Author Archives: Marcy Murninghan

Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory

The TakeAway: Harvard’s Initiative for Responsible Investment works to build a “master narrative” for responsible investing, along with educational tools for improving trustee performance. Massive changes in financial regulations and ramped up activism – aided in part by interactive technology – make … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Sustainability, Interactive Technology, Investor Governance, Sustainable Investing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , | Leave a comment

Radical Transparency: The Challenge to Sustainability and Democracy

The TakeAway: Reams of information released by WikiLeaks and the Federal Reserve challenge us to rethink our duties to promote sustainable accountability and representative democracy. Debates on the recent WikiLeaks / Federal Reserve data dumps concentrate on the supply side … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Governance, Corporate Sustainability, Interactive Technology, Media & Entertainment, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

IT Leads ET, But Needs Public Policy and $$$

The TakeAway: Information technology leader Google advances energy technology development, but clean energy progress relies on smart policy and capital flows, too. “Google it.”  Over the past decade, the term has gone viral, as the name of the information technology  … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Public Policy, Sustainable Investing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Divesting from Genocide: A Fiduciary Duty?

The TakeAway: Congressional hearing on ways to improve the Sudan Accountability & Investment Act proposes using the UN “Protect, Respect, Remedy” human rights framework to define fiduciary duty. The moral case for flexing investment muscle (from shareowner engagement to outright … Continue reading

Posted in Human Rights, Investor Governance, Public Policy, Sustainable Investing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Business and Human Rights: The UN’s Roadmap

The TakeAway: The United Nations’ Draft “Guiding Principles” for Business and Human Rights helps governments, business, and civil society put the “Protect, Respect, Remedy” framework into practice. “There is no single silver bullet solution to the multi-faceted challenges of business … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Sustainability, Human Rights, Stakeholder Engagement | Tagged , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Role of Technology and Engagement in Integrated Reporting

Part Two of Two The TakeAway: Integrated reporting relies on new tools of technology and engagement in blending financial and sustainability disclosure – and practice. Harvard Business School Professor Bob Eccles designed last month’s consultation on integrated reporting, which gathered … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Reporting, Corporate Sustainability, Interactive Technology, Stakeholder Engagement, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

Integrated Reporting: The Future of Corporate Financial and Sustainability Disclosure

Part One of Two The TakeAway: New Harvard Business School eBook provides insights from first global conference on integrated reporting Last week, Harvard Business School published its first free eBook, featuring contributions by participants at the recent global consultation on … Continue reading

Posted in Corporate Reporting, Corporate Sustainability, Stakeholder Engagement, Web 2.0 | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 4 Comments

The Urgency of Water Stewardship

The TakeAway: The Carbon Disclosure Project’s new Water Disclosure program establishes water risk management as an investor concern while helping companies gauge their “water footprint”. Water is to the world what blood is to our bodies: the vetturale di natura, … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Corporate Sustainability, Sustainable Investing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments

Burma’s History of Freeing “The Lady”

The TakeAway: The release of Aung San Suu Kyi caps a long process of advocacy including state and local sanctions, shareholder activism, and consumer boycott campaigns. Saturday’s release of Burmese pro-democracy leader Daw Aung San Suu Kyi (fondly called “The … Continue reading

Posted in Human Rights, Public Policy, Stakeholder Engagement, Sustainable Investing | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , | 1 Comment

The US Military: Partners in Sustainable Peace

The TakeAway: Climate change, clean energy, and humanitarian stability operations are mission-critical components of the Defense Department’s policy doctrine and operational stance. As we hailed our troops on Veterans Day, we should also salute the U.S. military for embracing sustainability. … Continue reading

Posted in Climate Change, Human Rights, Natural Disasters, Public Policy | Tagged , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , , | 2 Comments