Academic Signatories

LAST UPDATED: JUNE 5 @ 9 AM ET

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: 

Turning Down the Heat on the ESG Debate: Separating Material Risk Disclosures from Salient Political Issues 

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. 

Caryl Waggett, Allegheny College, Professor of Global Health Studies 
Katharine Sims, Amherst College, Professor of Economics and Environmental Studies 
Susanne Moser, Antioch University of New England, Research Faculty  
David Krantz Arizona State University, Doctoral Researcher 
Cristian Ramos, Bard College, Assistant Director 
Michael H. Shuman, Bard College, Adjunct Professor, MBA Program 
Dan Smith, Bard College, Energy Manager 
Eban Goodstein, Bard College, Director 
Laura Gitman, Bard College, Faculty, Consulting and Strategy 
Janice Shade, Bard College, Adjunct Professor, Accounting and the Integrated Bottom Line, Sustainable Finance 
Lenore Kantor, Bard College, Lecturer, Career Development 
Anne Jacqueminet, Bocconi University, Assistant Professor 
Cary Krosinsky, Brown University, NYU, & Yale University, Lecturer 
Roxane Beigel-Coryell, California State University Channel Islands, Director of Sustainability & Energy  
Shannon Switzer, California State University San Marcos, Assistant Professor of the Environment 
Gary A. Gomby, Central Connecticut State University, Lecturer 
Wayne B. Gray, Clark University, Professor of Economics 
Tom Tietenberg, Colby College, Mitchell Family Professor 
Shiva Rajgopal, Columbia Business School, Kester and Byrnes Professor 
Gernot Wagner, Columbia Business School, Climate Economist & Senior Lecturer 
Bruce Usher, Columbia Business School, Professor of Practice 
Kenneth W. Foster, Concordia College, Professor 
Glen Dowell, Cornell University, Henrietta Johnson Louis Professor of Management 
Andrew Karolyi, Cornell University, SC Johnson College of Business, Professor of Finance & Dean 
Daniel R. DiLeo, Creighton University, Justice & Peace Studies Program, Director & Associate Professor  
Neil Leary, Dickinson College, Director, Center for Sustainability Education 
Lawrence Baxter, Duke Law School, David T. Zhang Professor 
Daniel L Vermeer, Duke University, Associate Professor of the Practice 
Claudio RizziI, ESE Business School, Assistant Professor of Finance 
Pierre Tapie, ESSEC Business School, Former Dean & President 
Joel Harmon, Fairleigh Dicksinson University, Professor of Management 
Benjamin K Haywood, Furman University, Associate Director, Faculty Development Center 
Salma Monani, Gettysburg College, Professor  
Rebecca Henderson, Harvard Business School, John and Natty McArthur University Professor 
Julia Kress, Houston Community College, Adjunct Professor of History & Rice University, Senior Electronic Resources Assistant 
Peter Tufano, Harvard Business School, Baker Foundation Professor & Harvard University
Rosabeth Moss Kanter, Harvard Business School, Ernest L. Arbuckle Professor of Business Administration 
Salata Institute for Climate, Sustainability Senior Advisor 
Joerg S. Hofstetter, KEDGE Business School, Professor 
Caleb Gallemore, Lafayette College, Associate Professor 
Mook Bangalore, London School of Economics, PhD Candidate 
Bram van der Kroft, Maastricht University, PhD Candidate 
Richard S. Feldman, Marist College, Chair & Associate Professor of Environmental Science & Policy 
Brian E Robinson, McGill University, Associate Professor 
M. Jahi Chappell, Michigan State University, WK Kellogg Foundation Endowed Chair & Professor 

Michael Kaplowitz, Michigan State University, Professor  
Robert B. Richardson, Michigan State University, Professor 
John M Kerr, Michigan State University, Professor 
Jason Jay, MIT Sloan School of Management, Senior Lecturer 
Maxwell A. Sherman, MIT Sloan School of Management, PhD Candidate 
Catherine Valentine, Monarch Business School, PhD Candidate  
Pankaj Lal, Montclair State University, Clean Energy and Sustainability Analytics Center, Professor & Director 

