January 27th, 2021 Zoë Linder-Baptie As the sixth largest city in the United States, Philadelphia faces a myriad of risks due to its major transportation corridors, including two rivers, and the nearby technological hazard of the former Philadelphia Energy Solutions refinery. We also face extreme weather on a regular basis.…Read More
ESG Initiative News
Why Biden should launch an Ecosystem Restoration Corps in 2021
January 13, 2021 Carolyn Kousky This blog post originally appeared in The Hill's Changing America as an Opinion Piece on December 31, 2020. Healthy ecosystems support society with an array of important goods and services. They provide recreational opportunities, sequester carbon, purify our air and water, combat urban heat and increase…Read More
Urban Food System Resilience and Supply Chain Vulnerabilities
Urban Food System Resilience and Supply Chain Vulnerabilities December 17, 2020 Maeve Masterson is a junior in the School of Arts & Sciences majoring in Environmental Studies with a concentration in environmental management and sustainability. She is minoring in Economic Policy and is a second year Undergraduate Fellow at the…Read More
WIVA Explores Melanence, an E-Learning Startup Focused on Communities of Color
A team of Penn students in Wharton Impact Venture Associates (WIVA) researched Melanence – an online professional ecosystem where communities of color are empowered to grow skills, build networks, and earn additional income.…Read More
Cities and Climate Risk: a Q&A with the City of Pittsburgh
November 19, 2020 Carolyn Kousky and Ben Thomas Municipalities are facing increasing financial and operational pressure from the impacts of climate change. As mentioned in a previous Risk Center Q&A with Breckenridge Capital Advisors, climate risks may impact the creditworthiness of municipalities in a way not currently being accounted for.…Read More
The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Harvard Business School, and University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School Collaborate on Impact Investing Data Collection
The ESG Initiative at the Wharton School News The University of Chicago Booth School of Business, Harvard Business School, and University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School Collaborate on Impact Investing Data Collection New joint effort will advance both research and practice in impact investing PHILADELPHIA, October 28, 2020 – Chicago Booth’s…Read More
How to manage political risk in a post pandemic world
Originally published on July 24, 2020 on EY Mary Cline, Jon Shames, and Courtney Rickert McCaffrey The COVID-19 pandemic has changed the world. People, industries and governments have had to adjust to the new reality, leaders prepared to manage the risks that emerge will gain a competitive edge for their…Read More
Disaster Relief: Why the Poor Need Higher Priority
October 12, 2020 This blogpost originally appeared on Knowledge@Wharton on October 5, 2020. Read the full K@W article or listen to the podcast episode. For the poor, like Yamileth Centeno, problems compound when disaster strikes. The electrician from Lake Charles, Louisiana, lost her job in the pandemic and was living…Read More
Addressing the Social Costs of De-Energizing Power Lines to Reduce Wildfire Risk
October 8, 2020 Derek Nong Derek is an undergraduate in the Vagelos Integrated Program for Energy Research at the University of Pennsylvania, majoring in Electrical Engineering and Physics. In order to minimize wildfire risk, California’s electric utilities will sometimes de-energize lines in high risk conditions. Called Public Safety Power Shutoffs…Read More
Arctic Shipping Activity Heating Up Despite Uncertainty and Challenges
October 1, 2020 Erin St. Peter Melting sea ice is opening up the potential for increased maritime traffic in the Arctic—presenting challenges for insurers and highlighting tensions between state interests and environmental concerns. Arctic sea ice is shrinking rapidly. The annual minimum size of Arctic sea ice has been declining…Read More