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Discover climate course materials and resources.
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- Course
The course will offer analytical tools and concepts to analyze the strategic environment for climate innovation and apply these to a variety of cases. A climate innovation here refers to a low-carbon/net-negative technology and/or business model.
- Topics on: Climate Sustainability, Renewable Energy, Social Impact and Sustainability
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The key responsibilities of those managing the Haas Sustainable Investment Fund, include: b. establishing priority sustainability issue areas, investment vehicles, and selection criteria, these could be related to specific sustainability issue areas such as Climate or Human Rights or to particular investment vehicles such as public or private equity
- Topics on: Climate Investing, Climate Sustainability, Corporate Sustainability Strategy
- Course
Impact Investing, in the broad sense used in this class, is a discipline which seeks to generate social benefits as well as financial returns. From boutique beginnings, Impact Investing has surged into the mainstream of global money management, now affecting trillions of dollars of assets. The greatest demand is for strategies and products that promote social good while having expected returns competitive with non-impact options, although many other approaches exist.
Impact Investing and the associated ESG investing paradigm also permeate the agendas of policymakers, asset owners including pension plans and sovereign wealth funds, wealthy and retail investors, corporate managers, academia, and philanthropic foundations. A distinct career specialization for finance professionals has emerged, and the diversity of its applications is spreading the new discipline’s influence throughout world markets.
- Topics on: Climate Sustainability, ESG, Social Impact and Sustainability
- Course
The objective of this course is to provide students with detailed knowledge of corporate structures, valuation methods, project finance, risk management practices, corporate governance issues, and geo-political and technological risks in the energy industry. In general, this course seeks to provide students with an overall context for understanding energy issues and risks, and how these might affect financing and investment decisions for both providers of energy and end-users of energy.
- Topics on: Climate Finance, ESG
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Water is the lifeblood of business. Virtually every business imaginable — everything from oil refining to semiconductor manufacturing to cloud computing — requires copious supplies of fresh water. However, there is a fixed amount of water on earth, and in any given place, the supply, demand, and quality of freshwater can change. As climate change makes many parts of the world hotter and drier, it is increasingly important for today’s business leaders to be able to understand water challenges and to implement solutions that will enable businesses to thrive in the future. In addition to understanding and navigating water quality and quantity challenges, business leaders must operate in a highly regulated environment.
Water is regulated at the multinational, national, regional, state and local levels, and it’s important to understand who the key external stakeholders are and how to engage with them in productive ways. THE BUSINESS AND GOVERNANCE OF WATER – THE WHARTON SCHOOL 2 Finally, future business leaders should learn about the growth opportunities in the global water sector. Water is an $800 billion global industry whose value chain includes operating water utilities, engineering firms, technology companies, and financial services firms.
- Topics on: Climate Justice, Climate Sustainability, Corporate Sustainability Strategy
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It was not long ago when business looked at environmental issues and their impact as a compliance exercise. Slowly, at first, leading businesses began to change their concept of environmental management to look beyond simply meeting governmental dictates. These organizations began to evolve and utilize “sustainability strategies” to create new ways to drive value creation by bringing sustainability to the core of their business strategy. This seismic shift was accompanied by a bottomline emphasis that, in some cases, turned sustainability efforts into profit centers. Today, there has been a shift, yet again, to confront what the reality that business must lead our world’s response to climate change and to help avoid disaster.
Businesses must be prepared for climate change’s impacts on their operations and must be fully positioned to drive value creation and innovation in these challenging times. Business cannot simply react to environmental mandates; they must lead and drive change! 2 Sustainable initiatives are increasingly not hidden within the silos of sustainability, EHS (environmental, health, and safety), or CSR (Corporate Social Responsibility) departments, but have become much more seamlessly integrated into the operations of enterprise functional disciplines. Today, to effectively work in senior management, an executive needs to be knowledgeable not only about their specific business function, but also on how their business will be impacted by environmental supply chain disruptions, requirements around sustainability reporting, ESG (environmental, social, and governance) demands on a business, ability to market sustainable product attributes, managing energy, water, and food needs globally, and sustainable technology to drive new initiatives
- Topics on: Climate Sustainability
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- Topics on: Climate Sustainability, Corporate Sustainability Strategy, ESG
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The world is engaged in a transition to clean and sustainable (“green”) energy. The ensuing disruption creates opportunities for innovation on many fronts, including new social arrangements, new business models, and entrepreneurial activities of many kinds. OIDD 5250 is a business analytics 1 class that addresses these matters by surveying and introducing the main kinds of models and modeling techniques being used in the green transition.
