New Prime Minister Liz Truss has made growing the pie a centrepiece of her economic policy: “For too long, the political debate has been dominated by how we distribute a limited economic pie. Instead, we need to grow the pie …
Is There Really No Evidence That ESG Strategies Outperform?
Scientific Beta has just released a study claiming that there is “no evidence that ESG strategies outperform” after controlling for risk. Their research has been seen as paradigm-shifting since, previously, there was apparently clear evidence that ESG delivers alpha. Several …
Navigating the Challenges of Putting Purpose into Practice
In February 2021, Dee Corrigan, Head of Corporate Engagement at A Blueprint for Better Business interviewed me on the tough questions faced by companies seeking to put purpose into practice. Since Blueprint’s network already understands the value of purpose, this …
How Brown Stocks Produce Green Patents
Should Investors Aim for a Net-Zero Portfolio? In 2020, Extinction Rebellion activists dug up the lawn of Trinity College, Cambridge, accusing it of being “complicit in the climate & ecological crisis” by investing £9.1 million in oil and gas companies. …
What Stakeholder Capitalism Can Learn From Milton Friedman
Milton Friedman’s article “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase Its Profits” is often ridiculed as being from the dark ages – implying that companies should focus entirely on making money and exploit everyone else in doing so. But, …
Paid Family Leave Improves Firm Productivity
The Rights and Wrongs of Milton Friedman Milton Friedman’s infamous article, “The Social Responsibility of Business is to Increase its Profits”, is widely ridiculed for exemplifying everything that’s wrong with capitalism. But many of Friedman’s critics haven’t read further than …
Spurring Innovation: The Surprising Effects of Inequality
A key principle in the book is that responsible business is not only about splitting the pie fairly (paying generous wages to employees, or offering affordable prices to customers) but also growing the pie through innovation and excellence. That sounds …
Connecting a Leader’s Vision With Employees’ Daily Tasks
Companies often have inspiring purpose statements, such as “to bring health through food to as many people as possible” (Danone), “to connect everybody to live a better today and build a better tomorrow” (Vodafone) and “to make a difference in …
Responsible Citizenship in a Time of Crisis
What does it mean to be a responsible citizen in a time of crisis? When faced with challenges of such a global scale, it may seem that individual citizens are powerless to make a difference. In fact, citizens have far …
Responsible Investing in a Time of Crisis
What does it mean to be a responsible investor in a time of crisis? In my first article in this series, “Responsible Business in a Time of Crisis”, I suggested business leaders ask themselves “What’s in my hand?” In other …