Session 2A

Agents of Change: Business From a Sustainability Perspective

3:30 PM to 5:00 PM | Moderated by Dorothy Paun


The Net Worth of Sustainability Reporting: An Empirical Investigation of 18 Companies
Presenters
  • Hannah McKee, Senior, International Studies
  • Duncan Clauson, Junior, Environmental Studies
  • Robert Bryan (Robb) Schmitt, Graduate,
  • Christopher Richard (Chris) Burgess, Freshman, Pre-Major (Arts & Sciences)
  • Catherine V. Carter, Non-Matriculated,
  • Lydia Teresa Caudill, Senior, Community, Environment, & Planning Mary Gates Scholar
  • Hans Robert Minea, Junior, Extended Pre-Major
  • Kendra Anne Schaaf, Sophomore, Pre-Major (Arts & Sciences)
  • Christine E. (Christine) Scheele, Graduate, Education (Curriculum & Instruction)
Mentor
  • Dorothy Paun,
Session
  • 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM

The Net Worth of Sustainability Reporting: An Empirical Investigation of 18 Companiesclose

Managers are increasingly concerned about how to enhance environmental and social responsibility performance without compromising financial performance. This has become important as public opinion has shifted toward a deeper environmental and social responsibility awareness and ethic. A sustainability approach is considered by many to be more than just a buzzword; in some circles it is considered the best chance for society to advance into the 21st century without sacrificing economic progress or our planet. This research aims to explore potential correlations among corporate financial, environmental, and social performance. Financial data was collected from 2008 annual financial reports, and environmental and social responsibility data was extracted from 2008 sustainability reports (e.g., environmental, corporate social responsibility, citizenship reports). The financial data collected includes the following variables: owners' equity growth (between 2007 and 2008), net revenues growth, net income growth, return on equity, and debt to equity. Environmental and social responsibility data was collected, from 2008 sustainability reports, on 99 variables in four categories: environmental intent, environmental performance, social intent, and social performance. Our research examines 18 corporations, from six industries (consumer goods, energy, food/beverage, natural resources, technology, transportation).


Does Recession Mean Going Green? The Relationship between CO2 Emission and Recession
Presenter
  • Po Yi (Kaboo) Leung, Senior, Economics
Mentor
  • Hendrik Wolff,
Session
  • 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM

Does Recession Mean Going Green? The Relationship between CO2 Emission and Recessionclose

A majority of literature on the Environmental Kuznets curve (EKC) focused the relationship between pollution and economic growth in the long run. However, there is lack of attention paid to this relationship in terms of short run. In this paper, I examine the short run dynamics between CO2 emission and recession in U.S, how this relationship change across different emitting sectors. My hypothesis is that recession will lead to a temporary decrease in carbon emission. One approach of this study is to run OLS similar to the EKC but with recession dummies. Another method to assess the effect of recessions on carbon emission is to use ARMA to model the series and obtain out-of-sample forecast and find out the parameters of recession effects by comparing the fitted and actual values. Instead of annual data, I collect quarterly national and sectoral emission data from the Energy Information Agency and quarterly income data from the Bureau of Economic Analysis. The higher frequency of the data is able to reflect the short-run changes more precisely. The data set is dated back from 1973 to 2009, including five recessions in the past and the current economic downturn in the U.S. The research is still in a developing stage, so there is no conclusive finding at this point.


Malnutrtion Hunger and Health
Presenters
  • Wen Li, Junior, Exchange - Engineering
  • Lucas Evan (Lucas) Meserve, Senior, Economics
  • Maporn (Gaew) Lertsuridej, Senior, Economics, Biology (Physiology)
Mentor
  • Claus Portner,
Session
  • 3:30 PM to 5:00 PM

Malnutrtion Hunger and Healthclose

Malnutrition, hunger and health is a worldwide issue of development economy,remaining major challenging problems for most of the developing world, which include Africa, South/Southeast Asia and Latin America. According to the surveys from Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) of 1998 and 2003 in Kenya, approximately 30% of children under age 3 suffer from chronic malnutrition (low height-for-age), and one out of every five children is underweight. we will discuss the effects and policies of malnutrition in the developing world. We begin by examining the demography of chronic and acute hunger, and its economic impacts on children and adults. Then we will examine how these health effects can impact the productivity of the labor force and the general growth of nations' economies. Finally, we will discuss policy tools ranging from foreign aid which involves NGOs and governments to trade barriers and agriculture advancements. At last, some suggestions will be given to make the situation better such as policy interventions and how to set a better foreign aid system. There are three main parts of the research Economic Effects of Malnutrition;.Reactions to chronic hunger;Policies on Hunger.


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