T
he effects of climate change–from supply chain disruptions to real estate and infrastructure impacts–are expected to present trillions of dollars of direct and indirect impacts to businesses in coming years. With investors like BlackRock and Fidelity calling on corporations for increased disclosure of climate-related risks, climate change is increasingly on the radar of executives as a business issue.
On March 23-24, Fuqua hosted the first multi-school MBA summit on business and climate change. Sixteen business schools including Wharton, Harvard, Yale, Stanford, MIT, and others partnered to put on ClimateCAP: The Global MBA Summit on Climate, Capital, & Business.
Not about politics or policy, ClimateCAP focused specifically on the financial and business risks associated with climate impacts. Speakers came from JPMorgan Chase, Citi, Goldman Sachs, Nike, Bain & Co., Generate Capital, Kellogg Company, Levi Strauss, State Street, AT Kearney and other business heavyweights.
“For today’s MBA students, who are just beginning their business leadership careers, climate change is likely be one of the biggest creators and destroyers of financial value in the course of their careers,” says Dan Vermeer, PhD, associate professor of the practice and executive director of the EDGE center at Fuqua. “We wanted to host ClimateCAP in its inaugural year to help MBA students start thinking farther out–to get beyond the political rhetoric and focus on where there is real, tangible financial value at stake.”
Over 250 attendees participate in the two-day summit, which covered a wide range of topics from “Climate 101: What Every MBA Needs to Know” to panels on investment risk, the future of energy, corporate strategy considerations in response to climate change, and innovative technologies poised to take advantage of increased demand for low-carbon or adaptation solutions. The summit featured a mix of presentations, panel discussions, and working group discussions called “Industry Deep Dives.”
Videos of all of the plenary sessions, along with the summit agenda, photos, and speakers list can be found on the ClimateCAP website.
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