ESG Initiative News

Inside a Brooklyn kitchen that trains migrants for restaurant jobs, lifting an industry

Four chefs stand in a kitchen wearing aprons and red shirts, one holding a tray of cupcakes.

(Outlet: Gothamist) The five-week course called Culinary Career Pathways for New New Yorkers was launched in April by the nonprofit group Hot Bread Kitchen, which trains New Yorkers for jobs in the food industry. Although the course is patterned after the organization’s signature Culinary Fundamentals course, it has an important twist: It was designed specifically for newly arrived Latin American migrants who have secured work permits and set their sights on careers in the food industry. But the benefits and possibilities extend far beyond the individuals in this classroom.…Read More

Impact Investing Should Be Hard

A business man walks on a high wire holding a balance stick with piles of coins on one side and a globe on the other.

(Outlet: Stanford Social Innovation Review) Striving for value-adding impact means demanding additionality. There is a presumption that impact investors are shouldering unique burdens to achieve impact, but is this true? To answer this question, Michael Brown, Head of Research at the ESG Initiative, and Wharton Professor of Management Katherine Klein, in collaboration with other members of the Impact Finance Research Consortium, administered a rich, multifaceted survey to over 200 impact fund managers across the globe (particularly in private equity and venture capital).…Read More

How to Resolve Conflict in Business

Two business men holding briefcases with antlers on their heads stand off angrily on an outdoor wasteland.

(Outlet: Wharton Magazine) Alas, disputes, disagreements, and discord are parts of human nature (and that seems to go double for the nature of business). But research into a variety of scenarios, from interpersonal tension to geopolitical friction, offers hope for a more successful path forward. Here, five Wharton faculty share insights about conflict in its many forms and how to navigate it, resolve it, reframe it, or even avoid it entirely, for better results.…Read More