Inside the Responsible Business Center: What We're Learning and What's Next

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Hi everyone.

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Welcome back to another episode of People
Behind the Impact.

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Today we have an exciting ,
what we think, episode.

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Really looking at what we have ahead
for the next semester.

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So we're in the middle of summer.

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Lots of planning and preparation.

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While the students aren't here.

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We're always,
we're always doing things moving ahead.

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And so Marc Siegel
and I decided we might sit down

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and just look at what we have planning,
what we're prepping, and then also have

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the opportunity to just look back at what
we've accomplished over the past year.

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So hi, Marc. Good to see you.

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Good morning.

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Thanks for hosting.

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Yeah.

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Well, co-hosting I feel like, the
two hosts are kind of chatting together.

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So I thought what we could do
today is just talk a little bit about what

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we've accomplished and then also kind of
give some teasers looking ahead.

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And so Marc,
I'm going to kick it to you first.

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So you've hosted lots of roundtables
over the past couple of months.

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So two, in specifically focused
on responsible reporting and accounting.

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I'd love for you to just speak
a little bit to what was the vision

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for the years.

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What were you hoping to achieve
during the roundtables?

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They were really incredible,
but I don't know if we've shared them

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enough with our,
with our audience and community.

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Yeah.

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First of all, it's so great
to be able to have Fordham

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as a as a platform
to host these roundtables.

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I've really enjoyed them.

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The real, the real vision behind
it was to really facilitate a conversation

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and to have lots of different

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stakeholders come together
and talk about responsible reporting,

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which could mean a lot of different things
to a lot of different people.

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And so to have lots of different people
come together.

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And in a Chatham House format,
which just means it's not going to be

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for public consumption, no attribution
associated with what any individual says.

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Let's talk about the issues
that are coming up in financial reporting

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and sustainability reporting and really
corporate reporting (inaudible) large,

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and just have a platform
to discuss these issues

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and try to advance them
and move them forward.

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So it's really been fantastic.

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There's been a great uptake with them,
and it's been fun to

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to have these different people

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together that I might know
from different parts of my career.

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And both times it's been when,
when it's 4:30 in the afternoon,

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I have to sort of work

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to stop having people talk and say,
okay, we've talked enough about this.

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So people have been so excited and,
and willing to, to share.

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And they've really been fantastic.

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Yeah, they've been wonderful.

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And you've been with us
for a little over a year now,

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which we're still pinching ourselves.

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We're so excited
you're with us at the center.

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And I remember when we first brought you

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on, we're like,
what would be your dream thing?

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What would we like to do?

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And you'd said it'd be cool to do,
like maybe a roundtable or two.

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And we accomplished that.
So super exciting.

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Can you talk a little bit about the kind
of stakeholders that participated,

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and how did you kind of put together
who you were hoping to invite?

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I know you just mentioned, like,

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bringing in people from different areas,
but how did you kind of curate that?

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Yeah, I think

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that's really an important part of
of what these roundtables are about.

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It's bringing in people

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not just from one perspective,
but from lots of different vantage points.

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So you could actually enrich
the conversation

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and everybody gets a chance to share
and hopefully learn.

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I've learned
from all these things as well.

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So we're bringing in people
from the prepare community,

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whether it's sustainability officers
or whether it's accounting people.

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We've brought in people
from the board of directors.

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So we've often had people from the audit
committee specifically

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because they're involved
in all kinds of corporate reporting,

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enhancing the conversations
between companies and their investors.

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We've brought in investors,

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we've brought in former
regulators, we've brought in academics,

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we brought in some consultants,
we've grown some auditors.

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And really, it sounds like a lot,
but it's really we've

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each one has been around
20 people and curated.

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It's really been trying
to find the topics.

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There actually isn't any dearth of topics.

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There's
lots of different things to talk about.

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So trying to curate specifically
some themes for, what's going on.

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And so the first one was kind of

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what is responsible reporting,
what is disclosure effectiveness.

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And so having those kinds of broad topics,
but then being able to drill down

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in specific ways
with all those different stakeholders

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and sharing different points of view, it's
really been good because a lot of times

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when we talk about disclosure
effectiveness, for example,

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it could really end up being a non
productive conversation

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where people just complain
about the way the rules are written

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and how different people in the ecosystem
work together or not work together.

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And by having this Chatham House format

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and having people that we know together,

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they've really been constructive dialogues
and we've put together (inaudible).

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And so, I encourage everybody
to look at them and maybe we'll talk

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a little bit more
about some of the key takeaways from them.

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Yeah. That's great.

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I also think it's really interesting too.

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We always talk about
sustainability reporting,

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but we are saying responsible
reporting and disclosures.

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And I think that's a really key word.

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Do you have anything to add to that?

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You're definitely the expert on this,
this side of things.

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Yeah.

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Because I think a lot of times
when you think about corporate reporting,

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you end up going into a silo of, well, I'm
a financial reporting expert

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or I'm a sustainability reporting expert.

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I'm working on the compliance documents,
the filings with the SEC (The Securities

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and Exchange Commission),
while I'm working on investor relations

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and the earnings call, I'm
working on a sustainability report.

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Well, really to step back from all of it,
you need to think about it

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all as corporate reporting

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and be responsible
about corporate reporting

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and not only need
to comply with the rules,

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but you also need to communicate
and facilitate that dialogue

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between companies and their investors
about how you are trying to grow value

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over the long term,

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for not just your financial stakeholders,
but all your stakeholders.

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And so that's kind of what I mean
by responsible reporting.

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It's broader
than any of the individual silos.

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So what we're hoping to do is, is slowly
break down some of these walls

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and get at some of the
some of the root issues with corporate

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reporting and responsible reporting and
trying to make the whole dialogue better.

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Yeah, I think you're doing a great job,
and I'm so excited to see

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what we're going to do

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in the year ahead as well, because I think
just having two this past year

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and we could have done more,
but we were like,

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let's, let's keep it at the two
and build on them.

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Yeah, for sure.

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As there's, there's, lots of different
room for more and more conversations.

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In fact, we've we've got too many ideas
for what we, what we can actually handle.

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So let me turn to you
for a couple of minutes, if that's okay.

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I want to talk about,
you know, the RBC and you've been leading

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the RBC over the years.

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And by the way,
I should give a little plug.

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We interviewed Barbara Corso
on our first episode,

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which, as an aside, is a great
listen if you haven't heard it yet,

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because it just sort of lays
all the groundwork about, the RBC.

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But you've really been here

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helping lead the growth of the RBC
in a over this remarkably short time.

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Are you still as excited about the mission
and the vision today, and how much is it

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evolved from when you first started,
when you first joined?

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Yeah, definitely excited I hope so.

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I think it's evolves a lot. Right.

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So we're going into our fourth year,
which is so crazy to think about

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how far we've come
from our first year. Right?

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So our first year
we were establishing our center.

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We were doing a lot of the nitty gritty
things that you do

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and you're forming a center.
What's your mission?

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What's your vision?

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What are the key
things you're trying to do?

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What are the activities?

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And now that we're going into our fourth

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year,
we've finalized our three focus areas.

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So we have our work with Mencap
that we'll talk a little bit

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about our work with you, with responsible
reporting and disclosures.

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And then our third, which is societal
well-being and community.

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And so finally, after three years,
we've now figured out

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what our three focus areas are.

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Of course not exhaustive. Right.

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So the responsible of reporting
is a piece of it.

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And all of them are focus areas.

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But with sustainability
it's very broad reaching.

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And so we also want to ensure we're
encompassing different aspects of that.

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As we go into our fourth year,
our team has grown a lot.

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I think also people now know who we are.

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So I speak with our freshmen
incoming classes.

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I speak with all of the MBAs and M.S.

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students that are coming in.

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And so now over time,
the students are understanding who we are.

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And the faculty, I think, as well,

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has started to understand
the work we do at the center.

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We had an event in June
with our Emerging Leaders Council,

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which is our alumni group,
who are interested in sustainability,

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and what was really incredible to see
where there were a lot of new faces,

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but there were a lot of repeat
people who have come back.

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And I think

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when we formed our Emerging Leaders
Council the first year of the center,

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it was kind of trying to figure out
who was interested in this.

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And now we have this

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growing repeat group of people
that are really interested in this.

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I think also just thinking
about the evolution of it,

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as you know very well, Marc,
sustainability changes weekly.

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And so I think what we formed as a center
back in 2023 has already changed

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based on what's happening in the climate
and sustainability space.

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And so I think that makes us need
to be a little bit more nimble and ensure

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that the words were using the way
we're communicating sustainability,

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choosing words like responsible
business over sustainability.

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Sometimes
all of those things are really important,

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and it makes us need to be very careful
and how we do things to ensure

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we're making things accessible to other
people, and to bring in our students,

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to bring in our community

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and make this something that I feel like
everyone can kind of buy into.

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So definitely still excited about it.

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Always a challenge
in sustainability and climate, but

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I think the work now
is more important than ever.

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Yeah, I think so too.

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It's been such
an, a great learning experience for me

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just over the last year,
as I've gotten used to

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everything that we're doing
with just such a small team.

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And you brought this up, but
I just wanted to put a fine point on it.

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We're obviously part of the whole Fordham
University ecosystem.

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And we said specifically
within the Gabelli School of Business.

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And how does being embedded at Fordham
actually impact our ability?

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And the work that we actually are able
to, to do?

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Yeah, I think something
that's been interesting for me

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over the past couple of years

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and now going into our fourth year, but
I’d say specifically the past two years,

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we've really leaned
more into our Jesuit mission.

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I think really understanding what it means
to be a Jesuit university separates

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us and differentiates us a little bit
in the sustainability landscape.

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As our president at Fordham University
says, Tanya Tetlow, we’ve

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been doing this for hundreds of years.

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The Jesuits have been around
really preaching this mission.

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And so despite what headwinds
we might see in sustainability, we’re

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not going to change now because we’ve
always been thinking about stewardship.

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We’ve always been thinking about
how do we support communities.

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And so leaning

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really into the Jesuit mission, I think
being a part of the Fordham community,

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I mean, I'm a Fordham alum.

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We were talking about sustainability
before the RBC existed, right?

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So that was the decade ago now.

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And so I think leaning into
that is really important.

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I think also, as we start to build out
different pieces of the work we're doing,

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leaning into those Jesuit values.

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And so one of our Jesuit values at Fordham
and all Jesuit

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institutions is cure personalized,
which is care of the whole person.

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And I think that's a really big piece
of that third focus area

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00:11:27,653 --> 00:11:30,656
we have on societal
well-being and community.

233
00:11:30,723 --> 00:11:34,326
It's really looking at integral ecology
and saying, sure,

234
00:11:34,326 --> 00:11:35,761
we need to focus on the environment,

235
00:11:35,761 --> 00:11:40,132
but we also need to understand
our relation as humans to the environment.

236
00:11:40,466 --> 00:11:44,937
And so I think a big part of that
just provides a deeper and more

237
00:11:44,937 --> 00:11:49,442
spiritual level to what sustainability is
and what responsible business is.

238
00:11:49,742 --> 00:11:51,811
We're doing it
because it's good for business.

239
00:11:51,811 --> 00:11:52,712
Absolutely.

240
00:11:52,712 --> 00:11:55,815
But we're also doing it because it's
who we are and it's what we believe in.

241
00:11:55,815 --> 00:11:59,785
And so even with our Responsible Business
leadership certificate here at Gabelli,

242
00:12:00,152 --> 00:12:04,056
the Jesuit values are actually integrated
into every single piece

243
00:12:04,056 --> 00:12:05,691
of the certificate.

244
00:12:05,691 --> 00:12:07,893
And so you need to go through
your different competencies

245
00:12:07,893 --> 00:12:11,831
to make sure you're doing stewardship
and care personnel and Majus and others.

246
00:12:12,231 --> 00:12:15,935
And so I think the larger Fordham
University ecosystem

247
00:12:15,935 --> 00:12:17,737
is preaching this every day.

248
00:12:17,737 --> 00:12:19,872
And the center is really a way to amplify

249
00:12:19,872 --> 00:12:21,841
some of the work
that's already happening here.

