, Clinical Associate Professor
Andrew Karolyi, Cornell University, SC Johnson College of Business, Professor of Finance & Dean
Anne Jacqueminet, Bocconi University, Assistant Professor
Annmarie Urso, SUNY-Geneseo, Associate Professor
Benjamin K Haywood, Furman University, Associate Director, Faculty Development Center
Benyamin Lichtenstein, University of Massachusetts-Boston, Prof. of Entrepreneurship and Management
Bevin Ashenmiller, Occidental College, Professor of Economics
Bram van der Kroft, Maastricht University, PhD Candidate
Brian E Robinson, McGill University, Associate Professor
Bruce Usher, Columbia Business School, Professor of Practice
Caleb Gallemore, Lafayette College, Associate Professor
Calli Vander Wilde, University of Michigan, PhD Candidate
Cary Krosinsky, Brown University, NYU, & Yale University, Lecturer
Caryl Waggett, Allegheny College, Professor of Global Health Studies
Catherine Valentine, Monarch Business School, PhD Candidate
Claire Rapp, Oregon State University, Postdoctoral Researcher
Claudio RizziI, ESE Business School, Assistant Professor of Finance
Craig Landry, University of Georgia, Professor of Natural Resource Economics
Cristian Ramos, Bard College, Assistant Director
Cristiano Zazzara, NYU Stern School of Business, Adjunct Professor of Finance
Daina Mazutis, University of Ottawa, Telfer School of Management, Associate Professor of Strategy
Dan Esty, Yale School for the Environment, Yale Law School Hillhouse Professor and Director of Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy
Dan Smith, Bard College, Energy Manager
Daniel L Vermeer, Duke University, Associate Professor of the Practice
Daniel R. DiLeo, Creighton University, Justice & Peace Studies Program, Director & Associate Professor
Danielle Warren, Rutgers University, Professor
David G. Henderson, Western Carolina University, Associate Professor
David Krantz Arizona State University, Doctoral Researcher
Dr. Laura Henry-Stone, University of Lynchburg, Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences and Sustainability
Dr. Robert Strand, University of California-Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Executive Director, Center for Responsible Business
Eban Goodstein, Bard College, Director
Elizabeth Demers, University of Waterloo, Professor
Eric Jamelske, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Professor of Economics
Feng Gao, Rutgers Business School, Associate Professor
Frank J. Byrne, SUNY Oswego, Professor of History
Gary A. Gomby, Central Connecticut State University, Lecturer
Gernot Wagner, Columbia Business School, Climate Economist & Senior Lecturer
Glen Dowell, Cornell University, Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management
Haynes C. Goddard, University of Cincinnati, Department of Economics, Professor of Economics, Emeritus
Ian Kwant, University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, Erb Institute, Student-Alumni Affairs Coordinator
Jack Tessier, SUNY-Delhi, Professor of Biology
Jae C. Jung, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Bloch School of Management, Associate Professor
Jan Kunnas, University of Oulu, Associate Professor of Ecological Economic History
Janice Shade, Bard College, Adjunct Professor, Accounting and the Integrated Bottom Line, Sustainable Finance
Jason Jay, MIT Sloan School of Management, Senior Lecturer
Jason Wong, Occidental College, Assistant Professor
Jeana Wirtenberg, Rutgers Business School, Associate Professor of Professional Practice
Jeffrey York, University of Colorado Boulder, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship
Jennifer Kleindienst, Wesleyan University, Sustainability Director
Jessica Gilbert-Overland, SUNY Geneseo, PRODiG Postdoctoral Fellow
Joanne Ciulla, Rutgers Business School, Professor Director of the Institute for Ethical Leadership
Joel Harmon, Fairleigh Dicksinson University, Professor of Management
Joelle Kanyana, University of Pittsburgh, ESG Literacy Program Manager
Joerg S. Hofstetter, KEDGE Business School, Professor
John M Kerr, Michigan State University, Professor
Julia Kress, Houston Community College, Adjunct Professor of History & Rice University, Senior Electronic Resources Assistant
Karen Patterson, University of New Mexico, Associate Professor
Katharine Sims, Amherst College, Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies
Keith Landa, SUNY, University Faculty Senate President
Kenneth W. Foster, Concordia College, Professor
Klaus Weber, Northwestern University, Professor of Management and Organizations
Kristianna Bowles, Rice University, Sustainability Program Coordinator
Laura Gitman, Bard College, Faculty, Consulting and Strategy
Lawrence Baxter, Duke Law School, David T. Zhang Professor
Leah S. Horowitz, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Assistant Professor
Lenore Kantor, Bard College, Lecturer, Career Development
Lisa Tessier, SUNY, Professor
M. Jahi Chappell, Michigan State University, WK Kellogg Foundation Endowed Chair & Professor
