Gabelli School Responsible Business Center Hosts 2nd Annual Good Business That Comes From Good Business Conference
Featured Events , Responsible Business Center | Nov 26, 2024 | Gabelli School of Business
Top Industry Experts and Thought Leaders Across Sectors Shared Their Insights on Current and Emerging Strategies for Conducting Business Responsibly and Sustainably
On October 24, the Gabelli School of Business Responsible Business Center hosted the 2nd Annual “Good Business That Comes From Good Business” conference, which brought together 323 thought leaders, academics, and innovators across the business sectors to discuss the significant opportunities and challenges arising from the transition towards utilizing business as a catalyst for positive change, while continuing to increase profits.
“This conference moved the conversation beyond the more typical discussions regarding carbon emissions and other sustainability goals, to creating a business mindset that focuses on profit with purpose,” said Barbara Porco, Ph.D., managing director, Gabelli School of Business Responsible Business Center, and associate dean of graduate studies, Fordham University Gabelli School of Business. “We need to think about what we do and how it impacts the people in our lives, our communities, and around the world as we strive to expand and grow our businesses.”
Topics discussed during the full-day event focused in three main areas: Impacts for People and Planet, Resilient Food Systems, and Responsible Markets and Disclosures.
Mohit Bhargava, Jennifer Silberman, Al Iannuzzi, Ph.D., and Dave Stangis
During the first panel discussion, “The CSO Summit: Navigating ESG Challenges in Public Companies,” moderated by Mohit Bhargava, partner/principal, Climate Change and Sustainability Services, EY, participants, Dave Stangis, partner and chief sustainability officer, Apollo Global Management; Al Iannuzzi, Ph.D., vice president of sustainability, The Estée Lauder Companies; and Jennifer Silberman, SVP, chief sustainability officer, Dollar Tree Stores, discussed how their companies are embracing opportunities to integrate sustainable best practices into the culture and operations of their organizations. This transformation, they agreed, is a combination of deciding what information and which issues must be addressed as being essential to the success of the business, and how to translate concepts and sustainability goals into the work employees need to do as part of their everyday jobs. Silberman also explained the challenges her company faces as it addresses the needs of customers who seek value in the form of substantially reduced prices, as compared to luxury goods shoppers. All the panelists agreed that regardless of the audiences their businesses are targeting, sustainability does not have to be a tradeoff. They concurred that businesses must think about social and environmental considerations as being part of the fabric of their organizations.
During the “Generating Measurable Impacts for People, Planet, and Profits: Challenges, Solutions, Wins, and Losses” panel participants Margot Brandenburg, senior program officer, Ford Foundation; Vicky Lay, partner, head of impact Investments, Artesian (Alternative Investments); Amy Wang, managing director, Blue Earth Capital; and moderator Peter Lupoff, founder and principal, Lupoff/Stevens Family Office, director of strategy, Gabelli School of Business Responsible Business Center, detailed how they are developing plans to increase impact investing. Lupoff opened the session with a message of hope, reminding the audience that there is “joy in the fight,” referencing the recent pushback on ESG. He also noted that all of the efforts companies and individuals are making now can lead to game-changing outcomes in the future. Lay emphasized the importance of persuading investors to think more broadly, acknowledging that it is a challenge to establish how companies can have an impact without having a solid regulatory framework in place. Brandenburg added that taking a storytelling approach to communicating impact—one that accelerates urgency—may help to motivate investors to embrace impact investing.
Alan Horowitz, J.D., Karen Y. Johns and Anna Hammond
The day’s discussion next pivoted to “Creating Resilience Across the Food Systems,” with a panel focused on how strategies resulting from partnerships and collaborations will help address all elements of the food service chain. The panel, which was moderated by Karen Y. Johns, CEO, Net Impact, featured Alan Horowitz, J.D., vice president of sustainability, Aramark; and Anna Hammond, founder/CEO, Matriark Foods. Horowitz shared how Aramark’s “be well, do well” strategy is addressing the need to reduce both food waste and plastic. Hammond detailed how Matriark is fulfilling one of its goals to use only what is needed in the food production process and is expanding its reach by partnering with Aramark to provide the company with a more sustainable option for a single menu ingredient, while monitoring how it will make an impact on both companies.
