The Future of ESG: Investments, Regulations and Opportunities for Growth

The Northwestern Institute for Sustainability and Energy (ISEN) Annual Symposium is centered around discussing new and ongoing work that accelerates the speed, broadens the scale and deepens the impact of climate and energy solutions worldwide.?It took place on December 1 and 2, 2022.?

During the Day 2 Opening Plenary of the ISEN Annual Symposium, Paul Marushka, Sphera's CEO and president, spoke with Hari Osofsky, dean of Northwestern Pritzker School of Law. The discussion covered a variety of topics around ESG and sustainability, including supply chain, ESG investments and global regulations.

When speaking about the greatest opportunities for ESG investments, Marushka highlighted the importance of academic research in sustainability, saying:

"We need research in the law, in science—from product carbon footprints to electric batteries—and from the economic perspective. How do you demonstrate the value back to the market for making this investment??If people thought the internet was exciting in the 2000s, we're living through one of the most exciting periods in history, and we have an opportunity to impact the future in a way that few in the past have."?

When speaking about laws covering emerging science and technology, Marushka compared potential U.S. supply chain regulations with what's coming out in Germany, saying:

"The U.S., for the size of our economy, is significantly behind. There's commentary?around a similar supply chain act [in the U.S.], as well as ESG within the four walls of publicly traded companies. But that may have dramatic changes. If it's just publicly traded companies and they have to report on their supply chain, that doesn't just touch the publicly traded companies, because they have thousands of suppliers and all their suppliers will then have to report. That will affect the entire economy. It really will be an earth-shattering piece of regulation if it ever comes out."

Looking ahead to the future, Dean Osofsky asked Marushka what he thought were the ESG emerging issues to pay attention to in the future.

Marushka explained, “There are four types of Scopes in emissions management: Scope 1, 2, 3 and 4. Scope 1 is around direct emissions. There’s Scope 2, which is indirect emissions. Scope 3 the supply chain. And then there’s this new concept, which is Scope 4—avoided emissions—and that’s where technology is going.”

Marushka gave an example of how Mondelez, a Sphera customer, was able to address its Scope 4 emissions by changing the way it delivered its crackers and cookies to Walmart. Instead of using two trucks to transport cookies and crackers separately, Mondelez combined the deliveries into one truck, saving money and reducing emissions.

Marushka said that current research and technology will be focused around figuring out how to avoid emissions within the infrastructure that we have today. Marushka noted, “There’s technology, policy, regulations and research to figure that out.”

Watch the full conversation: https://bit.ly/3VGBDHQ