The Sustainability Story: Casting a Critical Eye at Sustainability Inc. and ESG Investing
On July 23, 2022 by Ken PuckerWe talk with Ken Pucker, Advisory Director at Berkshire Partners and a Senior Lecturer at the Fletcher School at Tufts University. We discuss Ken’s time at Timberland, where he was at the forefront of the company’s social responsibility movement. We talk about the challenges facing the sustainable finance, ESG investing and impact accounting. https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/casting-a-critical-eye-at-sustainability-inc-and/id1581786457?i=1000549766038
A broken system needs urgent repairs by Henry Tricks
On July 22, 2022 by Ken PuckerThank you to the Economist for interviewing me for this piece. It is spot on. Speaking of ESG investing, the article notes “it has a negligible impact on carbon emissions, especially by the highest polluters. Its attempt to address social issues such as workplace diversity is hard to measure. As for governance, the ESG industry […]
Can Fashion Lower Its Climate Impact While Selling More Products?
On July 8, 2022 by Ken PuckerBusiness of Fashion “The narrative we’ve told ourselves around win-win solutions has deceived everyone into thinking there are no trade-offs,” said Kenneth Pucker, a senior lecturer at the Tufts Fletcher School and an advisory director at Berkshire Partners. “There are huge trade offs.” * Decoupling = green growth. Attractive conceptually. Very hard practically. Especially post elimination […]
Decarbonizing the Runway – The Nuance
On July 6, 2022 by Ken Pucker“Market based solutions in fashion have proven ineffective.” In reality, consumers had little to no influence over the business direction of fashion brands, leaving companies to operate as they wished with minimal oversight or accountability. Pucker explained that carbon emissions in the fashion industry have more than doubled in this timeframe. In 2000, the fashion […]
Overselling Sustainability Reporting: We’re Confusing Output with Impact
On May 22, 2022 by Ken PuckerHarvard Business Review, May – June 2021 For two decades progressive thinkers have argued that a more sustainable form of capitalism would arise if companies regularly measured and reported on their environmental, social, and governance (ESG) performance. But although such reporting has become widespread, and some firms are deriving benefits from it, environmental damage and […]
The Game of ESG Telephone
On April 10, 2022 by Ken PuckerGreenBiz ESG’s expansion over the past few years has felt a bit like a game of telephone. If you’ve ever played telephone, you may recall that the final participant in the circuit who shares what they have heard usually offers an interpretation that is incorrect, hyperbolic and pretty entertaining. But with trillions of invested dollars […]
ESG and Alpha: Sales or Substance?
On February 25, 2022 by Ken PuckerInstitutional Investor By Andrew A. King and Kenneth P. Pucker February 25, 2022 Managers of ESG investments create false hope, exaggerate outperformance, and contribute to the delay of long-past-due regulatory action. In late 2018, while seated on the dais of The New York TimesDealBook Conference, BlackRock CEO Larry Fink declared that“demand for ESG [environmental, social, […]
The Myth of Sustainable Fashion
On January 12, 2022 by Ken PuckerHarvard Business Review by Kenneth P. Pucker January 13, 2022 Few industries tout their sustainability credentials more forcefully than the fashion industry. But the sad truth is that despite high-profile attempts at innovation, it’s failed to reduce its planetary impact in the past 25 years. Most items are still produced using non-biodegradable petroleum-based synthetics and end […]
The Trillion-Dollar Fantasy Linking ESG Investing to Planetary Impact
On September 13, 2021 by Ken PuckerInstitutional Investor On April 8, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration observatory in Mauna Loa, Hawaii, reported that the carbon dioxide levels in the atmosphere had reached 419 parts per million, the highest levels recorded in more than 4 million years. That same day, BlackRock, the world’s largest asset manager, announced another milestone: It […]
Can Accountants Save the Planet
On August 23, 2021 by Ken PuckerAre you familiar with sustainable finance? ESG investing? Impact accounting? No? That’s ok, neither were we – that is until we met Ken Pucker. Ken is the Advisory Director at Berkshire Partners and a Senior Lecturer at the Fletcher School at Tufts University – he is also the former COO of Timberland. In today’s episode, […]