250
00:12:21,841 --> 00:12:23,476
So I love Fordham, obviously.

251
00:12:23,476 --> 00:12:24,043
I think

252
00:12:24,043 --> 00:12:27,613
it's really wonderful to just see that
this is something we live and breathe.

253
00:12:27,847 --> 00:12:30,015
And the center,
since it's only going into its fourth

254
00:12:30,015 --> 00:12:32,852
year, is just a way to amplify
some of that.

255
00:12:32,852 --> 00:12:35,855
I hope you see that as well, since
you've been with us for about a year.

256
00:12:36,388 --> 00:12:37,189
Oh, for sure.

257
00:12:37,189 --> 00:12:40,793
And, I just again, as I said
at the beginning, I couldn't be more

258
00:12:40,793 --> 00:12:44,797
excited to be at this university,
at this platform at this time.

259
00:12:44,797 --> 00:12:46,298
So it's just been phenomenal.

260
00:12:46,298 --> 00:12:48,901
A lot of schools are finding it
very difficult

261
00:12:48,901 --> 00:12:51,871
to continue to talk about sustainability,
given the political climate.

262
00:12:52,104 --> 00:12:55,908
And there's been no hesitation at all
at Fordham.

263
00:12:56,442 --> 00:12:59,278
These are important issues
that, that are global,

264
00:12:59,278 --> 00:13:03,249
that are historic in nature
and, fundamental,

265
00:13:03,249 --> 00:13:06,752
foundational really to everything
and so Fordham has been full speed ahead.

266
00:13:07,353 --> 00:13:09,155
Yeah. Now it's very exciting.

267
00:13:09,155 --> 00:13:12,191
It's also means a lot to work
at an organization that continues

268
00:13:12,191 --> 00:13:14,660
to double down on these things
that I believe so strongly.

269
00:13:14,660 --> 00:13:17,663
But coming back to your roundtables
for a second,

270
00:13:17,663 --> 00:13:21,734
you've talked a little bit about those,
but I'm curious, especially thinking

271
00:13:21,734 --> 00:13:25,738
about the larger ecosystem
and climate we're experiencing right now.

272
00:13:25,738 --> 00:13:30,242
What are some of the largest takeaways
that you've taken from these roundtables,

273
00:13:30,242 --> 00:13:33,212
especially in the political climate,
as well as just what we're seeing.

274
00:13:34,079 --> 00:13:36,148
Just first and foremost,
the power of bringing

275
00:13:36,148 --> 00:13:39,151
different parties together
and actually hearing them.

276
00:13:39,718 --> 00:13:45,324
It never ceases to amaze me just
how much of a bubble most of us live in.

277
00:13:45,691 --> 00:13:48,394
And you only hear from people
like yourselves.

278
00:13:48,394 --> 00:13:52,865
And so having prepared
or sit with investors and actually hear

279
00:13:53,465 --> 00:13:57,436
what the investors are interested in
and hearing about from companies,

280
00:13:57,837 --> 00:14:01,607
and for the investors to hear about
why it's so difficult sometimes

281
00:14:01,607 --> 00:14:04,143
to make some of these communications,
why it's so costly

282
00:14:04,143 --> 00:14:07,713
to make some of the disclosures
that investors might want to be available,

283
00:14:08,047 --> 00:14:10,850
just increasing that understanding
just that little bit.

284
00:14:10,850 --> 00:14:14,086
I think that that's so powerful
because there are just

285
00:14:14,086 --> 00:14:17,523
all these perceptions out there about,
you know, investors just want everything

286
00:14:17,957 --> 00:14:20,125
and they want more
and more and more information.

287
00:14:20,125 --> 00:14:24,563
And there was an assumption from investors
that preparers are always trying

288
00:14:24,563 --> 00:14:28,367
to hide things and not disclose things
and not be transparent.

289
00:14:28,367 --> 00:14:30,035
And just being able to break down

290
00:14:30,035 --> 00:14:33,138
those barriers to the communication
is, has been huge.

291
00:14:33,138 --> 00:14:37,509
So that in and of itself has been
I think, the biggest takeaway

292
00:14:37,509 --> 00:14:40,512
is that there's so much power
invested in that.

293
00:14:41,247 --> 00:14:46,051
There's also just been lots
of good communication around

294
00:14:46,785 --> 00:14:49,855
how important it is that the regulatory

295
00:14:49,855 --> 00:14:52,892
filings
are not just seen as compliance documents,

296
00:14:53,525 --> 00:14:57,162
and they actually sit
within the entire milieu of

297
00:14:57,162 --> 00:14:59,765
all the different corporate communications
that are out there.

298
00:14:59,765 --> 00:15:02,468
And that's something
that I've strongly believed,

299
00:15:02,468 --> 00:15:06,272
but it's been reinforced and emphasized
and amplified by these roundtables, right,

300
00:15:06,272 --> 00:15:09,575
Is that the sustainability reports
that go out on a company's website

301
00:15:10,142 --> 00:15:13,145
compared to a earnings call,

302
00:15:13,445 --> 00:15:19,051
compared to an investor day or road
show, compared to a 10-K or annual report.

303
00:15:19,318 --> 00:15:21,353
These are all things
that are being consumed

304
00:15:21,353 --> 00:15:24,356
not only by investors,
but other stakeholders like employees

305
00:15:24,690 --> 00:15:27,393
or customers suppliers.

306
00:15:27,393 --> 00:15:32,464
All these things are being consumed
and digested and reviewed,

307
00:15:32,932 --> 00:15:36,602
and sometimes, since they're all done
by different parties

308
00:15:37,036 --> 00:15:41,073
or different parts of the corporation
itself, they might have different messages

309
00:15:41,073 --> 00:15:44,109
associated with them,
or they might not be a coherent message

310
00:15:44,310 --> 00:15:47,980
that underlies or underpins all those
different communication channels.

311
00:15:47,980 --> 00:15:52,584
And that is hugely important,
because if you're a company and you from

312
00:15:52,584 --> 00:15:54,453
your own communications, are coming out

313
00:15:54,453 --> 00:15:57,456
with slightly different stories
in each of these reports,

314
00:15:57,856 --> 00:16:00,292
well, what's an investor
supposed to believe or what's a,

315
00:16:00,292 --> 00:16:03,762
What's a stakeholder supposed to believe
about the true interests

316
00:16:03,762 --> 00:16:07,099
and vision and priorities of the company?

317
00:16:07,099 --> 00:16:10,202
So, for example, a company might say
in their sustainability

318
00:16:10,202 --> 00:16:13,205
report, we are so invested in being green,

319
00:16:13,439 --> 00:16:16,742
we are so invested in attacking
climate as an issue.

320
00:16:17,042 --> 00:16:19,611
And then you go to the annual report,
the 10-K filing,

321
00:16:19,611 --> 00:16:23,282
and there's no mention of climate
or the environment or anything within it.

322
00:16:23,782 --> 00:16:25,751
Well,
what's an investor supposed to believe

323
00:16:25,751 --> 00:16:28,754
about the priorities of
of what the companies is getting at?

324
00:16:28,754 --> 00:16:32,758
And I know those are, those are different
documents done for different purposes.

325
00:16:33,092 --> 00:16:37,496
But again, in a world where it's
getting easier and easier for anybody

326
00:16:37,496 --> 00:16:41,800
to analyze the stories coming out of these
big filings, right.

327
00:16:41,800 --> 00:16:44,236
You can use AI very easily
and just say, hey,

328
00:16:44,236 --> 00:16:46,372
are there any inconsistencies
in messaging between

329
00:16:46,372 --> 00:16:49,541
these different communication channels
and they'll pop up immediately.

330
00:16:50,175 --> 00:16:53,345
It's imperative for companies
to really kind of take control

331
00:16:53,345 --> 00:16:57,383
of their own narrative and make sure that
whatever their true vision is,

332
00:16:57,383 --> 00:17:00,386
for growing the company
in a responsible way,

333
00:17:00,519 --> 00:17:03,856
for long term value for their employees,
for their investors,

334
00:17:03,856 --> 00:17:07,159
for their customers, for their suppliers
and for everybody.

335
00:17:07,693 --> 00:17:10,496
You really need to make sure
that all of the different

336
00:17:10,496 --> 00:17:13,832
communications
give voice to those same priorities.

337
00:17:14,433 --> 00:17:17,603
And that's been probably
one of the biggest takeaways that we have

338
00:17:17,669 --> 00:17:19,271
from these roundtables.

339
00:17:19,271 --> 00:17:20,205
That's so interesting.

340
00:17:20,205 --> 00:17:24,543
And are you seeing a lot of companies,
like you’ve realize this,

341
00:17:24,810 --> 00:17:27,646
but are you seeing a lot of companies
also realizing the need

342
00:17:27,646 --> 00:17:30,916
for these communications
across different channels,

343
00:17:31,283 --> 00:17:34,019
or is this something
you're just kind of picking up on?

344
00:17:34,019 --> 00:17:37,456
Yeah, this is something that I frankly
noticed over my entire career.

345
00:17:37,856 --> 00:17:39,792
And so that's a long time.

346
00:17:39,792 --> 00:17:43,862
So so I've been sort of focused on this
for 20 plus years.

347
00:17:44,329 --> 00:17:48,600
And and seeing those different
consistencies has helped me

348
00:17:49,001 --> 00:17:52,204
help investors to understand
what's important,

349
00:17:52,204 --> 00:17:53,839
what's really going on in a company.

350
00:17:53,839 --> 00:17:57,142
So there's a variety of different,
you know, some individuals

351
00:17:57,142 --> 00:17:58,911
are recognizing this.

352
00:17:58,911 --> 00:18:02,881
Sometimes it comes across
much more potently

353
00:18:02,881 --> 00:18:05,851
when there might be an activist investor

354
00:18:06,018 --> 00:18:09,621
who's trying to advocate
for change at a company.

355
00:18:09,922 --> 00:18:11,857
Then all of a sudden the company realizes,

356
00:18:11,857 --> 00:18:15,627
well, wait, we better make sure that we're
actually giving out consistent messages.

357
00:18:15,627 --> 00:18:19,064
But even still, then often the last piece
that's not

358
00:18:19,064 --> 00:18:22,067
really focused on is the annual report.

359
00:18:22,134 --> 00:18:25,604
There's just this strong view
that that's a compliance document.

360
00:18:26,171 --> 00:18:29,174
So, you know, there are some companies
that are doing better at it.

361
00:18:29,274 --> 00:18:32,311
There was a time over a couple of years
where companies

362
00:18:32,311 --> 00:18:35,514
were being a little more thoughtful
about integrating

363
00:18:35,514 --> 00:18:39,051
some aspects of their sustainability
report into their annual report.

364
00:18:39,451 --> 00:18:42,121
Unfortunately, given the political
climate, there's been a little bit

365
00:18:42,121 --> 00:18:45,324
of backtracking with that,
or at least at some companies.

366
00:18:45,891 --> 00:18:48,894
So there's still lots of room
for improvement around that.

367
00:18:49,294 --> 00:18:53,132
Again, the biggest issue is that
these are, these different communication

368
00:18:53,132 --> 00:18:56,235
channels are usually handled
by different people within the company.

369
00:18:56,702 --> 00:19:00,239
They might have completely different
reporting lines that might be seemingly

370
00:19:00,239 --> 00:19:03,242
very different objectives,
that all might be worthwhile objectives.

371
00:19:04,109 --> 00:19:07,646
However, to me, it's
going to continue to be important to help

372
00:19:08,046 --> 00:19:12,751
all of us understand just how integral
these different communications

373
00:19:13,152 --> 00:19:18,023
are and how to integrate them in a way
that actually enhances

374
00:19:18,023 --> 00:19:21,293
the narrative and not detracts from
the narrative, is going to continue

375
00:19:21,293 --> 00:19:21,793
to be important.

376
00:19:22,761 --> 00:19:23,929
Yeah, that's so interesting.

377
00:19:23,929 --> 00:19:27,900
And for our listeners, Marc leads
a brilliant three part workshop

378
00:19:27,900 --> 00:19:31,170
for our students that's focused
on responsible reporting and disclosures.