These include: (non-financial) accounting models (e.g., for calculating carbon footprints, for ESG investing, for life-cycle analysis), constrained optimization models (resource allocation using mathematical programming or AI methods in the form of metaheuristics), and system performance models (typically as simulations and often using AI methods such as agent-based modeling). There will be special emphasis on decision theoretic models and multi-criteria decision making (MCDM). These models are used to support decision making based on data and model outputs from multiple sources and domains. The problem of overcoming low data quality with proper use of modeling is a major theme in the course.
- Topics on: Operations, Renewable Energy
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This course focuses on the social and environmental responsibilities of business that may extend beyond profit maximization. In 2019, the Business Roundtable composed of leading chief executive officers of U.S.-based companies released a statement that resurrected and reinforced interest in this view. (See reading link for Class 2 below under Course Outline.)
This view contrasts with a traditional approach famously expressed by the economist Milton Friedman that “the social responsibility of business is to increase its profits.” Although Friedman acknowledged normative side constraints to the profit motive—namely, a need to conform to the “basic rules of the society, both those embodied in law and those embodied in ethical custom”—he did not see business itself as playing a central role in the creation and sustenance of these “basic rules.”
The profit-maximizing view of business purpose is the one most frequently modeled in business school classes. This course presents students with the opportunity to explore an alternative perspective: that business owes a “social responsibility” that includes, but goes beyond, profits.
- Topics on: Climate Sustainability, Corporate Sustainability Strategy
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The law and public policy shape the relationships between business firms and the environment, including the climate. The first part of the course will provide a grounding in the foundational concepts of environmental law and policy. As we address different topics in environmental law and policy, we will examine a series of case studies in which law, policy and business intersect.
Examples include how informational regulation affects business strategy regarding climate change and how the law of municipal and hazardous waste management informs business practices about waste. We will also examine the emerging concept of private environmental governance. We will then focus on different approaches of incorporating environmental and climate strategy into business practices. The final part of the course will consist of student group presentations.
- Topics on: Climate Policy, Climate Sustainability
- Course
Over the last several decades, energy markets have become some of the most dynamic markets of the world economy. Traditional fossil fuel and electricity markets have seen a partial shift from heavy regulation to market-driven incentives, while rising environmental concerns have led to a wide array of new regulations and “environmental markets”. The growth of renewable energy is another source of rapid change, but brings with it a whole new set of technological and policy challenges.
This changing energy landscape requires quick adaptation from energy companies, but also offers opportunities to turn regulations into new business. The objective of this course is to provide the economist’s perspective on a broad range of topics that professionals in the energy industry will encounter. Topics include the effect of competition, market power and scarcity on energy prices, extraction and pricing of oil and gas, geopolitical uncertainty and risk in hydrocarbon investments, the environmental policies related to the energy sector and their effectiveness, cap-and-trade markets, and transportation policies. There is special emphasis on the economics and finance of renewable energy, including an introduction to energy storage.
- Topics on: Climate Policy, Renewable Energy
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Over the last several decades, energy markets have become some of the most dynamic markets of the world economy. Traditional fossil fuel and electricity markets have seen a partial shift from heavy regulation to market-driven incentives, while rising environmental concerns have led to a wide array of new regulations and “environmental markets”. The growth of renewable energy is another source of rapid change, but brings with it a whole new set of technological and policy challenges. This changing energy landscape requires quick adaptation from energy companies, but also offers opportunities to turn regulations into new business.
