ESG Initiative News Archives

How One Investment Banker Went from Doing Good to Doing Even Better

Aarthi Sowrirajan poses for a professional headhot, smiling into the camera in a black blouse and grey blazer in front of a grey backdrop.

Aarthi Sowrirajan did everything right. She earned her bachelor’s degree in economics from the University of Chicago in 2005, interned at a leading financial services provider, and got a full-time job in the structured products group at Deutsche Bank in New York City. She was living the dream, but something kept nagging at her deep inside. Read on to learn how her Wharton MBA not only helped open doors, it opened her eyes to the possibility of “doing well by doing good,” the guiding principle of companies operating in the social impact space.…Read More

At COP28, Penn delegation shares wide-ranging knowledge and builds connections

One of many events Penn held at the Higher Education Pavilion at COP28 was a briefing on extreme heat, featuring (from left to right) Sheela Patel, fellow at the Penn Institute for Urban Research; Harleen Marwah, pediatric resident doctor at the Children’s Hospital of Philadelphia; Mauricio Rodas, visiting scholar at Penn IUR; Eleni “Lenio” Myrivili, Penn IUR fellow; and Genie Birch, co-director of Penn IUR. (Image: Courtesy of Lauren Anderson)

(Outlet: Penn Today) More than two dozen researchers from schools and centers across the University traveled to Dubai for the UN’s annual climate change conference.…Read More

Meet Wharton’s MBA Class Of 2025

(Outlet: Poets & Quants) Wharton encourages MBAs to get off the sidelines and tackle big issues like poverty ad climate change using commercial tools. That makes the program all the more exciting for leaders like Nicolaj Siggelkow, Wharton’s vice dean. “There is a realization that the biggest problems that society is facing will not be solved without businesses getting involved,” Siggelkow told P&Q in 2022. “Businesses have to be part of the solution, otherwise, we’re not going to get where we need to be – be it environmental, equity and inclusion, or otherwise. Wharton takes that really seriously and is making it part of our mission: To really create leaders that have a positive impact on the world.”…Read More

Fifth national climate assessment emphasizes mitigation

Oil refinery is shown with a graph line superimposed over it.

(Outlet: Penn Today) The latest National Climate Assessment highlights historic emissions reductions and outlines new guidance for achieving a net-zero emissions pathway. The report includes key contributions by co-author Sanya Carley, now the faculty co-director of the Kleinman Center for Energy Policy and the Presidential Distinguished Professor of Energy Policy and City Planning at Penn—the mitigation chapter authors combined their expertise in earth science, economics, and climate modeling to outline options for greater emissions mitigation.…Read More

What immigration actually does to jobs, wages and more

Hands hold an American flag and an envelope that reads US Citizenship and Immigration services.

(Outlet: Marketplace) Zeke Hernandez, professor at the University of Pennsylvania’s Wharton School, spoke with “Marketplace Morning Report” host Sabri Ben-Achour about his forthcoming book called “The Truth About Immigration: Why Successful Societies Welcome Newcomers.” …Read More

2023 Best Undergraduate Professors: Sarah E. Light, University of Pennsylvania, The Wharton School

Sarah Light smiles into the camera. A graphic reads "Top 50 Undergraduate Business Professors" over the top.

(Outlet: Poets & Quants) Professor Sarah E. Light, Professor of Legal Studies & Business Ethics and Faculty Co-Director of the Wharton Climate Center, has been named a 2023 Top 50 Best Undergraduate Professor by Poets & Quants.…Read More

Senate committee investigating Florida’s state-backed home insurance company as private insurers flee

An aerial picture taken on September 30, 2022 shows the only access to the Matlacha neighborhood destroyed in the aftermath of Hurricane Ian in Fort Myers, Florida.

(Outlet: CNN Business) The US Senate Budget Committee is launching an investigation into whether Florida’s state-backed home and property insurance company has enough money in the bank to withstand future disasters, as scientists warn warming oceans and sea level rise are making storms more destructive. Fears about a possible federal bailout are not unfounded, Benjamin Keys, a real estate professor at the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, told CNN. “They absolutely have a reason to be concerned; the exposure is enormous,” Keys said. “1.3 million of the riskiest policies in the riskiest state, full stop. It’s correlated exposure – if a hurricane hits your house, it hits my house.”…Read More