379
00:19:31,170 --> 00:19:32,437
And I think one of them,

380
00:19:32,437 --> 00:19:35,440
one of the workshops specifically
is focused on this communication piece,

381
00:19:35,707 --> 00:19:39,845
which I feel like sounds almost simple,
but you actually put it into practice.

382
00:19:39,845 --> 00:19:41,446
I feel like it's incredibly challenging.

383
00:19:41,446 --> 00:19:43,682
So I think we'll have that again
next year.

384
00:19:43,682 --> 00:19:47,152
But I think having these workshops for
our students is so incredible as well.

385
00:19:47,719 --> 00:19:49,488
I'm curious as well.

386
00:19:49,488 --> 00:19:52,024
I mean, you've touched on this
with the political climate,

387
00:19:52,024 --> 00:19:55,394
but what are some of the topics
that generate so much debate

388
00:19:55,394 --> 00:19:57,829
or have anything
come up during these roundtables

389
00:19:57,829 --> 00:20:00,832
that you're like, oh,
that was more contentious then I thought.

390
00:20:00,933 --> 00:20:05,437
Yeah, I think one of the, episodes,
the podcast episodes that I had with

391
00:20:05,871 --> 00:20:09,875
Andrew Jones was a really good one
to really dig into that.

392
00:20:10,008 --> 00:20:11,810
Good question about that.

393
00:20:11,810 --> 00:20:16,715
Some of these issues just are so difficult
and so challenging,

394
00:20:16,715 --> 00:20:20,953
and obviously they're the ones with
the most political backlash against them.

395
00:20:20,953 --> 00:20:25,924
And so d human capital,
that's an extremely difficult

396
00:20:26,225 --> 00:20:29,695
thing for companies to talk about
in this particular political climate.

397
00:20:29,695 --> 00:20:31,830
In fact, there are some states where,

398
00:20:31,830 --> 00:20:35,467
you know, companies are being penalized
in many different ways

399
00:20:35,467 --> 00:20:39,571
for talking about DEI as, as a value
or a vision for the company.

400
00:20:40,172 --> 00:20:43,875
And so it's been very,
very tricky for companies

401
00:20:43,875 --> 00:20:48,280
to navigate this whole area of disclosure
around something

402
00:20:48,280 --> 00:20:52,484
that might be important to them
and might be important to their employees,

403
00:20:53,018 --> 00:20:56,822
while
also trying not to draw so much negative

404
00:20:56,822 --> 00:20:59,057
attention to themselves about things.

405
00:20:59,057 --> 00:21:02,261
And so this is something that we talk
about quite a bit

406
00:21:02,694 --> 00:21:04,363
in some of those workshops.

407
00:21:04,363 --> 00:21:08,233
And when I deal with companies,
when I even talk to investors,

408
00:21:08,233 --> 00:21:11,370
it's like,
what makes human capital so important?

409
00:21:11,703 --> 00:21:13,905
Why are you so interested in it?

410
00:21:13,905 --> 00:21:17,743
And it might vary significantly
from one industry to the next.

411
00:21:18,243 --> 00:21:18,610
Right.

412
00:21:18,610 --> 00:21:23,882
And so what seems to resonate
the most is when you take a topic

413
00:21:23,882 --> 00:21:28,220
like DEI, like human capital
and you don't frame it

414
00:21:28,220 --> 00:21:32,057
as a sustainability issue,
but you frame it as a business issue.

415
00:21:32,057 --> 00:21:35,160
Why is it important for our business

416
00:21:35,160 --> 00:21:39,131
to grow profits
over the long term, to be focused on DEI?

417
00:21:39,164 --> 00:21:44,970
Maybe it's because, I'm in a business
where I've got a full sales force

418
00:21:45,537 --> 00:21:49,641
that is interacting with a very,
very diverse customer base

419
00:21:50,175 --> 00:21:55,247
and therefore just making sure
that at least our sales force is diverse

420
00:21:55,247 --> 00:21:59,384
and is representative of our customer
base is an important business value,

421
00:21:59,651 --> 00:22:02,888
not necessarily a social value,
although it is that as well.

422
00:22:03,322 --> 00:22:06,958
But if you frame it as a conversation
about business value, then you're able

423
00:22:06,958 --> 00:22:11,830
to talk about it all over the country
without really fear of reprisal.

424
00:22:12,397 --> 00:22:17,302
And so framing these different topics as
to why they're important for the business

425
00:22:17,669 --> 00:22:23,141
is the best way that I've found to be able
to transcend some of the political winds

426
00:22:23,375 --> 00:22:26,378
blowing in different ways
from one administration to the next.

427
00:22:26,778 --> 00:22:28,046
Yeah, that's such a great point.

428
00:22:28,046 --> 00:22:32,684
I also think it's not also that difficult
to say this is a business imperative

429
00:22:32,684 --> 00:22:33,852
and it makes sense for business.

430
00:22:33,852 --> 00:22:36,221
I mean, when we have our Good
Business is Good Business conference, it's

431
00:22:36,221 --> 00:22:39,991
literally how we got the name of,
it's literally good for your business.

432
00:22:39,991 --> 00:22:43,462
And I think as much as we can continue
to push that narrative without,

433
00:22:43,862 --> 00:22:44,296
you know,

434
00:22:44,296 --> 00:22:46,431
missing
the environmental and social pieces,

435
00:22:46,431 --> 00:22:47,733
we still need to talk about those,

436
00:22:47,733 --> 00:22:50,435
but also mentioned
that it's a strategic advantage.

437
00:22:50,435 --> 00:22:51,737
It helps your consumers grow.

438
00:22:51,737 --> 00:22:55,273
There's so many other return on
sustainable investment there that I think

439
00:22:55,774 --> 00:22:57,542
sometimes get lost in the picture.

440
00:22:57,542 --> 00:22:59,778
So I appreciate you mentioning that.

441
00:22:59,778 --> 00:23:03,415
And I just want to thank you
and the whole RBC for being so supportive

442
00:23:03,415 --> 00:23:04,416
of doing these roundtables.

443
00:23:04,416 --> 00:23:06,752
It's not a small, small effort.

444
00:23:06,752 --> 00:23:09,187
And so it's been super appreciated.

445
00:23:09,187 --> 00:23:10,756
And I know it's been,

446
00:23:11,790 --> 00:23:13,158
you know, I speak for all the participants

447
00:23:13,158 --> 00:23:16,161
there as well who really enjoyed them
because they've come back.

448
00:23:16,561 --> 00:23:21,633
But I'm curious from your perspective
as somebody who is focused on the dialogue

449
00:23:21,633 --> 00:23:22,601
and sustainability, but

450
00:23:22,601 --> 00:23:26,805
sometimes we've gone into some of the deep
more accounting and financial aspects.

451
00:23:27,005 --> 00:23:29,641
From your perspective,
how have you found the dialogue?

452
00:23:29,641 --> 00:23:31,143
It's so fascinating.

453
00:23:31,143 --> 00:23:32,677
So I'm not an accountant.

454
00:23:32,677 --> 00:23:34,513
And so there are certainly times I'm

455
00:23:34,513 --> 00:23:37,682
not afraid to share that I'm like,
what is, what are we talking about?

456
00:23:37,682 --> 00:23:41,486
Because it gets really in the weeds
and specific guidelines

457
00:23:41,486 --> 00:23:43,755
of some sort of accounting piece, but

458
00:23:43,755 --> 00:23:47,092
I usually have Barbara Pawson next to me
and she'll be like, that's what it means.

459
00:23:47,426 --> 00:23:51,696
And so I think for me as a non-accountant,
it's really interesting

460
00:23:51,997 --> 00:23:56,234
for me to come into the conversation
from a sustainability perspective.

461
00:23:56,234 --> 00:23:56,401
Right?

462
00:23:56,401 --> 00:23:59,471
I have my MBA in sustainability
and that's my real focus area.

463
00:23:59,838 --> 00:24:02,841
To understand
then how to build some of these.

464
00:24:03,108 --> 00:24:05,610
I don't wanna say debates,
but build some of these arguments

465
00:24:05,610 --> 00:24:08,713
in defense of sustainability
through the language of business.

466
00:24:08,713 --> 00:24:11,183
I mean, accounting
is the language of business.

467
00:24:11,183 --> 00:24:13,051
And so really starting to figure out,
well,

468
00:24:13,051 --> 00:24:15,654
what are these
different folks interested in?

469
00:24:15,654 --> 00:24:19,991
And how do we build the credibility
of sustainability in their language?

470
00:24:19,991 --> 00:24:22,994
I think you kind of hit the nail
on the head before these convenings,

471
00:24:23,028 --> 00:24:26,832
help to bridge some of those gaps
and build a common language.

472
00:24:27,232 --> 00:24:30,936
We were in a similar roundtable
with the work with endcap

473
00:24:30,936 --> 00:24:32,304
and some of the language

474
00:24:32,304 --> 00:24:35,307
between economists,
sustainability experts and accountants.

475
00:24:35,407 --> 00:24:38,777
Everyone was kind of saying
the same thing, but the actual

476
00:24:38,777 --> 00:24:42,247
vocabulary and terminology varies
very differently.

477
00:24:42,481 --> 00:24:43,281
And I mean, Marc,

478
00:24:43,281 --> 00:24:47,285
we've talked about materiality
and what sustainability materiality means

479
00:24:47,285 --> 00:24:50,856
and what materiality means in accounting,
and I learned a lot from that.

480
00:24:50,856 --> 00:24:54,693
And so I think what I found
so interesting is just trying to learn

481
00:24:54,693 --> 00:24:59,598
some of the terminology that accountants
use so much to then build business cases

482
00:24:59,598 --> 00:25:03,401
to build in the sustainability argument
and say it is good for business.

483
00:25:03,869 --> 00:25:05,604
So I've learned a lot about accounting.

484
00:25:05,604 --> 00:25:07,372
My father in law would be very proud.

485
00:25:07,372 --> 00:25:09,808
But I think it's it's
been really incredible

486
00:25:09,808 --> 00:25:12,377
to just see these people
from different perspectives.

487
00:25:12,377 --> 00:25:14,145
So from the investor perspective,

488
00:25:14,145 --> 00:25:18,083
from the board perspective,
from SEC perspective, coming in

489
00:25:18,083 --> 00:25:21,987
and sharing different pieces of the puzzle
that I truly had not looked at before,

490
00:25:21,987 --> 00:25:26,057
because again, accounting is not my area,
but I will say it is interesting.

491
00:25:26,091 --> 00:25:27,792
I have learned a lot.

492
00:25:27,792 --> 00:25:28,393
It's funny

493
00:25:28,393 --> 00:25:32,130
you brought up the materiality point,
because I think it's a great example

494
00:25:32,130 --> 00:25:36,701
of how one word can generate
an hours long conversation,

495
00:25:36,902 --> 00:25:40,772
because there are different meanings
and different perspectives around it.

496
00:25:40,772 --> 00:25:43,875
And so in a financial accounting
and in the legal sense,

497
00:25:43,875 --> 00:25:46,878
materiality is something very,
very specific.

498
00:25:46,912 --> 00:25:50,248
In sustainability, it's a topic
that's been used since the Global

499
00:25:50,248 --> 00:25:54,452
Reporting Initiative has been out there
for since the 1990s, I think.

500
00:25:54,953 --> 00:25:56,888
And and so it's been used in that context.

501
00:25:56,888 --> 00:26:01,092
And yet there's also a layperson’s thought
around what the word materiality means.

502
00:26:01,626 --> 00:26:04,930
And so by using one word,
we actually aren't

503
00:26:04,930 --> 00:26:06,798
necessarily
enhancing the conversation at all.

504
00:26:06,798 --> 00:26:08,366
Right. Because you've got different people

505
00:26:08,366 --> 00:26:10,769
bringing different meanings
to that same word.

506
00:26:10,769 --> 00:26:15,307
And so you can definitely get lost
when using a word that you think

507
00:26:15,307 --> 00:26:17,275
everybody knows what it means
and it doesn't.

