Strategy and Business Environment

25th Anniversary Conference

Strategy for the Great Challenges of Our Time:
Climate, Health, Data, and Democracy

May 2-3, 2025

The Wharton School
University of Pennsylvania 

Strategy in today’s business environment must increasingly confront and address the great challenges of our time. Progress on the climate transition, public health, the responsible use of big data and artificial intelligence, revitalizing democratic institutions and social justice will require trillions of dollars of investments. Failure to make such investments risks tens of trillions of dollars of losses. The necessary investments are beyond the capacity of the public and philanthropic sectors requiring a tapping of private capital through the demonstration of business cases that realize societal gains while capturing sufficient returns for investors, workers, suppliers, communities and other stakeholders. We invite the submission of rigorous academic papers from across disciplines and methodological traditions that contribute insight into strategy for the great challenges of our time.

This year marks the 25^th Anniversary of the founding of the Strategy and the Business Environment Conference series. The conference will return to The Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania in Philadelphia, PA where it was founded. The lead sponsor will be the ESG Initiative whose mission is to harness the power of business “to solve the social problems incident to our civilization” – Joseph Wharton.

Friday, May 2

Saturday, May 3

Questions? Email henisz@wharton.upenn.edu