The end of ESG?

Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy

GUEST: Alex Edmans, professor of finance at the London Business School

Welcome to Season Two of “Responsible Investing for a Sustainable Economy!”

The guest to kick off our sophomore season is Dr. Alex Edmans, professor of finance at the London Business School, noted TED speaker and author of “Grow the Pie: How Great Companies Deliver Both Purpose and Profit.” In this wide-ranging interview, Edmans expands on the book's opening sentence, “Capitalism is in crisis,” where he explains that the system may work well for corporations, but doesn't always trickle down to individuals — or the planet. Instead, Edmans believes that “growing the pie” does not necessarily exclusively mean increasing the profits, but enhancing social value as well. And if that's the case, does that change the commonly-accepted definition of environmental, social and governance, or ESG?