The objective of this course is to provide the economist’s perspective on a broad range of topics that professionals in the energy industry will encounter. Topics include the effect of competition, market power and scarcity on energy prices, extraction and pricing of oil and gas, geopolitical uncertainty and risk in hydrocarbon investments, the environmental policies related to the energy sector and their effectiveness, and cap-and-trade markets. There is special emphasis on the economics and finance of renewable energy, including an introduction to energy storage.
- Topics on: Climate Finance, Climate Sustainability
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Climate change might be the defining challenge of our times, with a wide range of effects on financial markets and the broader economy. At the same time, financial markets play an important role in financing the transition to a net-zero economy. This role, however, is shaped by the information that is available to market participants. In this course, we examine how climate risks—both physical and regulatory—affect firms, financial markets (including equity, bond, and carbon markets), and markets for energy and real estate.
We examine the role that firms’ disclosures and third-party information sources play. As climate change is high on the agenda of almost every company and government, this course will be valuable both for students with the ambition to pursue a career centered around sustainability and those who want to gain a better understanding of how climate issues affect more traditional roles in the financial sector, consulting, or non-profits.
- Topics on: Climate Sustainability, Sustainability Reporting and Measurement
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This elective will explore current developments and trends in sustainable finance & investment, with a special focus on capital markets, institutional investment and emerging markets. Sustainable finance has rapidly become a major growth area in the capital markets, with annual sustainable debt issuance alone forecast to grow to US1.5 trillion in 2022 from a virtual standing start only six years ago. Investor and lender interest in environmental, social & governance (ESG) issues as well as concerns about climate change and other externalities has led to rapid policy and regulatory response with substantial changes proposed to the financial ecosystem.
Meanwhile a new sustainable finance assessment and data industry has sprung up to provide the market with information on the sustainability credentials of entities as well as innovative new financial instruments. Emerging themes such as transition finance, adaptation and resilience, net zero portfolio alignment and nature-based investing have also become increasingly mainstream in the finance community.
- Topics on: Climate Finance, Climate Sustainability
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Climate change presents one of the central challenges of our generation, with a wide range of effects on financial markets and the broader economy. At the same time, financial markets play an important role in financing the transition to a net-zero economy. In this class, we study the interaction between climate change and firms, financial markets, energy markets, regulators, and policy makers.
Given that climate change and sustainability issues more generally are affecting nearly every aspect of the corporate, regulatory, and non-profit worlds, the class will be valuable for students with a wide range of backgrounds and career goals, whether they are directly interested in climate and sustainability issues or primarily want to gain a better understanding of how these issues influence more traditional roles in the corporate and financial sector.
The class is very applied in its outlook—for example, a range of guest speakers from industry, regulators, and nonprofits will visit the classroom—but we will frame the analysis through the lens of economic frameworks that help students think through the interactions between climate change and the broader economy in a systematic way. The objective is that the broad selection of topics and guest speakers will provide a variety of complementary perspectives on how climate change will shape economics and finance over the coming decades.
- Topics on: Climate Finance, Climate Sustainability
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Pressure for sustainable development has significant implications for firms, particularly large multinational corporations. With free trade on the rise, long-term opportunities exist for firms able to identify, develop, and deploy technologies, products, and services that contribute to sustainable practices and resource use in the developing world. This course examines how long-term competitive positioning can be secured through strategies such as positioning can be secured through strategies such a environmental partnerships, technology cooperation, and collaborative planning.
- Topics on: Climate Sustainability, Corporate Sustainability Strategy
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This course is designed and delivered by the Erb Institute and tailored specifically for incoming Erb students – including both first-year students, as well as second-year Ross and SEAS students who joined Erb as midyear admits. This is a survey course, which presents a high-level introduction to a wide range of sustainability issues rather than a theoretical analysis or deep-dive into any one particular issue area. A combination of Erb speakers, university faculty and invited sustainability practitioners will lead the sessions.
The discussions are designed to be interactive and engaging – which means that the full learning experience will depend on both speaker and student involvement. The Erb Institute’s perspective on “robust sustainability” covers a broad range of economic, social, environmental, labor, and human-rights risks and opportunities for business. Our stakeholder-based view of the firm (contrasted with the traditional shareholder-based view) recognizes the role of both internal and external stakeholders in helping companies to better understand sustainability issues, minimize risks and leverage business opportunities.
