There’s a backlash against the initials “ESG,” and politicization has made some organizations shy away from talking about it explicitly. But the environmental, social, and governance concerns in business aren’t going to go away, and smart companies must take them into account as they plan for long-term corporate health.
At last week’s Aspen Ideas Festival, the Institute’s Business and Society Program Executive Director Judy Samuelson asked “Where do we go from here?” to Lata Reddy, Senior Vice President of Inclusive Solutions for Prudential Financial; Melanie Chow, Vice President of Mission and Sustainability at Danone; and John Driscoll, president of US Healthcare for Walgreens Boots Alliance.
Highlights from the discussion, and the full video, are available in this blog post.
If you’re a regular reader of The Weekly Slice, you know about The New Wealth Agenda. The publication, created by the Institute’s Financial Security Program, sets an audacious goal: That by 2050, we must increase by tenfold the wealth of households of color and those in the bottom half of the wealth distribution in the United States. It also offers a blueprint on how we’ll get there.
At last week’s Aspen Ideas Festival (we told you there were lots of great discussions going on there) FSP leaders took the stage with innovators and leaders from foundations, nonprofits, and the private sector to talk about a more equitable approach to wealth in the US.
Democratizing Wealth. Allowing everyone a fair chance at economic prosperity and upward mobility is a goal we can all support. But how? Leaders of investment disruptor Robinhood, the MacArthur Foundation, and Prudential join to discuss the systems, practices, and policies to provide greater access to capital markets. With John Palfrey, President, John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation; Ida Rademacher, Co-Executive Director, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program; Lata Reddy, SVP of Inclusion, Prudential Financial; and Baiju Bhatt, Co-Founder and Chief Creative Officer, Robinhood.
Breakthrough Equity: The Future of Wealth in America. Alongside climate adaptation, wealth inequality is one of America’s most urgent problems. Learn from a diverse group of innovators about their contributions and commitments to a more equitable wealth agenda and why they are hopeful substantive progress will be made. With Joanna Smith-Ramani, Co-Executive Director, Aspen Institute Financial Security Program; Kristy Fercho, Head of Diverse Segments, Representation, and Inclusion, Wells Fargo; Ariel Meyerstein, Director, Community Investing and Development, Citi; Anna-Lisa Miller, Executive Director, Ownership Works; and Melissa Bradley, CEO, 1863 Ventures.
Read more about The New Wealth Agenda here.
This piece was originally published in APIE’s newsletter ‘The Weekly Slice’. Click here to subscribe.
