ESG, lack of regulations, commercial settings where it could be applied, and Wharton undergraduate's initiatives
- Isabella Perez
- Jun 22, 2024
- 4 min read
This is an article review to Wharton’s Article “Your Future as an ESG Pioneer”
Wharton Global Youth had the opportunity to speak with some undergrads at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, who are actively building the groundwork for their future careers as ESG business changemakers.
Sapphira’s profile was very interesting, and the way she stressed the fact that finance can support ESG and our need for corporate transparency, creative thinking, and innovation in a constantly changing business term, as well as her preoccupation with climate hypocrisy risk was essential and novel. However, the profile that interested me the most was Muhammad’s. It is very interesting how his research project on the Central Bank of UAE’s monetary policy and the risks of Dubai being a region heavily dependent on non-renewable sources, sparked his interest in an ESG concentration in his business studies. I completely agree with Muhammad that there needs to be a shift in our economic models. What are shareholders demanding from companies? Are they asking for ESG analyses? Are the laws demanding it? What products are the most valued by consumers? And of course, it is exciting to think of a future where the term ESG not only lives in the mouths of those concerned with business ethics, but it is amusing to think of a future in which it could become a corporate policy.
I get where Muhammad is coming from when he says that laws and regulations are extremely important for the implementation of ESG in the business landscape. Only laws will force companies to not only worry about making profits but to pay attention to how they can leave a positive impact on the environment, and address social issues. ESG is a crucial shift in how businesses should be operating and contributing to society. We need new ways of thinking, finding solutions to our current problems, and a different way of policy-making. It was interesting and surprising to realize that companies with an ESG focus are not only helping change the world but are also making themselves more competitive and well-prepared in the long term. This is often something we dismiss to contemplate when thinking about the benefits of ESG. We often contemplate the fact that it will be good for our environment and society, even if it costs companies to reduce their profits. But it is refreshing to realize that as companies begin to have environmental and social objectives, they are becoming better equipped to navigate failures or difficulties, attract professionals with the same focus and great ideas, and meet the expectations of an increasing number of shareholders and consumers that are becoming concerned with these topics, so it will not necessarily mean a reduction in profits, but an adaptation for our future.
I find some similarities in myself compared to Muhammad in that his purpose is to help organizations merge their goals and align them with social and environmental goals, and how his interest in ESG was fueled by Chamath Palihapitiya’s prediction that the next trillionaire would come from environmental ventures. In my case, as I have become more aware of the importance of ESG implementation in companies, I became inspired and realized that if there was a company that helped businesses do this transition and guided them to get the tools and resources that are necessary for this, with a focus on the food industry, then many more businesses would join this movement with ease and less fear on where to begin. Currently, I am cultivating my idea of how to start this project and get it running. The Wharton Global Youth’s articles on environmental leaders and business knowledge have sparked my interest in ESG helping me investigate and analyze many articles on business ethics and ESG in investing.
Amy W.’s goal is very interesting too. As a neuroscience and economics student with a focus on health care and management, her time volunteering helped her to find a problem that her community was facing and work to create an impact and solve that problem. Amy wants to become a doctor and use her business knowledge to impulse initiatives that strive to give older adults better access to health care. With her profile, I realize that ESG cannot only be applied in finance or business but in a great variety of fields. Aside from the healthcare industry, I believe that the food industry would benefit the most from an ESG mindset, as many processes of the food industry today, such as meat and palm oil production are harmful to our environment and our society’s health. Another industry would be the technological, and AI emerging industry, as nowadays there are many concerns on the benefits and downsides of AI, how it could make us less autonomic, and creative, and replace human jobs, I believe an ESG mindset would be extremely helpful in this industry to find ways in which technologies such as AI can actually work to benefit us and help our societies flourish.
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