During lunch, Daniel Ufnar, state soil scientist, USDA-NRCS gave an illuminating demonstration on regenerative agriculture and the power of soil, reminding participants of how closely connected we are to the planet.
Charles Boakye, Michael Scanlon, Rob Colorina and Kamil Homsi
In the afternoon sessions, the focus shifted to responsible investing. The first panel on “How Allocators Aim to Invest in Transition” was moderated by Charles Boakye, sustainability & transition – equity analyst, Jefferies, and featured Rob Colorina, director/advisor, American Industrial Acquisition Co.; Michael Scanlon, managing director of Sustainable Finance Practice, Silverleaf Partners; and Kamil Homsi, founder/CEO, Global Realty Capital. The panelists equated the scale of the energy transition taking place today with the first and second industrial revolutions, recognizing the exponential growth, but also acknowledging that the journey this time is nonlinear with an unclear endpoint. This, they agreed makes it difficult for asset owners to look beyond their primary concern of asset values.
Kelly Shue, Ph.D., professor of finance, Yale School of Management, gave a presentation titled “Investing in Brown Companies vs Green for Heightened Impact,” which focused on her research on counterproductive investing in green and brown companies. It was followed by a conversation with James Manfredonia, adjunct professor, Gabelli School of Business, about whether sustainable investing is likely to achieve “green transition” goals. They both raised the possibility that radically innovative technologies will be more effective at meeting ambitious timeframes for meaningful change.
Mike Wallace, chief decarbonization officer at Persefoni, addressed the audience about navigating the ways ESG impacts are measured, highlighting the importance of establishing how reports will be used to inform business and investing decisions and how they can move the discussion beyond the compliance requirement.
Lerzan Aksoy, Ph.D., Esther Nai and Greg Van Kirk
In the final sessions of the day, the “Turning Purpose into Profit: How Aligning Business Goals with Societal Impact Drives Success,” which was moderated by Lerzan Aksoy, dean of the Gabelli School of Business; Greg Van Kirk, founder of Collaborative Changemaking Labs; and Esther Nai, philanthropy manager, Climate and Energy at Salesforce, discussed how social entrepreneurship initiatives that sit at the core of a business’s mission can drive success in achieving other sustainability goals.
“The Social Entrepreneurship for More Intentional Impact and Returns – The Issues and Opportunities” panel, which was moderated by Lauren Sweeney, co-founder and CEO, DeliverZero, Fordham University alumna, and entrepreneur in residence, Fordham Foundry, and featured Rachel Ceruti, director of partnerships, education, and outreach, FABSCRAP; SaVonne Anderson, (GABELLI’17), CEO, Aya Paper Co., and Jim Teague, Ph.D., clinical professor, Fordham University, laid out the potential ways social entrepreneurship will help companies move forward towards a brighter future.
Lauren Sweeney, SaVonne Anderson, Jim Teague, Ph.D. and Rachel Ceruti
While the conference explored many issues and opportunities, each panel and keynote resoundingly emphasized the importance of collaboration across sectors, within organizations, and throughout communities to drive forward sustainability goals. The carefully curated content was a direct reflection of the Responsible Business Center’s mission to support interdisciplinary engagement in the areas of sustainability and business responsibility. The energy, commitment, and determination of the speakers, conference organizers, and attendees provided the momemtum for future thought leadership events, but more importantly, the resolve that will result in lasting and positive change for businesses and, in turn, society at large.
Written by: Michelle Livingston, associate director of communications and Paola Curcio-Kleinman, senior director of marketing and communications, Fordham University Gabelli School of Business