508
00:26:17,275 --> 00:26:22,514
So, you know, as I think about this,
you have been inspiring in this idea

509
00:26:22,514 --> 00:26:25,350
of bringing different people together
because you do it all the time,

510
00:26:25,350 --> 00:26:27,652
bringing together
different people with different views.

511
00:26:27,652 --> 00:26:30,589
You've done it all the time.
What have you found?

512
00:26:30,589 --> 00:26:33,124
You know, are the pros for,
for these kind of meetings

513
00:26:33,124 --> 00:26:35,360
where you bring people together
with different perspectives,

514
00:26:35,360 --> 00:26:38,363
with different points of view or different
vantage points of an organization?

515
00:26:39,064 --> 00:26:43,501
I think convening there's something
that I have really grown to love.

516
00:26:43,501 --> 00:26:44,669
I don't think it was something

517
00:26:44,669 --> 00:26:47,572
early in my career that I never think
I was involved with, but

518
00:26:47,572 --> 00:26:51,076
I think it comes from a love of learning
and that's again a Jesuit value,

519
00:26:51,242 --> 00:26:54,112
but a love of learning
and continuously learning.

520
00:26:54,112 --> 00:26:56,314
Because I think
if you come into any conversation,

521
00:26:56,314 --> 00:26:58,450
whether it's sustainability
or fill in the blank,

522
00:26:58,450 --> 00:27:01,620
there's so much you don't know
from someone else's side.

523
00:27:01,987 --> 00:27:05,924
And I think, again, we're kind of over
a shared of building those bridges

524
00:27:05,924 --> 00:27:09,160
and understanding
what someone else prioritizes

525
00:27:09,160 --> 00:27:12,163
and then understanding
where your perhaps mental blocks are.

526
00:27:12,163 --> 00:27:16,034
I think these dialogues and convenings
are just so important

527
00:27:16,034 --> 00:27:18,937
to get us on the same page,
or realize we're already on the same page,

528
00:27:18,937 --> 00:27:21,473
but perhaps speaking different languages.

529
00:27:21,473 --> 00:27:25,577
And so I think some of the pros
are really, you know, continuing to expand

530
00:27:25,577 --> 00:27:29,781
and have that growth mindset
of understanding what someone else’s

531
00:27:29,781 --> 00:27:32,784
perspective, I mean, quite frankly,
an accountants perspective,

532
00:27:32,817 --> 00:27:35,687
it's very different
from how I learned sustainability.

533
00:27:35,687 --> 00:27:39,391
But, now understanding
a part of accounting,

534
00:27:39,391 --> 00:27:43,828
it's really increased my understanding
of how sustainability is great.

535
00:27:43,828 --> 00:27:45,530
But we do need more data. Right.

536
00:27:45,530 --> 00:27:46,231
And so I think

537
00:27:46,231 --> 00:27:49,901
vice versa, having an accountant,
I hope, on the side of sustainability,

538
00:27:50,101 --> 00:27:53,371
starts to bring in some of
those more environmental conversations

539
00:27:53,371 --> 00:27:55,774
as well of like,
oh, what are ecosystem services?

540
00:27:55,774 --> 00:27:57,342
And bringing those things in.

541
00:27:57,342 --> 00:27:59,344
I think just bringing people together.

542
00:27:59,344 --> 00:28:01,312
And I always say this
at the end of our conferences

543
00:28:01,312 --> 00:28:03,548
as well, of coming
together is really important,

544
00:28:03,548 --> 00:28:05,350
but it's the networking
that's really important.

545
00:28:05,350 --> 00:28:07,085
It's what you do with it after.

546
00:28:07,085 --> 00:28:10,321
And so I would just say, you know, that
that love of learning

547
00:28:10,321 --> 00:28:11,790
is just so important.

548
00:28:11,790 --> 00:28:14,693
No matter where you are in your career,
there's always something you can learn

549
00:28:14,693 --> 00:28:19,297
from someone else and to be open to,
I mean, discernment and saying, well,

550
00:28:19,297 --> 00:28:22,300
the way I viewed this, was that true
and was that correct?

551
00:28:22,434 --> 00:28:27,138
Or can I expand my view of understanding,
and is there an opportunity

552
00:28:27,138 --> 00:28:28,640
within there to grow that and say,

553
00:28:28,640 --> 00:28:31,643
oh, I actually haven't figured it all out
because none of us have.

554
00:28:31,943 --> 00:28:35,480
But I think that's the the biggest value
of bringing people together and building

555
00:28:35,480 --> 00:28:36,715
those relationships

556
00:28:36,715 --> 00:28:39,751
to just see the different parts
of the puzzle and the different parts

557
00:28:39,751 --> 00:28:43,154
of all of the different industries
and how they really come together.

558
00:28:43,154 --> 00:28:47,492
So I we have a lot more convening
prep than planned for the year ahead.

559
00:28:47,492 --> 00:28:51,730
And so I can't wait to see what wonderful
conversations come out of those as well.

560
00:28:52,163 --> 00:28:53,732
Well,
I love everything you said about that.

561
00:28:53,732 --> 00:28:55,934
You know, the love of learning,

562
00:28:55,934 --> 00:29:00,038
the fostering of knowledge and knowledge
sharing and having a different

563
00:29:00,271 --> 00:29:02,340
finding a different perspective
on something

564
00:29:02,340 --> 00:29:03,508
or hearing a different perspective,

565
00:29:03,508 --> 00:29:06,644
it really just opens up
the mind and gets all the creative juices

566
00:29:06,644 --> 00:29:10,281
flowing and trying to understand
from somebody else's point of view,

567
00:29:10,715 --> 00:29:13,718
their view of that problem
or that situation.

568
00:29:14,252 --> 00:29:16,788
That's the only way to move things
forward and advance things.

569
00:29:16,788 --> 00:29:18,823
And so you brought up convenings

570
00:29:18,823 --> 00:29:20,859
and you brought up
these different conferences and stuff.

571
00:29:20,859 --> 00:29:24,329
So I wanted to touch on the Good
Business is Good Business conference.

572
00:29:24,329 --> 00:29:25,830
We, we hold it.

573
00:29:25,830 --> 00:29:28,833
We've had it here at Fordham, in March.

574
00:29:29,300 --> 00:29:32,937
And we,
you recently just did one in London.

575
00:29:33,872 --> 00:29:35,974
What makes that conference particularly

576
00:29:35,974 --> 00:29:38,977
interesting and exciting for us of the RBC
and for the attendees.

577
00:29:39,344 --> 00:29:39,844
Yeah.

578
00:29:39,844 --> 00:29:43,915
And one thing I want to touch on that
you said as well of this love of learning

579
00:29:43,915 --> 00:29:46,151
and continuous to grow,
that's what education is.

580
00:29:46,151 --> 00:29:50,288
And that's what's so incredible about
being at higher education, is continuing

581
00:29:50,288 --> 00:29:55,059
this love of learning and building out
some of those, fostering understanding.

582
00:29:55,093 --> 00:29:57,262
So it's just
I could go on a whole podcast about that.

583
00:29:57,262 --> 00:30:00,632
But the London Good Business is Good
Business Conference was wonderful.

584
00:30:00,632 --> 00:30:01,900
It was our first one,

585
00:30:01,900 --> 00:30:05,570
and it was incredible to be partnering
with our Fordham London friends.

586
00:30:05,570 --> 00:30:08,940
And so there is a wonderful campus
in Fordham, London.

587
00:30:09,240 --> 00:30:12,010
And when we were putting this together,
we were trying to figure out,

588
00:30:12,010 --> 00:30:14,779
well, we're going across the pond,
what are the challenges?

589
00:30:14,779 --> 00:30:18,116
What are the things we want to bring into
this conference as a half day event?

590
00:30:18,516 --> 00:30:21,286
And what was interesting
was a lot of the conversations

591
00:30:21,286 --> 00:30:23,454
we were having with the London
team, were conversations

592
00:30:23,454 --> 00:30:25,824
that are happening over here
across the pond too, right.

593
00:30:25,824 --> 00:30:29,460
And so no surprise,
everyone is talking about AI.

594
00:30:29,460 --> 00:30:33,264
And so we had a conversation on AI
because we're

595
00:30:33,264 --> 00:30:36,901
doing a lot of work with endcap
and with nature based solutions.

596
00:30:37,202 --> 00:30:38,736
We brought that into the conversation

597
00:30:38,736 --> 00:30:42,540
as well, and it's happening there too,
I think a global perspective.

598
00:30:42,540 --> 00:30:46,311
And I think what's really interesting is
that things aren't so siloed anymore.

599
00:30:46,311 --> 00:30:48,012
Everything is really global.

600
00:30:48,012 --> 00:30:49,981
And so in London
they're talking about nature.

601
00:30:49,981 --> 00:30:51,850
And so we brought that to the equation
as well.

602
00:30:51,850 --> 00:30:55,320
So bringing in the nature
perspective and understanding that

603
00:30:55,653 --> 00:30:58,523
what's happening here
on the political landscape of,

604
00:30:58,523 --> 00:31:00,658
kind of pushing back on
some of the sustainability

605
00:31:00,658 --> 00:31:03,661
things isn't really happening
across the pond as we know, right?

606
00:31:03,962 --> 00:31:08,132
And so people and organizations are still
pushing forward some of their really

607
00:31:08,266 --> 00:31:11,769
strategic and ambitious sustainability
targets and goals.

608
00:31:12,203 --> 00:31:16,875
And because most organizations are large
organizations are global.

609
00:31:17,141 --> 00:31:20,578
They still have to abide
by some of those regulations and reporting

610
00:31:20,778 --> 00:31:23,381
that are required in other countries.

611
00:31:23,381 --> 00:31:25,350
And so the conference was wonderful.

612
00:31:25,350 --> 00:31:27,819
Hopefully we'll have another.
This was the first annual.

613
00:31:27,819 --> 00:31:29,587
So maybe we'll have a second annual.

614
00:31:29,587 --> 00:31:33,191
And I think it just is a testament
to building the global

615
00:31:33,191 --> 00:31:36,194
audience and the thought perspective
that we'd like to have.

616
00:31:36,261 --> 00:31:39,697
We have some incredible faculty
over in Fordham, London.

617
00:31:40,131 --> 00:31:43,201
So ensuring we're bridging those gaps,
bringing in conversations

618
00:31:43,201 --> 00:31:46,504
from London to Fordham
and continuing to see where this takes us.

619
00:31:46,504 --> 00:31:46,771
right?

620
00:31:46,771 --> 00:31:50,341
So when we have our next Good Business
conference in New York, how can we bring

621
00:31:50,341 --> 00:31:53,912
the London perspective in as well
and continue to build those bridges?

622
00:31:53,912 --> 00:31:56,114
Because there are our friends
over the pond,

623
00:31:56,114 --> 00:31:57,215
but we don't see them as much.

624
00:31:57,215 --> 00:32:00,618
And so how can we ensure that we're
building some of those aspects of it,

625
00:32:00,985 --> 00:32:04,989
but really terrific and really exciting
to see the first one come to fruition.

626
00:32:05,757 --> 00:32:07,959
So cool. Congratulations on that.

627
00:32:07,959 --> 00:32:10,495
Was that sort of the biggest difference
between London in the U.S.

628
00:32:10,495 --> 00:32:11,896
as sort of the political climate

629
00:32:11,896 --> 00:32:14,899
and not really having to back off
so much on sustainability,

630
00:32:14,899 --> 00:32:18,736
or where there are other differences
or nuances that you, that you encountered.

631
00:32:19,070 --> 00:32:22,340
Yeah, I to me,
I would say that's one of the largest

632
00:32:22,674 --> 00:32:24,976
aspects is the political piece.

633
00:32:24,976 --> 00:32:27,178
But I mean,
every country has their political piece

634
00:32:27,178 --> 00:32:29,347
and everyone's
kind of pushing back on different things.

635
00:32:29,347 --> 00:32:32,083
And so there's still some similarities
with that.

636
00:32:32,083 --> 00:32:37,021
So I'd say most of the issues in my
perspective at least we're pretty similar.