Madhu Khanna, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign
Manjit Monga, University of South Australia, Lecturer
Maria Jose Murcia, Universidad Austral, Argentina, Associate Professor
Markus Taussig, Rutgers Business School, Associate Professor
Matt Burnett, SUNY-Canton, Professor, Campus Governance Leader
Maxwell A. Sherman, MIT Sloan School of Management, PhD Candidate
Mette Morsing, UN PRME Principles of Responsible Management Education, Professor & Head
Michael H. Shuman, Bard College, Adjunct Professor, MBA Program
Michael Kaplowitz, Michigan State University, Professor
Michael L. Barnett, Rutgers Business, School, Dean’s Research Professor
Michelle de Nevers, University of California – Berkeley, Lecturer, Executive Director of Sustainability
Mook Bangalore, London School of Economics, PhD Candidate
Nadia Ameli, University College London, Principal Research Fellow Amelia Miazad, University of California-Davis, School of Law, Acting Professor of Law
Nancy DiTomaso, Rutgers Business School, Distinguished Professor
Neil Leary, Dickinson College, Director, Center for Sustainability Education
Noa Gafni, Rutgers Business School, Institute for Corporate Social Innovation, Executive Director
Olivier Boiral, Université Laval, Full Professor
Pankaj Lal, Montclair State University, Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center, Professor & Director
Peter Dawson Buck, Penn State University, Sustainability Institute, Local Climate Action Program, Co-Director
Peter J. Jacques, University of Central Florida, Professor
Peter Tufano, Harvard Business School, Baker Foundation Professor & Harvard University
Pierre Tapie, ESSEC Business School, Former Dean & President
R.J. Multari, SUNY-Buffalo, University Faculty Senator
Rachel Kowal, NYU Stern School of Business, Clinical Professor of Business Law, Associate Director Business & Society Program
Ranjit Bawa, University of New Hampshire, Visiting Assistant Professor
Rebecca Henderson, Harvard Business School, John and Natty McArthur University Professor
Richard S. Feldman, Marist College, Chair & Associate Professor of Environmental Science & Policy
Rimi Zakaria, Associate Professor of Management, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Robert B. Richardson, Michigan State University, Professor
Robert Eccles, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Visiting Professor of Management Practice
Ronni Gura Sadovsky, Trinity University, Assistant Professor of Philosophy
Rosa Oppenheim, Rutgers Business School, Professor & Vice Chair, Department of Supply Chain Management
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration
Roxane Beigel-Coryell, California State University Channel Islands, Director of Sustainability & Energy
Runi Mukherji, SUNY-Old Westbury, Professor, Department of Psychology
Ryan W. Taylor, Purchase College, SUNY, Associate Professor
Salata Institute for Climate, Sustainability Senior Advisor
Salma Monani, Gettysburg College, Professor
Sara Soderstrom, University of Michigan, Associate Professor
Sarah Jacobson, Williams College, Professor of Economics
Shana McDermott, Trinity University, Associate Professor
Shannon Switzer, California State University San Marcos, Assistant Professor of the Environment
Sharon Moran, SUNY Environmental Science & Forestry, Associate Professor
Shiva Rajgopal, Columbia Business School, Kester and Byrnes Professor
Sunny L Jardine, University of Washington, Associate Professor
Susan Caplow, University of Montevallo, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies
Susanne Moser, Antioch University of New England, Research Faculty
Tamara L. Sheldon, University of South Carolina, Associate Professor
Tensie Whelan, NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, Professor, Founding Director
Terri Kurtzberg, Rutgers University, Professor of Management and Global Business
Terry Nelidov, University of Michigan, Managing Director, Erb Institute
Thomas P. Lyon, University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, Professor & Erb Institute, Faculty Director
Timothy Koechlin, Vassar College, Director, International Studies Program
Timothy M. Smith, University of Minnesota, Professor, Sustainable Systems Management & International Business
Todd Cort, Yale School of Management, Senior Lecturer
Tom Tietenberg, Colby College, Mitchell Family Professor
Tony He, Rutgers Business School, Assistant Professor
Tunç DurmazYildiz Technical University, Associate Professor
W. Douglass Shaw, Texas A&M University, Professor Emeritus
Wayne B. Gray, Clark University, Professor of Economics
Wayne Eastman, Rutgers Business School, Professor
Wendy Gordon, SUNY Plattsburgh, Professor
William R Moomaw, Tufts University, Professor Emeritus
William Woo, Northeastern University, Professor, Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Winston Hovekamp, Yale University, PhD Candidate
Witold J Henisz, University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, Vice Dean and Faculty Director, ESG Initiative; Deloitte & Touche Professor of Management