December 6, 2007

Business & Government Seminar Series
Good Fences Make Good Neighbors: Assessing the functionality of industry self-regulatory institutions

Andrew King, Associate Professor of Business Administration, Tuck School of Business, Dartmouth University

Prof. King extends the concept of commons problems to industry reputation to explain the frequent emergence of self-regulation in modern industry. He presents results from his longitudinal study of the chemical industry in which he finds support for the perspective that rival firms share a common reputation, a major crisis increases the risk of shared sanctions resulting from this common reputation, and self-regulation ameliorates the risks presented by this common reputation. His findings suggest that self-regulation benefits the industry by lessening the degree to which participants’ errors cause harm to the broader industry, and not by protecting participants from the errors of non-participants.

Business & Government Seminar Series
Does It Pay to Be Good? Looking Back (and Ahead) at Research on Corporate Social and Financial Performance

Joshua Margolis, Associate Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

and

Hillary Anger Elfenbein, Assistant Professor, Haas School of Business, University of California, Berkeley

The empirical link between corporate social performance (CSP) and corporate financial performance (CFP) has been steadily investigated for 35 years. Margolis & Elfenbein conducted a meta-analysis of 192 effects revealed in 167 studies and found that the association is strongest for the analysis of the specific dimensions of charitable contributions, revealed misdeeds, and environmental performance and when CSP is assessed more broadly through observer perceptions and self-reported social performance. They concluded that if future research on the link persists, it should meet a number of minimum standards. Ideally, though, efforts to find a link should be redirected to better understand why companies pursue CSP, the mechanisms connecting prior CFP to subsequent CSP, and how companies manage the process of pursuing both CSP and CFP simultaneously.

PAPER

New Directions in Regulation Seminar Series
Global Warming Litigation: The Supreme Court's Decision in Massachusetts v. EPA and its implications

Jody Freeman, Professor of Law, Harvard Law School

Prof. Freeman presents an overview of the legal state of play on climate change. She focuses on the decision in MA v. EPA and its implications for regulation under the Clean Air Act as well as the case's impact on other pending litigation including preemption and nuisance suits of concern to the states. She addresses how the case might influence the prospect of national legislation.

Read related paper: Massachusetts v. EPA: From Politics to Expertise

New Directions in Regulation Seminar Series
Proposal for a U.S. Cap-and-Trade System to Address Global Climate Change:  A Sensible and Practical Approach to Reduce Greenhouse Gas Emissions

Robert N. Stavins, Albert Pratt Professor of Business and Government and Director, Harvard Environmental Economics Program, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

There is growing impetus for a domestic U.S. climate policy that can provide meaningful reductions in emissions of CO2 and other greenhouse gases. In this seminar, Prof. Stavins proposed and analyzed a scientifically sound, economically rational, and politically feasible approach for the United States to reduce its contributions to the increase in atmospheric concentrations of greenhouse gases. The proposal features an up-stream, economy-wide CO2 cap-and-trade system which implements a gradual trajectory of emissions reductions over time (with inclusion over time of non-CO2 greenhouse gases), and includes mechanisms to reduce cost uncertainty. The U.S. cap-and-trade system should provide for linkage with emission reduction credit projects in other countries, harmonization over time with effective cap-and-trade systems in other countries and regions, and appropriate linkage with actions taken in other countries, in order to establish a level playing field among domestically produced and imported products.

Read Prof. Stavins' related paper: A U.S. Cap-and-Trade System to Address Global Climate Change

Business & Government Seminar Series
Public-Private Partnerships: Navigating the Intersection of Public and Private Value

Alan Trager, Adjunct Lecturer in Public Policy and Senior Fellow at the
Mossavar-Rahmani Center for Business and Government, John F. Kennedy School of Government, Harvard University

Public-private partnerships can provide an opportunity to leverage each partner’s strengths, allowing all parties to reach their common goals. A key challenge is to structure the partnership so that risks, decisions, and resources are shared and public value is sustained. In this seminar, Prof. Trager examines three public-private partnership cases: an urban economic problem centered on a public park; a global health care challenge; and an environmental partnership. In each case, he will consider the motivations of the partners, their ability to achieve an operational capability to address the mission of the partnership, and the risks associated with navigating the intersection of public and private value.

New Directions in Regulation Seminar Series
The EU Emissions Trading Scheme

A. Denny Ellerman, Senior Lecturer, Sloan School of Management, MIT

The European Union’s Emissions Trading Scheme (EU ETS) is the world's first CO2 cap-and-trade system and by far the largest cap-and-trade in existence. Dr. Ellerman is part of a multi-national research group that is evaluating the performance of the EU ETS. He presentd its key features and comment on its performance to date

Read related paper: Over-Allocation or Abatement? A Preliminary Analysis of the EU ETS Based on the 2005-06 Emissions Data

Visiting Practitioners Series
Viva Glam: Building Partnerships to tackle HIV/AIDS

Nancy Mahon, Executive Director, MAC AIDS Fund and Vice President, MAC Cosmetics

The MAC AIDS Fund, the philanthropic arm of MAC cosmetics (an Estée Lauder brand), is the largest corporate, non-pharmaceutical donor to the fight against HIV/AIDS. MAF provides financial support to organizations working with underserved regions and populations. Mahon explores the company's use of cause marketing and specifically how it is using partnerships between the private sector and non profits to support programs and regions that others have ignored.

PRESENTATION

CSRI Special Fall Kickoff Event
Corporate Social Responsibility: What does it mean? Where is it headed? Why should we care?

Brian Burke, Director, State Government Affairs, Legal & Corporate Affairs, Microsoft Corporation
Reeta Roy, Divisional Vice President, Global Citizenship and Policy, Abbott Laboratories
Sandra Waddock, Professor of Management, Boston College Carroll School of Management
Allen White, Director, Corporation 20/20 and Senior Advisor, Business for Social Responsibility (BSR)
Jane Nelson, Director, Corporate Social Responsibility Initiative, Kennedy School of Government, Moderator

Throughout the industrialized world and in many developing countries there has been a sharp escalation in the social roles corporations are expected to play, moving far beyond traditional philanthropy. Companies are facing new demands to engage in public-private partnerships and are under growing pressure to be accountable not only to shareholders, but also to stakeholders such as employees, consumers, suppliers, local communities, policymakers, and society-at-large. There are also now business and market opportunities emerging for companies to produce goods and services for low-income communities and build linkages with small enterprises in profitable ways. As expectations and opportunities shift and increase, companies need to transition in their thinking, branding, and decision-making.

As such, corporate social responsibility now encompasses not only what companies do with their profits, but also how they make them. It goes beyond philanthropy and compliance and addresses how companies manage their economic, social, and environmental impacts, as well as their relationships in all key spheres of influence: the workplace, the marketplace, the supply chain, the community, and the public policy realm.

This panel discussion addresses the challenges companies face in addressing these expectations from stakeholders and what is ahead as expectations continue to grow, drawing the experience of five internationally recognized thought leaders and practitioners in the field of CSR.