- Topics on: Climate Justice, Climate Sustainability
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The goal of this course is to give students a solid grasp of the environmental and social impacts of, and the institutions that govern, energy use, so that you can play a more effective role in shaping future policy or business decisions. We will begin with basic scientific and technological facts regarding the major uses for and sources of energy. We will then study energy markets (including spot and future markets), and what they are capable of accomplishing; we will also study the ways energy markets may fail.
This will lead into an overview of the role of government in influencing energy decisions, starting with a high-level perspective, and then working with a series of case studies that examine in depth what government has accomplished in the area of energy policy. The course will wrap up with several current policy/business issues such as renewable portfolio standards, markets for renewable energy credits, and integrating the transportation sector into a cap-and-trade system for greenhouse gas emissions.
- Topics on: Climate Sustainability, Corporate Sustainability Strategy, Energy
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This course explores “sustainability” as an overarching framework for life in the 21st century— and how this integrated policy concept diverges from the approaches to environmental protection and economic development that were pursued in the 20th century. It will examine the interlocking challenges that stem from society’s simultaneous desires for economic, environmental, and social progress despite the tensions among these objectives.
A central focus of the course will be on the design and implementation of systems that can support a vibrant economy and rising quality of life and—at the same time—reduce pollution, address climate change, conserve natural resources, and mitigate the other negative impacts of industrialization and economic growth. Students will review the data and analyses that flow from the Earth’s recent economic growth trajectory, read the “sustainability canon” from John Muir and Aldo Leopold to Rachel Carson and Gro Harlem Brundtland, and participate in an experiential learning module on the intersection of climate change and international cooperation and development. Lectures, readings, and sections will then unpack the ecological, political, economic, legal, institutional, and historical elements of sustainability as a guidepost for the future.
- Topics on: Climate Sustainability, Social Impact and Sustainability
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This course will examine the scientific, economic, legal, political, institutional, regulatory, and historical underpinnings of climate change as an issue and the related policy challenges of creating and sustaining a prosperous decarbonized modern society. Particular attention will be given to analyzing the existing U.S. and international framework of treaties, laws, regulations, and policies and the incentives they have created to address the build-up of greenhouse gas emissions in the atmosphere.
The course will center on a set of critical questions including: What would a 21st century policy framework that is designed to deliver a successful response to climate change look like? Does the 2015 Paris Climate Change Agreement provide the right foundation for action? How should issues of (in)equity be addressed? How might incentives be structured to engage the business community in climate change problem-solving?
While designed as a lecture course, class sessions will be highly interactive. Required readings cover broad thematic territory, commensurate with the sweeping coverage of the course. Readings include several books and a number of articles, studies, and reports that will be available on the Canvas. Students are expected to come to each class prepared to engage in back and forth dialogue around critical topics and questions, which are provided for each class session in the syllabus below.
There are no prerequisites for this course, although some familiarity with environmental law and policy will be helpful, as would a basic understanding of climate change science. As the course will reference a wide range of current events, we recommend that you read a major daily newspaper to stay abreast of developments in the energy and environmental domains. The Yale University Library provides online access to The New York Times, the Financial Times, the Wall Street Journal, and Foreign Affairs. The library also offers access to “survey” publications such as Energy & Environment Publishing, a well-regarded news service that specializes in energy and environmental topics.
Students are encouraged to enroll simultaneously in Professor Sue Biniaz’s four-week “Climate Change Negotiations” mini-course, which will cover complementary material – or her full semester course within the Jackson Institute. Students interested in attending the 2019 Conference of the Parties to the UN Framework Convention on Climate Change (COP25) in Santiago, Chile may also want to enroll in Professor Gordon Geballe’s half-semester “International Organizations and Conferences” course, which will cover practical details about the COP process. The Geballe course will prepare students to contribute as informed delegates at COP25. Students enrolled in the Geballe course will participate in a special weekly discussion section of FES 840a, led by Sophie Boehm (FES ’20).
- Topics on: Climate Policy, Climate Sustainability