William Woo, Northeastern University, Professor, Entrepreneurship & Innovation
Klaus Weber, Northwestern University, Professor of Management and Organizations 
Tensie Whelan, NYU Stern Center for Sustainable Business, Professor, Founding Director 
Alison Taylor, NYU Stern School of Business, Clinical Associate Professor 
Rachel Kowal, NYU Stern School of Business, Clinical Professor of Business Law, Associate Director Business & Society Program 
Cristiano Zazzara, NYU Stern School of Business, Adjunct Professor of Finance 
Jason Wong, Occidental College, Assistant Professor 
Bevin Ashenmiller, Occidental College, Professor of Economics 
Claire Rapp, Oregon State University, Postdoctoral Researcher 
Peter Dawson Buck, Penn State University, Sustainability Institute, Local Climate Action Program, Co-Director 
Ryan W. Taylor, Purchase College, SUNY, Associate Professor 
Kristianna Bowles, Rice University, Sustainability Program Coordinator 
Michael L. Barnett, Rutgers Business, School, Dean’s Research Professor 
Jeana Wirtenberg, Rutgers Business School, Associate Professor of Professional Practice 
Joanne Ciulla, Rutgers Business School, Professor Director of the Institute for Ethical Leadership 
Wayne Eastman, Rutgers Business School, Professor  
Rosa Oppenheim, Rutgers Business School, Professor & Vice Chair, Department of Supply Chain Management 
Markus Taussig, Rutgers Business School, Associate Professor 
Tony He, Rutgers Business School, Assistant Professor 
Nancy DiTomaso, Rutgers Business School, Distinguished Professor 
Feng Gao, Rutgers Business School, Associate Professor 
Noa Gafni, Rutgers Business School, Institute for Corporate Social Innovation, Executive Director  
Danielle Warren, Rutgers University, Professor 
Terri Kurtzberg, Rutgers University, Professor of Management and Global Business 
Ajai Gaur, Rutgers University, Professor and Chair  
R.J. Multari, SUNY-Buffalo, University Faculty Senator 
Matt Burnett, SUNY-Canton, Professor, Campus Governance Leader 
Jack Tessier, SUNY-Delhi, Professor of Biology 
Sharon Moran, SUNY Environmental Science & Forestry, Associate Professor 
Annmarie Urso, SUNY-Geneseo, Associate Professor  
Jessica Gilbert-Overland, SUNY Geneseo, PRODiG Postdoctoral Fellow 
Runi Mukherji, SUNY-Old Westbury, Professor, Department of Psychology 
Frank J. Byrne, SUNY Oswego, Professor of History 
Wendy Gordon, SUNY Plattsburgh, Professor  
Keith Landa, SUNY, University Faculty Senate President 
Lisa Tessier, SUNY, Professor 
W. Douglass Shaw, Texas A&M University, Professor Emeritus 
Robert Eccles, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford, Visiting Professor of Management Practice

Shana McDermott, Trinity University, Associate Professor 

Ronni Gura Sadovsky, Trinity University, Assistant Professor of Philosophy 
William R Moomaw, Tufts University, Professor Emeritus  

Mette Morsing, UN PRME Principles of Responsible Management Education, Professor & Head 
Maria Jose Murcia, Universidad Austral, Argentina, Associate Professor 
Olivier Boiral, Université Laval, Full Professor 

Nadia Ameli, University College London, Principal Research Fellow Amelia Miazad, University of California-Davis, School of Law, Acting Professor of Law 
Dr. Robert Strand, University of California-Berkeley, Haas School of Business, Executive Director, Center for Responsible Business 

Michelle de Nevers, University of California – Berkeley, Lecturer, Executive Director of Sustainability
Peter J. Jacques, University of Central Florida, Professor 
Haynes C. Goddard, University of Cincinnati, Department of Economics, Professor of Economics, Emeritus 
Jeffrey York, University of Colorado Boulder, Professor of Strategy and Entrepreneurship 
Craig Landry, University of Georgia, Professor of Natural Resource Economics 
Madhu Khanna, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign 
Dr. Laura Henry-Stone, University of Lynchburg, Associate Professor of Environmental Sciences and Sustainability 
Benyamin Lichtenstein, University of Massachusetts-Boston, Prof. of Entrepreneurship and Management 
Terry Nelidov, University of Michigan, Managing Director, Erb Institute 
Calli Vander Wilde, University of Michigan, PhD Candidate 
Sara Soderstrom, University of Michigan, Associate Professor 
Thomas P. Lyon, University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, Professor & Erb Institute, Faculty Director 
Ian Kwant, University of Michigan, Ross School of Business, Erb Institute, Student-Alumni Affairs Coordinator 
Timothy M. Smith, University of Minnesota, Professor, Sustainable Systems Management & International Business 
Jae C. Jung, University of Missouri-Kansas City, Bloch School of Management, Associate Professor 
Susan Caplow, University of Montevallo, Associate Professor of Environmental Studies 
Ranjit Bawa, University of New Hampshire, Visiting Assistant Professor  
Karen Patterson, University of New Mexico, Associate Professor 
Daina Mazutis, University of Ottawa, Telfer School of Management, Associate Professor of Strategy 
Jan Kunnas, University of Oulu, Associate Professor of Ecological Economic History 
Witold J Henisz, University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School, Vice Dean and Faculty Director, ESG Initiative; Deloitte & Touche Professor of Management 
Joelle Kanyana, University of Pittsburgh, ESG Literacy Program Manager 
Manjit Monga, University of South Australia, Lecturer 
Tamara L. Sheldon, University of South Carolina, Associate Professor 
Sunny L Jardine, University of Washington, Associate Professor 
Elizabeth Demers, University of Waterloo, Professor  
Eric Jamelske, University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire, Professor of Economics 
Leah S. Horowitz, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Assistant Professor 

Rimi Zakaria, Associate Professor of Management, University of Wisconsin-Whitewater
Timothy Koechlin, Vassar College, Director, International Studies Program 
Jennifer Kleindienst, Wesleyan University, Sustainability Director 
David G. Henderson, Western Carolina University, Associate Professor 
Sarah Jacobson, Williams College, Professor of Economics 
Dan Esty, Yale School for the Environment, Yale Law School Hillhouse Professor and Director of Yale Center for Environmental Law & Policy  
Todd Cort, Yale School of Management, Senior Lecturer 
Winston Hovekamp, Yale University, PhD Candidate 
Tunç DurmazYildiz Technical University, Associate Professor 

*These individuals are signing for themselves, not on behalf of their universities/colleges.