637
00:32:37,522 --> 00:32:41,192
And yeah, focus,
especially the nature side of things,

638
00:32:41,192 --> 00:32:43,261
is something that is very new. Right?

639
00:32:43,261 --> 00:32:46,230
I think everyone's been talking about AI,
everyone's been talking about climate.

640
00:32:46,230 --> 00:32:49,000
But nature is something
that's really emerging.

641
00:32:49,000 --> 00:32:51,102
And I was at a conference
in London last year

642
00:32:51,102 --> 00:32:52,470
and it was all focused on nature.

643
00:32:52,470 --> 00:32:56,074
And so to just be speaking about that
and understanding

644
00:32:56,074 --> 00:32:58,042
how we bring different perspectives in.

645
00:32:58,042 --> 00:33:01,112
And so we had some students
that participate in a panel,

646
00:33:01,145 --> 00:33:05,383
another panel discussion with how
we support the next generation of leaders.

647
00:33:05,717 --> 00:33:09,253
And that's a big conversation focused on
AI and the future of work.

648
00:33:09,654 --> 00:33:12,390
And so in the US, it's a huge conversation

649
00:33:12,390 --> 00:33:15,660
that a lot of our students are grappling
with and in London as well.

650
00:33:15,660 --> 00:33:19,897
So I'm sure that's a global aspect really,
you know, with the rise of AI,

651
00:33:20,131 --> 00:33:22,900
which has efficiencies
and can be very productive,

652
00:33:22,900 --> 00:33:25,903
also is a really scary phenomenon of
what is the future of work,

653
00:33:25,903 --> 00:33:28,039
which is a sustainability issue, right?

654
00:33:28,039 --> 00:33:30,008
How are we going to sustain as a society?

655
00:33:30,008 --> 00:33:33,044
How are we going to ensure
that the next generation has

656
00:33:33,044 --> 00:33:36,047
an opportunity to work in areas
that they're interested in,

657
00:33:36,080 --> 00:33:39,083
and then also throwing
in all of the different,

658
00:33:39,250 --> 00:33:41,419
you know, environmental challenges
as well.

659
00:33:41,419 --> 00:33:44,756
So for me,
I feel like a lot of the borders

660
00:33:44,956 --> 00:33:47,792
have really fallen in terms
of some of these global issues

661
00:33:47,792 --> 00:33:49,761
and everyone's kind of looking
especially, AI,

662
00:33:49,761 --> 00:33:52,730
I think we’ll be talking about
for quite some time.

663
00:33:52,730 --> 00:33:53,398
Oh for sure.

664
00:33:53,398 --> 00:33:57,335
You can't, you can't go any conference
or even any within any conference.

665
00:33:57,335 --> 00:33:59,904
You can't go a day without talking about
AI at some point.

666
00:33:59,904 --> 00:34:03,808
Yeah,
I mean everything we had a great feedback

667
00:34:03,808 --> 00:34:05,843
from our students of
what would you like to see next year?

668
00:34:05,843 --> 00:34:08,546
And I think 90% of them were like AI.

669
00:34:08,546 --> 00:34:10,681
And so definitely a global aspect.

670
00:34:10,681 --> 00:34:14,986
And so speaking about different emerging
global things that are coming to fruition,

671
00:34:15,353 --> 00:34:17,522
I feel like a connection
that I've started to see

672
00:34:17,522 --> 00:34:19,290
or seen over the past couple of years

673
00:34:19,290 --> 00:34:23,428
is the link between responsible business
practices and long term value creation.

674
00:34:23,428 --> 00:34:25,363
Are you seeing that as well?

675
00:34:25,363 --> 00:34:29,901
Sometimes, the
the organizations that are very forward

676
00:34:29,901 --> 00:34:32,537
thinking and are very good
at communicating

677
00:34:32,537 --> 00:34:35,206
why they are growing their value
over the long term,

678
00:34:35,206 --> 00:34:38,076
do a very good job of this,
because they're actually thinking beyond

679
00:34:38,076 --> 00:34:41,412
just 13 weeks of the next 13 weeks,
and they're thinking about

680
00:34:41,746 --> 00:34:46,050
how are they going to grow their value
as an organization over the long term.

681
00:34:46,484 --> 00:34:49,754
And there's always been this debate
between sort of stakeholder capitalism

682
00:34:49,754 --> 00:34:52,757
and just pure capitalism
and thinking about profits.

683
00:34:53,491 --> 00:34:56,294
I personally think that that's
a little bit overstated, right?

684
00:34:56,294 --> 00:34:59,263
Because to me, there's no better way.

685
00:34:59,263 --> 00:35:02,266
There's no way that you could grow
your long term profits

686
00:35:02,633 --> 00:35:05,636
without thinking
about your other stakeholders.

687
00:35:05,937 --> 00:35:09,207
If you don't have your customers
along for the ride, you certainly,

688
00:35:09,207 --> 00:35:11,676
if you don't have your employees
along for the ride,

689
00:35:11,676 --> 00:35:15,079
if you don't have your suppliers
growing value over time,

690
00:35:15,513 --> 00:35:18,416
and the communities
in which you live, work and operate,

691
00:35:18,416 --> 00:35:21,219
you're not going to grow profits
over the long term.

692
00:35:21,219 --> 00:35:24,489
If you're a company that just exploits
the community

693
00:35:24,822 --> 00:35:29,961
that they happen to live in
and dump waste in the local rivers,

694
00:35:30,461 --> 00:35:33,898
you're not going to last long,
in that particular location.

695
00:35:33,898 --> 00:35:34,265
Right?

696
00:35:34,265 --> 00:35:36,567
And the people
that are working at your company

697
00:35:36,567 --> 00:35:38,536
live in that community as well,

698
00:35:38,536 --> 00:35:40,204
and they're not going
to want to work for you

699
00:35:40,204 --> 00:35:42,206
if that's how you're
treating the environment.

700
00:35:42,206 --> 00:35:44,842
Right. So,
so all of these things are interconnected.

701
00:35:44,842 --> 00:35:48,946
And the organizations
that realize that taking care of

702
00:35:48,946 --> 00:35:53,851
all of your stakeholders is how you build
long term financial profit as well.

703
00:35:54,252 --> 00:35:57,822
Those are the ones that are doing
a very good job of connecting these

704
00:35:57,822 --> 00:36:02,059
different responsible business practices
and long term value creation.

705
00:36:02,393 --> 00:36:05,163
So, so those organizations are doing
a good job of that.

706
00:36:05,163 --> 00:36:07,565
You still have, especially in the States.

707
00:36:07,565 --> 00:36:11,135
You still have a lot of short term focus
and a lot of short term thinking.

708
00:36:11,135 --> 00:36:15,173
And there's lots of different reasons
for that.

709
00:36:15,173 --> 00:36:19,010
And the Securities Exchange Commission in
the US is trying to address some of that,

710
00:36:19,010 --> 00:36:23,581
perhaps with, perhaps moving toward away
from quarterly reporting and toward

711
00:36:23,881 --> 00:36:27,552
semiannual reporting is one mechanism
to try to address that.

712
00:36:28,052 --> 00:36:32,356
But really, it's thinking about
how all those different stakeholders

713
00:36:32,356 --> 00:36:34,892
and how these different responsible
business practices

714
00:36:34,892 --> 00:36:38,129
you talked about nature,
how will those things impact your long

715
00:36:38,129 --> 00:36:42,066
term ability to create value
for all your different stakeholder groups?

716
00:36:42,533 --> 00:36:43,868
That's what matters the most.

717
00:36:43,868 --> 00:36:45,836
And so it's kind of almost analogous

718
00:36:45,836 --> 00:36:48,206
to how we were talking about human capital
before.

719
00:36:48,206 --> 00:36:50,808
These are really business issues
at the core of it.

720
00:36:50,808 --> 00:36:53,644
And if it makes it easier for everybody
to talk about without

721
00:36:53,644 --> 00:36:57,114
bringing in political feelings,
then that’s a great way to do it too,

722
00:36:57,481 --> 00:37:00,451
because at the end of the day, you talk
about the issues that are important

723
00:37:00,451 --> 00:37:04,722
to your business as an organization,
and many of these over the long term

724
00:37:05,356 --> 00:37:08,793
are going to be indirectly financial,
right?

725
00:37:08,793 --> 00:37:11,929
All the different sustainability issues
are indirectly financial.

726
00:37:12,096 --> 00:37:15,366
The longer your time horizon,
the more they become directly financial.

727
00:37:15,366 --> 00:37:18,803
So that's kind of what I think about what
I'm seeing.

728
00:37:18,803 --> 00:37:21,772
And there are certain companies,
especially globally,

729
00:37:21,772 --> 00:37:24,775
that are doing a very good job
of thinking about all that.

730
00:37:24,809 --> 00:37:25,209
Yeah.

731
00:37:25,209 --> 00:37:28,212
And I think coming back to the question
you asked me of like, is there

732
00:37:28,212 --> 00:37:31,382
a difference between London and the US,
a big part of its compliance, right.

733
00:37:31,983 --> 00:37:36,420
The EU, even the UK is not there,
but they are part of it, right?

734
00:37:36,420 --> 00:37:39,123
In the sense of geo–geographically.

735
00:37:39,123 --> 00:37:42,159
I'm curious your perspective on compliance
versus strategy.

736
00:37:42,159 --> 00:37:45,696
So right now you're talking a lot about
the strategic advantage of doing this

737
00:37:45,696 --> 00:37:48,699
right, supporting local communities
and things like that.

738
00:37:48,833 --> 00:37:50,768
But I kind of view it as a carrot
and a stick. Right.

739
00:37:50,768 --> 00:37:52,870
So strategically it's a huge carrot of,

740
00:37:52,870 --> 00:37:54,639
my gosh, look at all
the return on investment.

741
00:37:54,639 --> 00:37:57,642
But but but, but
the compliance perspective is that stick.

742
00:37:57,642 --> 00:37:59,910
And so I'm curious
have you seen conversations

743
00:37:59,910 --> 00:38:03,247
moving away from those compliances
and moving towards the strategy

744
00:38:03,481 --> 00:38:05,216
or how or are,
how are they balancing that.

745
00:38:06,317 --> 00:38:07,952
They balance it from year to year?

746
00:38:07,952 --> 00:38:08,386
Yeah.

747
00:38:08,386 --> 00:38:11,389
And it's a great point
and it's a great question.

748
00:38:11,589 --> 00:38:15,326
I think with all the new regulations
that are coming into play globally,

749
00:38:16,260 --> 00:38:19,263
there's lots of still focus
now on compliance.

750
00:38:20,031 --> 00:38:22,967
And that's natural
because different jurisdictions

751
00:38:22,967 --> 00:38:25,970
are putting in place
different regulations that are new.

752
00:38:26,370 --> 00:38:29,040
And companies have to make sure
that whatever they're doing complies

753
00:38:29,040 --> 00:38:30,374
with these new rules.

754
00:38:30,374 --> 00:38:33,511
And so the trick of this is going to be
how do they ensure

755
00:38:33,511 --> 00:38:38,582
that they are complying, while
at the same time thinking about strategy.

756
00:38:38,883 --> 00:38:42,486
So you're not just thinking tactics,
but you're always thinking strategic

757
00:38:42,486 --> 00:38:43,721
at the same time.

758
00:38:43,721 --> 00:38:44,322
And so again,

759
00:38:44,322 --> 00:38:48,159
the companies that are better at
this are starting out with the strategic

760
00:38:48,659 --> 00:38:52,363
thought process about what are we trying
to do to grow long term value,

761
00:38:52,630 --> 00:38:56,801
and how are we going to communicate
about this and our progress toward it.

762
00:38:57,568 --> 00:38:59,537
And that's the overarching conversation.

763
00:38:59,537 --> 00:39:03,441
And embedded with that is the compliance
exercise is about making sure that you are

764
00:39:03,841 --> 00:39:06,510
adapting and adopting all the language
that you need to in

765
00:39:06,510 --> 00:39:09,013
all the different local jurisdictions
that you have.

766
00:39:09,013 --> 00:39:12,616
Part of the issue that we're having
and that companies are having globally

767
00:39:12,983 --> 00:39:15,853
is that different
jurisdictions are coming up with different

768
00:39:15,853 --> 00:39:18,856
answers for what
the required disclosures are going to be.

