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Discover climate course materials and resources.

Search the shared repository of simulations, case descriptions and course syllabi to enhance your own climate-related teaching.

TILclimate (Today I Learned: Climate) is an award-winning MIT podcast that breaks down the science, technologies, and policies behind climate change, how it’s impacting us, and what we can do about it. Each quick episode gives you the what, why, and how on climate change — from real scientists and experts — to help us make informed decisions for our future.

Produced by the MIT Environmental Solutions Initiative.

This course presents the economics of the world energy challenge { how to provide access to reliable and affordable energy while addressing adverse health, environmental, and climate impacts. Class lectures and discussions will examine the frictions among social, policy, and private objectives in energy and environmental markets. In this course, we will tackle questions such as the following: What role can businesses play in addressing climate change?

What can you do? Should governments subsidize renewable energy? If so, how should the subsidies be structured? What are the economic and policy barrier to decreasing carbon emissions and other air pollution from the transportation system, and how can they be overcome?

What are the short- and long-run impacts of Covid-19 on energy markets and the environment? How are electricity markets regulated and organized, and how do the regulatory institutions impact the transition to low-carbon electricity? Tech giants have committed nearly one billion dollars toward \permanent” carbon removal. How could we effectively spend this money?

This course aims to provide students with a fundamental grasp of key financial market issues concerning ESG, responsible business, and climate change. The course employs a blend of lectures, group presentations, and case studies. The curriculum is divided into two parts: Part 1 focuses on ESG, while Part 2 delves into climate change.

In Part 1, students will gain an overview of ESG, including its theories, various types of ESG risks, proposed causes and consequences of ESG/CSR, and its impact on performance. Part 2 concentrates on climate change matters, encompassing the pricing of climate change risks, the significance of carbon disclosures, and sustainable financing mechanisms like green bonds.

This course provides an introduction to social impact investing – an investment approach intentionally seeking to create both financial return and positive social impact that is actively measured.

We begin with the core belief that investment is the engine of growth, and hence all investing can be viewed as inherently impactful. Social impact investing seeks to create positive social or environmental value in addition to a financial return. It is an approach, not an asset class.

Each of our Erb Institute toolboxes is designed to help you better implement decision-making strategies for sustainability at your company. These toolboxes cover a wide variety of topics and are routinely updated to keep up with changing innovations and trends.

Michigan Ross offers  these toolboxes for free on their website as a way to democratize sustainability globally. Click on the toolboxes below to learn more!

This course is intended for MBA students interested in the science, economics and business impact of Climate Change and the implications of Climate Change for their career. The course is designed to provide an understanding of Climate Change through the lens of both risk and opportunity and how Climate Change is affecting decision-making in business.

What are the skills that this course is intended to develop?

• Understanding and communicating the business implications of a changing climate

• Developing strategies for business sustainability in the context of a changing climate

• Understanding the actions businesses can take to improve the climate outlook

• Helping businesses prepare for the emergence of a climate-aware economy

Co-discovery

The field of Climate Change and its relevance for business strategy is a rapidly evolving domain. Each of us brings our individual knowledge, experience and perspective to the conversation. It is my hope that each of you will share your knowledge freely with the class. For that to work, it is essential that you commit to a process of co-discovery: you are asked to go the extra mile in terms of bringing value to our class. While there is no short-list of easy solutions to the matters we will cover, there is a path forward for us in making wiser, more informed climate decisions.

This course explores the growth of ESG (Environmental, Social and Governance) investing with a particular focus on the role of public capital markets in helping to address sustainable development goals (https://sdgs.un.org/goals). ESG is increasingly mainstream – for example, the largest global network of investors, the UN-sponsored Principles for Responsible Investment (PRI) has now over 3,000 signatories managing with over US$100 trillion in assets (https://www.unpri.org/about-us/about-the-pri). However, there is an active debate regarding every aspect (definitions, measurement, regulation, etc.) with claims of “greenwashing” and also a backlash against ESG which strengthens the need for a critical and evidence-based exploration of the field. This course covers some of the major ESG investing approaches (screening, thematic, integration and engagement) in capital markets and takes a global perspective. It includes a special module on Climate Finance that covers the physical, transition and regulatory risks of climate change and the need to finance a shift to a net-zero carbon economy. A few guest speakers will provide additional ideas and tools to interpret the case studies and enrich the class discussion.

Course Objectives:

  • Explore the evolving ESG investing landscape both from the point of view of investors choosing investments and firms responding to investor activities
  • Understand how to incorporate ESG factors into investment decisions and analyze the different approaches across a range of asset classes.
  • Gain insights into climate risk and examine climate-focused investing solutions and their effectiveness in combating climate change.

What is the ultimate responsibility of companies? Fifty years ago, the consensus was that the answer to this question should be maximizing profit and shareholders’ value. Today, however, the answer is more complex. Companies are increasingly being held accountable for environmental and social responsibilities, in addition to their economic performance. As a result, the traditional principles of marketing developed during the 20th century are also being challenged and revised to embrace sustainability as a core component of business.

Sustainable marketing is the process of creating and delivering value to customers in a manner that respects or enhances both the environment and society. Through lectures, case studies, interactive discussions, and guest speakers, students in this course will learn about the principles of sustainable marketing across various industries (e.g., apparel, food, automotive, technology), as well as gain a deep understanding of the sustainable consumer. By the end of the course, students will be equipped with the knowledge and skills necessary to develop effective sustainable marketing plans that can drive positive change in the business world. In line with these learning objectives, the course is divided into three main modules: (1) Defining sustainable marketing, (2) Understanding the sustainable consumer, and (3) Developing a sustainable marketing plan.

The climate tech sector includes climate change solutions such as renewable energy, batteries, electric vehicles, carbon capture, hydrogen, food tech, smart agriculture, green real estate, and advanced materials. These sectors represent considerable growth opportunities in the coming decades, which means job opportunities and meaningful career paths for students. For example, Bloomberg projects that $10 trillion will be invested in solar, wind and batteries by 2050.

Through “in the trenches” input from guest speakers (founders and investors across the US) and practice-oriented assignments, students will become more fluent with certain skills and tools, such as the following: (1) sizing markets, (2) doing competitor analysis, (3) preparing to raise investor capital, (5) using investor databases, and (5) negotiating term sheets.

Plants are at the intersection of at least a dozen problems and opportunities in our food system: climate change, personal, public and planetary health, nutrition insecurity, biodiversity, social justice, food access, diversity and inclusion, soil health, law and policy, technology, animal welfare, and antibiotic resistance. Build critical systems thinking competencies at the intersection of agriculture, nutrition, climate science, behavioral science, economics, entrepreneurship and ethics with plant-centric food systems.

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