Sustainability in the Post-COVID Economy

Will corporate sustainability play a larger role for businesses seeking to emerge and grow in the post-COVID economy? After the experience of massive disruption from the pandemic, other global risks, such as climate change, chronic water shortages, and loss of ecosystem services, should become mainstream concerns for corporate financial planning, and the value of human capital, equality, and community development become more central to financial success. Governments, which suddenly have a heavier hand on the “tiller of the market” as a result of massive stimulus payouts, may focus on priorities such as clean energy and green infrastructure as the means to spur economic growth. This panel discussion will explore these possibilities and what steps must be taken to ensure an intelligent recovery from this crisis.

Presented by the Yale Center for Business and the Environment and Yale Insights, the magazine of the Yale School of Management.

Moderator

Todd Cort
Lecturer in Sustainability, Yale School of Management; Faculty Co-Director, Yale Center for Business and the Environment

Panelists:

Marian Chertow
Director, Center for Industrial Ecology
Associate Professor, Industrial Environmental Management
Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and Yale School of Management

Daniel C. Esty
Hillhouse Professor of Environmental Law and Policy, Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies and Yale Law School

Douglas Kysar
Deputy Dean and Joseph M. Field ’55 Professor of Law, Yale Law School