769
00:39:19,290 --> 00:39:22,193
And so it's very, very fragmented.

770
00:39:22,193 --> 00:39:25,763
And it's very difficult for multinational
corporations just to make sure

771
00:39:26,130 --> 00:39:30,034
that what they're communicating in the UK
fits the UK rules.

772
00:39:30,534 --> 00:39:32,636
France is going to have something
a little bit different.

773
00:39:32,636 --> 00:39:35,239
Brazil is going to have something
a little bit different from that.

774
00:39:35,239 --> 00:39:37,375
Australia went a different way.

775
00:39:37,375 --> 00:39:38,209
And so

776
00:39:38,209 --> 00:39:42,980
you've got to operate in this environment
where there's fragmented rules in place.

777
00:39:42,980 --> 00:39:46,083
And yet at the same time,
in order to really achieve what you're

778
00:39:46,083 --> 00:39:49,120
trying to achieve, you've got to have that
strategic overlay as well.

779
00:39:49,620 --> 00:39:52,089
So, you know,
I think when I talk to the accountants,

780
00:39:52,089 --> 00:39:54,925
a lot of the accountants
are thinking about compliance,

781
00:39:54,925 --> 00:39:59,797
but hopefully brought more broadly
than that, the communications teams

782
00:39:59,797 --> 00:40:04,435
and the C-suite are seeing
that as just an integral portion

783
00:40:04,435 --> 00:40:07,438
of the overall strategic picture
about what they’re communicating.

784
00:40:08,005 --> 00:40:10,141
It's such an interesting point
with sustainability,

785
00:40:10,141 --> 00:40:12,309
it's always the carrot
and the stick of which is going to work.

786
00:40:12,309 --> 00:40:15,980
And I think that's where a lot of research
is continuously coming out of.

787
00:40:16,280 --> 00:40:18,783
Does this work with compliance,
or do we need to figure out

788
00:40:18,783 --> 00:40:20,217
more of that return on investment?

789
00:40:20,217 --> 00:40:24,321
Because sometimes the stick does work, but
we'd like people to not have to do that

790
00:40:24,321 --> 00:40:27,558
and have more of a, this is a strategic
driver of our business.

791
00:40:28,526 --> 00:40:28,893
Yeah.

792
00:40:28,893 --> 00:40:29,527
And speaking of

793
00:40:29,527 --> 00:40:33,030
strategic things, I'm going to change
subjects and switch gears a little bit.

794
00:40:33,364 --> 00:40:37,101
We have to talk about ClimateCAP
and the fact that it's coming to Fordham.

795
00:40:37,101 --> 00:40:39,403
But for listeners
who aren't familiar with ClimateCAP,

796
00:40:39,403 --> 00:40:40,638
can you give sort of a movie trailer

797
00:40:40,638 --> 00:40:43,641
version of
what is it and why is it important?

798
00:40:43,908 --> 00:40:44,341
Yeah.

799
00:40:44,341 --> 00:40:49,213
So ClimateCAP is an initiative out of Duke
Fuqua School of Business,

800
00:40:49,480 --> 00:40:53,584
and it's really focused on bringing MBA
students together to think about climate.

801
00:40:53,584 --> 00:40:55,352
And so I personally love this.

802
00:40:55,352 --> 00:40:56,687
When I was getting my MBA years ago,

803
00:40:56,687 --> 00:40:58,789
I was actually a part of ClimateCAP
as well.

804
00:40:58,789 --> 00:40:59,490
And it's incredible

805
00:40:59,490 --> 00:41:01,425
because you're bringing
in traditional MBAs

806
00:41:01,425 --> 00:41:03,494
who are going to go off
and be the future business

807
00:41:03,494 --> 00:41:06,263
leaders of tomorrow, which is really
the mission of the RBC. Right?

808
00:41:06,263 --> 00:41:08,032
And have them think about climate, right.

809
00:41:08,032 --> 00:41:11,035
We're not saying every single person
there has to go into climate,

810
00:41:11,101 --> 00:41:14,071
but if all of these MBAs
go and start to think about

811
00:41:14,071 --> 00:41:17,608
the implications of climate, very much
what you were talking about, Marc, right.

812
00:41:17,775 --> 00:41:21,145
Whatever business part
they're in, what a world that could make

813
00:41:21,178 --> 00:41:24,715
of starting to infuse some of those
strategic decision making together.

814
00:41:24,715 --> 00:41:27,184
And so ClimateCAP does a terrific job.

815
00:41:27,184 --> 00:41:28,686
They have different programs
throughout the year.

816
00:41:28,686 --> 00:41:32,122
They have a fellowship,
they have a Climate Catalyst program,

817
00:41:32,523 --> 00:41:34,492
and they have a ClimateCAP Summit.

818
00:41:34,492 --> 00:41:39,363
And so that will be coming next year
to New York City, which is very exciting.

819
00:41:39,730 --> 00:41:42,299
And so we were selected to host it.

820
00:41:42,299 --> 00:41:45,002
It was at MIT Sloan this past year.

821
00:41:45,002 --> 00:41:46,570
Before that, it was at Berkeley Haas.

822
00:41:46,570 --> 00:41:49,173
And then the year before
that it was at University of Michigan.

823
00:41:49,173 --> 00:41:53,244
And so, Marc, we were there together, at
MIT Sloan was terrific.

824
00:41:53,244 --> 00:41:54,912
They did an incredible job.

825
00:41:54,912 --> 00:41:58,716
And so we're thrilled to be hosting it
in a few months.

826
00:41:59,583 --> 00:41:59,917
Yeah.

827
00:41:59,917 --> 00:42:03,187
So when Fordham was announced,
they actually passed a torch on to us

828
00:42:03,521 --> 00:42:06,190
that they created in the 3D printer,
which is fascinating.

829
00:42:06,190 --> 00:42:08,926
So, you know,
you mentioned all the different schools

830
00:42:08,926 --> 00:42:10,528
that have been associated
with it in the past.

831
00:42:10,528 --> 00:42:13,964
Why is it so significant
that Fordham was now named for next year?

832
00:42:13,964 --> 00:42:15,232
Why are we so excited about it?

833
00:42:15,232 --> 00:42:17,268
Can you give everybody
a little bit of a...

834
00:42:17,268 --> 00:42:18,536
Yeah, yeah for sure.

835
00:42:18,536 --> 00:42:20,671
I mean, it's the first time
it'll be in New York City.

836
00:42:20,671 --> 00:42:21,906
So that's huge.

837
00:42:21,906 --> 00:42:23,240
And the first time
it's going to be a New York City

838
00:42:23,240 --> 00:42:27,111
will be at Fordham University Gabelli,
which is just, I mean, incredible.

839
00:42:27,111 --> 00:42:28,145
It's incredible.

840
00:42:28,145 --> 00:42:31,081
Especially as we're
going into our fourth year as a center.

841
00:42:31,081 --> 00:42:32,516
So the Gabelli School is hosting
it, right?

842
00:42:32,516 --> 00:42:35,386
The RBC is really continuing
to push in power.

843
00:42:35,386 --> 00:42:39,123
A lot of the strategic work that's going
behind it in the logistics and operations.

844
00:42:39,356 --> 00:42:42,726
But we'll have 400 plus MBA students
from around the world

845
00:42:42,993 --> 00:42:46,564
here at Fordham Lincoln Center's campus,
which is really incredible.

846
00:42:46,897 --> 00:42:51,669
I think it provides a great opportunity
as well, to show what Fordham is about

847
00:42:51,669 --> 00:42:55,673
and bring some of those perspectives
to light, on, you know, what

848
00:42:55,673 --> 00:42:59,743
our Jesuit mission is, what it means
to lead with purpose and understand

849
00:42:59,743 --> 00:43:03,013
some of the research we're doing
and bring it into the conversations.

850
00:43:03,247 --> 00:43:03,647
And so,

851
00:43:03,647 --> 00:43:07,384
to give you a quick sneak peek of what
we're doing, I won't give too much away.

852
00:43:07,384 --> 00:43:10,321
But this summer
we are planning, planning, planning.

853
00:43:10,321 --> 00:43:12,690
So Marc,
thanks for being on our program committee.

854
00:43:12,690 --> 00:43:14,258
Very exciting about that.

855
00:43:14,258 --> 00:43:15,693
Looking at sponsors right now

856
00:43:15,693 --> 00:43:19,330
and finding some really heavy hitter
speakers to bring some people in.

857
00:43:19,797 --> 00:43:22,600
I think the biggest challenge,
which is also a really exciting

858
00:43:22,600 --> 00:43:25,603
opportunity,
is we keep trying to figure out:

859
00:43:25,669 --> 00:43:28,472
what do we bring in this very Fordham
and also what do we bring in

860
00:43:28,472 --> 00:43:29,940
that's very New York.

861
00:43:29,940 --> 00:43:32,409
And as a New Yorker, New York is awesome.

862
00:43:32,409 --> 00:43:35,446
And so there's a lot to bring into
the conversation here, right?

863
00:43:35,446 --> 00:43:37,648
There's everything from the arts
and Broadway

864
00:43:37,648 --> 00:43:41,552
to we're
in the financial capital of the world

865
00:43:41,719 --> 00:43:45,823
to the United Nations is headquartered
here to we're surrounded by oceans

866
00:43:45,823 --> 00:43:49,526
and figuring out how we can talk
about resilience of oceans.

867
00:43:49,526 --> 00:43:51,662
And so there's a lot to unpack.

868
00:43:51,662 --> 00:43:55,332
And so I think our biggest
exciting challenge, quite frankly,

869
00:43:55,332 --> 00:43:59,003
is this summer really honing in on like,
what are the most important aspects

870
00:43:59,203 --> 00:44:01,105
and what are the most strategic

871
00:44:01,105 --> 00:44:04,742
differentiators to bring into the equation
that highlight New York City

872
00:44:04,975 --> 00:44:08,012
and also highlight Fordham
and what we can bring to it?

873
00:44:08,012 --> 00:44:09,680
So I'm thrilled.

874
00:44:09,680 --> 00:44:11,815
I mean, what are you excited about, Marc?

875
00:44:11,815 --> 00:44:12,182
Yeah.

876
00:44:12,182 --> 00:44:13,283
You said it all.

877
00:44:13,283 --> 00:44:17,221
And I think to me, that challenge
of bringing in something

878
00:44:17,221 --> 00:44:22,092
that's uniquely New York, when ClimateCAP
hasn't been in New York before,

879
00:44:22,626 --> 00:44:25,329
I think of finance and trying to,

880
00:44:25,329 --> 00:44:28,365
how do we integrate
some some finance into the program?

881
00:44:28,365 --> 00:44:30,134
And we've got a lot of the banks here.

882
00:44:30,134 --> 00:44:31,535
We've got a lot of investing here.

883
00:44:31,535 --> 00:44:33,037
It's one of the investment
capitals of the world.

884
00:44:33,037 --> 00:44:35,873
The stock exchanges
are here in New York City.

885
00:44:35,873 --> 00:44:38,242
And so how do we bring that to light?

886
00:44:38,242 --> 00:44:41,011
I'm just super excited about
it was so inspiring to be with

887
00:44:41,011 --> 00:44:44,148
all those MBA students up at MIT

888
00:44:44,148 --> 00:44:47,184
at ClimateCAP of 2026 this year.

889
00:44:47,584 --> 00:44:49,119
And, and to think that

890
00:44:49,119 --> 00:44:53,157
we are going to be hosting it
in February is, is just phenomenal.

891
00:44:53,157 --> 00:44:57,995
So it's just that it says so much about
where we are at Fordham University

892
00:44:57,995 --> 00:45:01,865
and the faith and trust
that ClimateCAP has put into us.

893
00:45:01,899 --> 00:45:04,234
And it's just, it's awesome.

894
00:45:04,234 --> 00:45:06,170
And so super excited for this.

895
00:45:06,170 --> 00:45:10,741
And you've been amazing at thinking
through all the different aspects of it.

