UC Davis Faculty Works To Make a Sustainable Corporate Landscape
Two UC Davis Graduate School of Management colleagues are taking on a range of corporate ethics issues stemming from energy, use of conflict minerals and greenhouse gas emissions. These faculty members are looking to pass the torch of sustainable and responsible business practice to their students through their own research and findings.
Paul A. Griffin, professor of management and a respected authority in accounting and corporate disclosure, and Amy Myers Jaffe, executive director of energy and sustainability for UC Davis and renowned expert on energy policy, geopolitical risk, and energy and sustainability, are the two professors spearheading this initiative.
“My research on accounting reports and corporate disclosure provides some unique insights about managers’ actions and consequences,” Griffin said. “This knowledge is more important than ever as companies strive to meet the global challenges of climate change and sustainability.”
“Increasingly we live in a globalized society where problems of environment, social justice and security do not end at national borders,” Jaffe added. “In my research on sustainability and energy, I see clearly how local efforts like UC Davis’ West Village project can contribute to global solutions and how much global solutions are needed for local problems across the world.”
In a recent study, this duo outlined how those who invest in US oil and gas companies have not ignored science when considering whether a potential carbon asset bubble exists. This comes despite media reports that have raised considerable concern over environmental issues.
Instead, the study shows that investors’ rational expectations for future cash flows are based on all possible scenarios, not just predictions in the media about a carbon asset bubble bursting.
To prospective MBAs, the expertise that Griffin and Jaffe bring their from their research and into their classroom and the management school’s community is evidence of UC Davis’ desire to help prepare the next wave of innovative corporate leaders to leave a profound impact.
