BOSTON--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Harvard Business School (HBS) will host its Aligning Sustainability with Corporate Performance executive education program from August 24-27, 2014 at the Harvard Business School campus in Boston.
Businesses are increasingly being asked by stakeholders and governments to address environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues more adequately and transparently than ever before. As a result, leaders are faced with the challenges of addressing these expectations while continuing to meet and exceed financial performance demands. In Aligning Sustainability with Corporate Performance participants will learn how to best implement sustainable strategies around ESG issues that not only allow, but promote long-term growth, competitiveness and profitability.
“It is no longer viable to operate a company structured in a way that satisfies only financial stakeholders,” said Das Narayandas, Senior Associate Dean and Chair of Executive Education and Publishing. “Increased social-awareness among consumers and worldwide calls for greater transparency in business practices compel companies to meaningfully reconcile both the financial and non-financial dimensions of their businesses in order to be truly sustainable.”
During the three day program, a global mix of participants will work with HBS faculty to better understand why the relationship between financial and non-financial business objectives is becoming more intertwined, including why customers, both individual and corporate, are paying more attention to ESG performance. The course will also explore how analysts and investors are integrating sustainability issues into their business assessments and investment recommendations.
“The real value of this course is that it teaches participants how to identify the ESG issues most essential and immediate to their businesses,” said Robert G. Eccles, Professor of Management Practice and faculty cochair of Aligning Sustainability with Corporate Performance. “Once identified, we work with participants to develop a pragmatic framework for more fully integrating these ESG goals into their business strategies, including how they can report and communicate these efforts to various key audiences to gain the backing of investors and achieve positive visibility among consumers.”
“Aligning Sustainability with Corporate Performance looks at examples of successful companies that are leading the way in fully-realizing their mission to have a positive social impact through innovative ways that intrinsically tie this to their company’s financial goals,” said George Serafeim, Assistant Professor of Business Administration and faculty cochair of the program. “By examining these cases, we see that there are multiple revenue-producing and cost-saving opportunities to be gained from embracing a strategy built for long-term sustainability through emphasis on governance, social and environmental factors.”
Designed for senior executives from established companies, Aligning Sustainability with Corporate Strategy is also suitable for managers and cross-functional teams of executives involved in strategic planning. The program will feature faculty research, new case studies and guest speakers. As with all HBS executive education programs, participants will work closely alongside peers through class discussions and group exercises, building a valuable network of professional relationships able to be accessed long after the conclusion of the program.
Program Details:
Aligning Sustainability with Corporate Performance will run from August 24 through August 27, 2014 at the Harvard Business School campus in Boston. Visit http://www.exed.hbs.edu/programs/ascp/ for complete curriculum details and to apply.
Aligning Sustainability with Corporate Performance
(August 24–August 27, 2014, Harvard Business School)
Faculty:
Robert G. Eccles, Professor of Management Practice and faculty cochair of Aligning Sustainability with Corporate Performance.
George Serafeim, Assistant Professor of Business Administration and faculty cochair of Aligning Sustainability with Corporate Performance.
About Harvard Business School:
Harvard Business School Executive Education, a division of Harvard Business School, is located on a 40-acre campus in Boston, Massachusetts. HBS faculty develop and deliver over 80 open-enrollment Executive Education programs and more than 60 custom programs for leading organizations worldwide. Last year, more than 9,700 business executives attended programs held on campus in Boston as well as classrooms in Mumbai, and Shanghai. With global research centers in eight key regions, HBS faculty continue to develop groundbreaking research, forge powerful alliances with global organizations, and fulfill the mission of educating leaders who shape the practice of business and innovation. Learn more at www.exed.hbs.edu/.