896
00:45:10,741 --> 00:45:13,510
And I just can't wait for it to come here.
Oh thank you. Yeah.

897
00:45:13,510 --> 00:45:16,280
And I think also just a shout out
to the ClimateCAP community.

898
00:45:16,280 --> 00:45:20,017
I mean it's so many different educators
from different top business schools.

899
00:45:20,317 --> 00:45:24,455
And I think it's so inspiring
to see the collaborative approach

900
00:45:24,455 --> 00:45:25,789
that everyone has,

901
00:45:25,789 --> 00:45:28,058
where they come together
and are really trying to help one another

902
00:45:28,058 --> 00:45:28,492
figure out

903
00:45:28,492 --> 00:45:31,929
how we can get these MBAs thinking
about climate and sustainability issues.

904
00:45:31,929 --> 00:45:34,465
So it's been really encouraging as well.

905
00:45:34,465 --> 00:45:34,665
Yeah.

906
00:45:34,665 --> 00:45:39,570
Another issue that you mentioned
a couple times, endcap and natural assets.

907
00:45:39,570 --> 00:45:41,205
We also should spend a minute on that.

908
00:45:41,205 --> 00:45:45,042
One of the more innovative areas
that we've been exploring involves natural

909
00:45:45,042 --> 00:45:48,846
assets in the work of the Natural Assets
Accounting Standards Board.

910
00:45:48,846 --> 00:45:52,082
And so what does that initiative
trying to accomplish?

911
00:45:52,649 --> 00:45:52,983
Yeah.

912
00:45:52,983 --> 00:45:57,121
And if you go back to the first episode,
Barbara talks a little bit about this too,

913
00:45:57,121 --> 00:45:58,956
and she goes quite into some detail.

914
00:45:58,956 --> 00:46:01,458
But what I'm really excited
about with, that–

915
00:46:01,458 --> 00:46:04,595
So I'll just define a few things
because I think I've been saying

916
00:46:04,595 --> 00:46:05,963
end cap and nasty.

917
00:46:05,963 --> 00:46:09,700
So endcap is natural
capital accounting principles.

918
00:46:10,067 --> 00:46:13,170
And that will be governed
by what is called NAASB.

919
00:46:13,170 --> 00:46:15,773
So Natural Asset Accounting
Standards Board.

920
00:46:15,773 --> 00:46:16,673
And a big part of this

921
00:46:16,673 --> 00:46:21,211
is really looking at ecosystem services
and how we put a value on nature.

922
00:46:21,211 --> 00:46:24,114
And sometimes that brings
in a controversial piece of oh,

923
00:46:24,114 --> 00:46:25,182
should we value nature?

924
00:46:25,182 --> 00:46:27,951
And I think yes,
we should value nature in terms of it's

925
00:46:27,951 --> 00:46:30,420
something we should value
intrinsically, right?

926
00:46:30,420 --> 00:46:34,458
And so a big part of what
we're trying to accomplish here at Fordham

927
00:46:34,958 --> 00:46:37,561
is to provide a consistent, independent

928
00:46:37,561 --> 00:46:41,231
standard for reporting on natural
capital performance.

929
00:46:41,231 --> 00:46:44,168
And so when you think about nature
and you think about natural capital,

930
00:46:44,168 --> 00:46:45,836
there's so many different pieces of it.

931
00:46:45,836 --> 00:46:49,173
So ecosystem services
think things like pollination.

932
00:46:49,306 --> 00:46:50,541
I think even just, you know,

933
00:46:50,541 --> 00:46:54,645
restoring conservation
in different lands and restoration.

934
00:46:54,912 --> 00:46:57,681
So there's so many different pieces
of the equation.

935
00:46:57,681 --> 00:47:00,751
And if we're not valuing it,
we're not really appreciating it.

936
00:47:01,118 --> 00:47:05,255
And so with natural capital accounting
principles, we're really aiming to address

937
00:47:05,255 --> 00:47:09,927
this by establishing really rigorous
standards that are comparable to things

938
00:47:10,127 --> 00:47:15,332
that accountants would understand of US
GAAP and IFRS to really measure, report

939
00:47:15,332 --> 00:47:19,203
and ensure that their natural capital
value continues to increase.

940
00:47:19,203 --> 00:47:23,507
And so, this very much aligns as well
with our Jesuit values of stewardship

941
00:47:23,740 --> 00:47:26,510
and really ensuring
that this is coming to fruition.

942
00:47:26,510 --> 00:47:28,712
So super excited about that.

943
00:47:28,712 --> 00:47:29,980
We're very excited to share that.

944
00:47:29,980 --> 00:47:33,684
We now have a reporting and a governance
committee that are a part of NAASB.

945
00:47:33,884 --> 00:47:35,686
So really incredibly,

946
00:47:35,686 --> 00:47:39,623
wonderfully accomplished folks
that are really committed to the space.

947
00:47:39,990 --> 00:47:41,792
Marc,
you might be one of those lovely people

948
00:47:41,792 --> 00:47:44,161
on our committee,
so thanks for being a part of that.

949
00:47:44,161 --> 00:47:47,097
And so since you're on
one of our committees, I'd love to hear,

950
00:47:47,097 --> 00:47:48,532
why should people care about this?

951
00:47:48,532 --> 00:47:51,001
What does natural asset
accounting really mean?

952
00:47:51,001 --> 00:47:54,338
And for many people, I'm sure this is
the first time they're hearing about it.

953
00:47:54,338 --> 00:47:56,139
So why should they care?

954
00:47:56,139 --> 00:47:58,075
I think you alluded to
some of these things.

955
00:47:58,075 --> 00:48:01,945
I think it's important to sort of back up
and remember that we're doing this

956
00:48:01,945 --> 00:48:04,982
for natural asset
companies, natural asset corporations

957
00:48:05,415 --> 00:48:09,319
and these natural asset corporations,
they're, they're structured and built

958
00:48:09,319 --> 00:48:12,890
in order to recognize and generate value
from these natural ecosystems.

959
00:48:13,457 --> 00:48:18,729
And so without rigorous and real
standardized accounting for natural assets

960
00:48:18,729 --> 00:48:22,699
like the forest,
like the wetlands or clean water sources,

961
00:48:23,400 --> 00:48:28,138
without an accounting standard behind it,
companies themselves and investors,

962
00:48:28,372 --> 00:48:31,508
you can't properly understand
the economic benefits

963
00:48:31,508 --> 00:48:36,213
and the risks associated with preserving
these natural assets or degrading them.

964
00:48:36,213 --> 00:48:38,916
You just can't tell
what you should be doing.

965
00:48:38,916 --> 00:48:39,917
You can't value it.

966
00:48:39,917 --> 00:48:43,186
So transparent accounting really tries
to make sure

967
00:48:43,186 --> 00:48:47,024
that these assets are being managed
for long term sustainability,

968
00:48:47,357 --> 00:48:51,528
for aligning the health of these assets
with economic performance.

969
00:48:52,329 --> 00:48:57,467
And it also helps give some accountability
and enables like capital allocation.

970
00:48:57,467 --> 00:49:01,471
If you've got people who want to put money
to these natural assets

971
00:49:01,471 --> 00:49:04,875
right
now, it's more thought of as philanthropy.

972
00:49:05,509 --> 00:49:10,280
But this might be a way to actually
allow people to put money aside

973
00:49:10,280 --> 00:49:13,283
for these natural assets
while actually earning a return.

974
00:49:13,317 --> 00:49:16,920
You can't do that
if you don't have the accounting behind it

975
00:49:16,920 --> 00:49:19,523
to sort of understand
what those values are.

976
00:49:19,523 --> 00:49:22,259
So if you have this accounting,
you were hopeful.

977
00:49:22,259 --> 00:49:24,995
And the natural asset
corporations are hopeful to attract

978
00:49:24,995 --> 00:49:28,465
some real investment dollars
and be able to have

979
00:49:28,865 --> 00:49:32,903
their mandate of conservation,
but also profitability at the same time.

980
00:49:33,303 --> 00:49:33,637
Yeah.

981
00:49:33,637 --> 00:49:36,206
And I think this comes back
to our conversation earlier as well,

982
00:49:36,206 --> 00:49:40,811
right, of bringing diverse perspectives
to this, to the table.

983
00:49:40,811 --> 00:49:42,079
To talk about this,

984
00:49:42,079 --> 00:49:45,082
you really need to have
an interdisciplinary approach on this.

985
00:49:45,115 --> 00:49:47,551
I think, you know,
I come from the sustainability perspective

986
00:49:47,551 --> 00:49:50,654
and a little bit of the economic
perspective on why we should value these,

987
00:49:50,921 --> 00:49:55,125
but it's so interesting to hear an
accountant talk about what economic value

988
00:49:55,425 --> 00:49:59,029
actually means, and how do we actually
report that and standardize

989
00:49:59,029 --> 00:50:02,966
it across so many different
potential natural asset companies?

990
00:50:02,966 --> 00:50:04,267
I'll be meeting to report

991
00:50:04,267 --> 00:50:07,270
if everyone's reporting differently,
it doesn't really provide any value.

992
00:50:07,337 --> 00:50:11,641
And I think that goes to, you know,
improving decisions as well for investors.

993
00:50:11,842 --> 00:50:14,311
And so bringing investor
perspectives in as well.

994
00:50:14,311 --> 00:50:17,647
So I just think it's so interesting
to have that interdisciplinary approach.

995
00:50:18,215 --> 00:50:21,218
Like you said,
like having economics associated with it.

996
00:50:21,218 --> 00:50:23,320
And economists
who have been building these things

997
00:50:23,320 --> 00:50:26,523
in the past around
what the economic value of these things

998
00:50:26,790 --> 00:50:28,558
and bringing it up
with an accounting discipline

999
00:50:28,558 --> 00:50:29,292
and now trying to make it

1000
00:50:29,292 --> 00:50:32,462
standardized and importantly,
something that is auditable,

1001
00:50:33,363 --> 00:50:36,900
so that investors in the markets
can have even more faith and confidence

1002
00:50:36,900 --> 00:50:40,070
behind it, then you have to marry up
with these different disciplines.

1003
00:50:40,504 --> 00:50:43,507
And that's what we're trying to do here
with the NAASB.

1004
00:50:43,573 --> 00:50:44,775
Yeah, I could go on.

1005
00:50:44,775 --> 00:50:46,743
But the auditing perspective
is so interesting

1006
00:50:46,743 --> 00:50:48,578
because not something
I had initially said,

1007
00:50:48,578 --> 00:50:50,981
oh well we could value them,
but how do we audit it?

1008
00:50:50,981 --> 00:50:52,849
And that's a really important part.

1009
00:50:52,849 --> 00:50:55,652
So moving on
because we have so much to talk about.

1010
00:50:55,652 --> 00:51:00,357
But one other super exciting thing
that we're a part of is the Responsible

1011
00:51:00,357 --> 00:51:04,861
Business Center is becoming home
next year, in October, to the Accounting

1012
00:51:04,861 --> 00:51:07,831
for a Sustainable World Conference
and the ASW Journal.

1013
00:51:08,331 --> 00:51:10,634
Why is this important? Can you tell us
a little bit about this, Marc?

1014
00:51:10,634 --> 00:51:12,903
You've been involved with them for years.

1015
00:51:12,903 --> 00:51:16,239
Yeah, this has been
so this is so cool to contemplate

1016
00:51:16,239 --> 00:51:17,441
and to think about the,

1017
00:51:17,441 --> 00:51:19,376
the it used to be called
the Care Conference

1018
00:51:19,376 --> 00:51:23,080
and now it's Accounting for a Sustainable
World Conference in the ASW Journal.

1019
00:51:23,313 --> 00:51:26,116
These have been stalwarts
in the industry for, for

1020
00:51:26,116 --> 00:51:29,286
many, many years
before, before lockdown and Covid.

1021
00:51:29,286 --> 00:51:32,856
It was a,
it was an annual global conference and

1022
00:51:32,889 --> 00:51:37,194
used to, people from all over the world
would travel to, to go to this conference.

