Sustainability
Better Data Is Letting Companies and Investors See Trillions in Climate Risk
A growing pool of ESG data enumerates companies’ exposure to climate risk. Yale SOM’s Todd Cort explains how the data helps investors target capital toward the companies that are responding.
Uncovering Healthcare’s Hidden Climate Impact
The healthcare industry produces 8.5% of all U.S. greenhouse gas emissions as well as other forms of air pollution. Yale's Dr. Jodi Sherman says the first step to making healthcare sustainable is to understand the scope of the problem.
![An anesthesia mask from the point of view of a patient in surgery]()
What Does It Take to Create Financial Products That Can Save the Planet?
Investors are increasingly eager to contribute to solutions for climate change and other environmental problems. Charlotte Kaiser ’07 of The Nature Conservancy’s NatureVest explains how the company builds financial products that attract mainstream capital while delivering conservation impacts.
![An overhead image of Ille Pierre Island in Seychelles.]()
How Trust Can Power Renewable Energy
Lily Donge ’97 talked with us about how building trust is critical for any kind of real innovation—and how it’s helped her develop new models for scaling renewable energy.
![A wind farm in Rio Vista, California, with a path winding toward the turbine in the foreground]()
How Patagonia Learned to Act on Its Values
Vincent Stanley, Patagonia’s company philosopher, chronicles the company’s efforts to bring environmental and social values to the heart of what the company does.
![A Patagonia store with "Demand Fair Trade" and "Buy Less, Demand More" in the window.]()
Study: Rising Seas Aren’t Causing Coastal Property Values to Decline
Climate change is causing sea levels to rise, threatening expensive waterfront properties. But according to a new study co-authored by Yale SOM’s Matthew Spiegel, prices are not falling in the areas most likely to be affected.
![A row of coastal houses]()
Skilled Workers Flee from Polluted Cities, Hampering Economic Growth
In China, highly educated people are more likely to move away from areas with poor air quality. Reducing pollution could substantially increase GDP there and in other countries, according to a new study co-authored by Yale SOM’s Mushfiq Mobarak.
![A cyclist in Beijing on a day of heavy pollution in December 2015.]()
California’s Path to a Carbon-Neutral Grid
Elliot Mainzer ’98, CEO of CAISO, explains how California is working to avoid another summer of blackouts even as the state transitions to a carbon-neutral grid.
![A power substation at the LS Power Group Gateway Energy Storage project in Otay Mesa, California.]()
Maintaining Momentum on Climate Change
Tyler Van Leeuwen ’14 of Shell explains explains how his internal skunkworks team helps move Shell toward its decarbonization goals.
![An illustration of an electric car moving through a landscape of wind turbines]()
To Tackle Plastics Pollution, Embrace a Circular Economy
To cut down on plastics pollution, says Matt Kopac ’09, sustainable business and innovation manager at Burt’s Bees, we need a fundamentally different approach to sustainability.
![Microplastic collected from the Sargasso Sea. Photo: Tom Gruber.]()
Transforming Energy Infrastructure
We talked to Elliott Mainzer ’98, who recently began a role overseeing California’s electrical grid, about the progress he’s witnessed and the challenges that remain in creating a fully sustainable energy network.
![Power lines carrying electricity from the Bonneville Dam on the Columbia River in Oregon. Photo: Natalie Behring/Getty Images.]()