1023
00:51:37,661 --> 00:51:41,364
Peter Easton, who leads Notre
Dame's center around

1024
00:51:41,364 --> 00:51:45,435
this, is the editor of the journal
and the, you know,

1025
00:51:45,435 --> 00:51:48,605
the sponsor for the conference,
and he's going to be coming along with it.

1026
00:51:48,872 --> 00:51:52,642
And so, you know, after this year's
September conference,

1027
00:51:53,376 --> 00:51:57,013
and ASW journal,
then it will all become part of Fordham.

1028
00:51:57,414 --> 00:52:00,884
And so, again,
it really is a vision of this, of what

1029
00:52:00,884 --> 00:52:04,855
we're trying to do with the RBC is, is
and for me, with responsible reporting is

1030
00:52:04,855 --> 00:52:08,925
to, is to be the place
where everybody convenes and looks

1031
00:52:08,925 --> 00:52:12,696
to for thought leadership
and to have these conversations about,

1032
00:52:12,863 --> 00:52:14,865
you know, responsible reporting
and everything else.

1033
00:52:14,865 --> 00:52:18,468
This just puts us right there on the map
globally, right?

1034
00:52:18,468 --> 00:52:20,170
It's such a huge conference.

1035
00:52:20,170 --> 00:52:21,838
It's such a huge organization.

1036
00:52:21,838 --> 00:52:24,908
And to be out there
quarterly with academic research

1037
00:52:25,475 --> 00:52:29,045
on topics of responsible reporting, where
accounting and sustainability

1038
00:52:29,246 --> 00:52:32,716
integrate and overlap,
this is hugely important.

1039
00:52:32,716 --> 00:52:35,118
And it's just, it's
just a super thing to do.

1040
00:52:35,118 --> 00:52:39,689
So I encourage people to,
you know, take a look at the ASWJ

1041
00:52:39,990 --> 00:52:44,628
and the conference is going to be coming
in in September of this year.

1042
00:52:44,628 --> 00:52:48,331
And look for that and they'll be curating

1043
00:52:48,331 --> 00:52:51,535
a couple of different pieces of material
at that conference too.

1044
00:52:51,535 --> 00:52:53,570
So definitely check it out.

1045
00:52:53,570 --> 00:52:55,472
It's right on mission for what
we're trying to do

1046
00:52:55,472 --> 00:52:57,073
with the RBC and responsible reporting.

1047
00:52:57,073 --> 00:52:58,508
And I couldn't be more excited.

1048
00:52:58,508 --> 00:53:01,478
Yeah. It's awesome.
I think it's incredible.

1049
00:53:01,478 --> 00:53:03,547
And it's really just a great way
for us to connect

1050
00:53:03,547 --> 00:53:05,582
some of the great work
we're already doing.

1051
00:53:05,582 --> 00:53:08,818
And amplify the idea
that even more to the global audience,

1052
00:53:09,019 --> 00:53:11,955
especially bringing that powerful
of research dimension to it,

1053
00:53:11,955 --> 00:53:15,659
I think, really elevates the work of the
responsible business center.

1054
00:53:16,293 --> 00:53:18,662
And in some of the conversations
we've been having with people,

1055
00:53:18,662 --> 00:53:20,864
they're so excited it's moving to Fordham,

1056
00:53:20,864 --> 00:53:24,134
and we're just so honored
and privileged to have the opportunity.

1057
00:53:24,801 --> 00:53:25,202
Yeah.

1058
00:53:25,202 --> 00:53:26,870
Speaking of things
that we're looking forward

1059
00:53:26,870 --> 00:53:29,873
to, like, you know,
as you look at over the next year,

1060
00:53:30,273 --> 00:53:32,842
what are you
most excited about for the RBC?

1061
00:53:32,842 --> 00:53:35,545
Or are there
other topics that deserve more attention

1062
00:53:35,545 --> 00:53:37,047
than they currently receive?

1063
00:53:37,047 --> 00:53:40,083
What are you looking forward
to over the next, over the next 12 months?

1064
00:53:40,450 --> 00:53:44,154
I would say ClimateCAP
is everything we're focused on right now,

1065
00:53:44,454 --> 00:53:47,791
but it's really interesting
as we go into our fourth year, right?

1066
00:53:47,791 --> 00:53:48,191
Each year,

1067
00:53:48,191 --> 00:53:51,795
we figure out our strategic goals and what
we're trying to finalize and focus on.

1068
00:53:52,162 --> 00:53:54,898
And as we go into our fourth
year, it's a little bit

1069
00:53:54,898 --> 00:53:58,568
more strategic of, okay, we're no longer
in our first and baby years.

1070
00:53:58,568 --> 00:54:01,905
We're really now established
and people recognize us.

1071
00:54:02,105 --> 00:54:05,041
And so I think I'm
so excited for ClimateCAP.

1072
00:54:05,041 --> 00:54:08,011
I think it's incredible
to have this opportunity.

1073
00:54:08,278 --> 00:54:12,182
Beyond that, I'm also really excited to
continue our engagement with our students.

1074
00:54:12,449 --> 00:54:14,884
We're curating a whole bunch
of different workshops with them

1075
00:54:14,884 --> 00:54:18,421
that they've helped to give us ideas
that they're really interested in.

1076
00:54:18,822 --> 00:54:21,825
And then another thing I'm
super excited about is our alumni groups.

1077
00:54:22,025 --> 00:54:25,028
So I had mentioned earlier,
we have our Emerging Leaders Council

1078
00:54:25,061 --> 00:54:28,098
and our Emerging Leaders Network,
which is our larger group of alumni,

1079
00:54:28,365 --> 00:54:32,435
and I've been really encouraged
and inspired by the amount of alumni

1080
00:54:32,435 --> 00:54:34,971
that I've been reaching out,
kind of coming out of the woodwork of,

1081
00:54:34,971 --> 00:54:37,374
I went to Fordham years ago.
I just saw you guys are doing this.

1082
00:54:37,374 --> 00:54:39,042
I'm working in sustainability,

1083
00:54:39,042 --> 00:54:42,879
and it's so inspiring to see that
and see them want to come home to Fordham.

1084
00:54:43,146 --> 00:54:45,949
And so I'm excited to just see what comes.

1085
00:54:45,949 --> 00:54:50,086
I mean, we have a lot in the cooker
right now from ASW to ClimateCAP.

1086
00:54:50,520 --> 00:54:54,124
The podcast is really just taking off,
so I'm excited to see what guests we have.

1087
00:54:54,124 --> 00:54:56,559
We already have a few lined up
that I'm excited about.

1088
00:54:56,559 --> 00:55:00,630
But Marc to you, as we're,
let's see, we're recording this episode

1089
00:55:00,630 --> 00:55:04,200
and one year from now, what would you hope
to say that we've accomplished?

1090
00:55:04,968 --> 00:55:06,369
ClimateCAP. Right.

1091
00:55:06,369 --> 00:55:11,074
I think, I think ClimateCAP is first
and foremost an extremely exciting.

1092
00:55:11,074 --> 00:55:15,245
And we talked about why
I think why the ASW journal

1093
00:55:15,245 --> 00:55:16,980
and integrating that is going,

1094
00:55:16,980 --> 00:55:18,648
you know,
if we were recording this a year from now

1095
00:55:18,648 --> 00:55:22,185
and we've got a couple of those journals
under our belt and you know, mostly what

1096
00:55:22,185 --> 00:55:26,423
we're what I guess we're saying
and what I'm hearing and what I think is

1097
00:55:26,990 --> 00:55:30,727
we are such a small organization
in terms of number of people that are

1098
00:55:30,727 --> 00:55:33,963
actually there full time doing this stuff,
but we punch above our weight.

1099
00:55:34,297 --> 00:55:37,400
And for us a year
from now to be able to say, hey, look,

1100
00:55:37,534 --> 00:55:40,670
we are on the global stage
and we are seen as the place

1101
00:55:41,104 --> 00:55:45,008
where everybody wants
to come and learn and convene about topics

1102
00:55:45,008 --> 00:55:49,746
that are on the forefront
of sustainability and responsible

1103
00:55:49,746 --> 00:55:52,882
reporting, and all the different things
that we do here at the RBC.

1104
00:55:52,882 --> 00:55:54,951
And we're well on our way to doing that.

1105
00:55:54,951 --> 00:55:59,089
And I think the recognition that we got
from ClimateCAP to be hosted for this,

1106
00:55:59,089 --> 00:56:02,926
you know, to be the next host, you know,
for when the ASW

1107
00:56:03,693 --> 00:56:06,696
was looking for a new home
and they came to Fordham,

1108
00:56:07,263 --> 00:56:10,133
these roundtables,
when I hear from people that,

1109
00:56:10,133 --> 00:56:13,136
oh, I missed this last roundtable,
can I be invited to the next one?

1110
00:56:13,436 --> 00:56:16,973
These are all signs that we are
on the right track for being the place

1111
00:56:16,973 --> 00:56:21,644
and being seen in the world
is the place to come.To be to find out

1112
00:56:21,644 --> 00:56:23,880
about what's going on
in the cutting edge of topics,

1113
00:56:23,880 --> 00:56:27,283
all topics around sustainability
and responsible business.

1114
00:56:27,283 --> 00:56:29,652
So that's where we're at.

1115
00:56:29,652 --> 00:56:33,022
Leigh-Anne, this has been such an awesome
conversation.

1116
00:56:33,289 --> 00:56:35,392
I love talking to you.
We could go on for hours.

1117
00:56:35,392 --> 00:56:37,727
We could keep going,
but we're going to stop.

1118
00:56:37,727 --> 00:56:39,028
We're going to stop.

1119
00:56:39,028 --> 00:56:41,498
You know, your perspectives on
everything happening here at the RBC.

1120
00:56:41,498 --> 00:56:43,433
It's been, it's been so fascinating

1121
00:56:43,433 --> 00:56:46,803
and exciting to, to look across
all these different initiatives, you know,

1122
00:56:46,803 --> 00:56:50,073
from the roundtables to the podcast
conversations to climate camp,

1123
00:56:50,607 --> 00:56:54,144
the ASW conference and journal,
the work on natural assets.

1124
00:56:54,144 --> 00:56:54,611
Oh my God,

1125
00:56:54,611 --> 00:56:57,914
just thinking about all this stuff,
the growing body of thought leadership

1126
00:56:58,381 --> 00:57:01,117
that is being developed
currently through the RBC,

1127
00:57:01,117 --> 00:57:04,454
and to see how they all really connect
to a common goal,

1128
00:57:04,454 --> 00:57:05,822
which is which is helping

1129
00:57:05,822 --> 00:57:09,726
organizations create long term value
while at the same time addressing

1130
00:57:09,726 --> 00:57:12,729
the challenges and opportunities
facing society as a whole.

1131
00:57:12,962 --> 00:57:14,330
It's just been fascinating.

1132
00:57:14,330 --> 00:57:17,100
And so, you know,
thank you for everything that you do.

1133
00:57:17,100 --> 00:57:19,169
And thank you for your time
on this podcast.

1134
00:57:19,169 --> 00:57:20,470
Thank you.

1135
00:57:20,470 --> 00:57:22,906
And thanks to everybody, for listening.

1136
00:57:22,906 --> 00:57:25,909
If you'd like to learn more
about the Responsible Business Center,

1137
00:57:25,909 --> 00:57:29,078
upcoming events, research
or future podcast episodes,

1138
00:57:29,712 --> 00:57:33,316
please visit Fordham University's
Responsible Business Center online.

1139
00:57:33,683 --> 00:57:37,320
We encourage you to subscribe
to People Behind the Impact Podcast

1140
00:57:37,587 --> 00:57:39,589
wherever you get your podcasts.

1141
00:57:39,589 --> 00:57:42,392
Share this episode and others
with colleagues, students,

1142
00:57:42,392 --> 00:57:45,094
anyone interested in the future
of responsible business.

1143
00:57:45,094 --> 00:57:47,730
Until next time, I'm Marc Siegel.

1144
00:57:47,730 --> 00:57:49,265
I'm Leigh Anne Statuto.

1145
00:57:49,265 --> 00:57:52,135
Thank you so much, everybody,
for listening to People Behind the Impact.