International SIG
Topic: Is sustainability profitable? - An evening with sustainable investment gurus and The Motley Fool.
Facilitators: Sara E. Murphy and Isaac Pino
Sara began her career working for NGOs in the international development and disaster response fields. She had an epiphany one day, and thought she had invented the concept of ethical investing. While initially disappointed that others had thought of this long ago, she was fortunate to be able to enter the humming field of Sustainable and Responsible Investment (SRI). With the exception of a few years as an environmental consultant, she has never looked back. Her first job in the SRI field was with a Washington, DC-based research firm, where she conducted social and environmental analysis of publicly traded companies. From there, Sara moved to Europe to work as a senior sustainability analyst for a large SRI fund management team. Now back in Washington, DC, Sara is a freelance writer and analyst primarily covering sustainability issues for investors and consumers. Sara holds a Bachelor of Arts degree from the University of Virginia in French and Spanish, and a Master of Arts degree from George Mason University in Economics. Sara grew up in Asia and Africa, and has had the misfortune of observing first hand the direct and indirect effect of companies’ human rights and environmental abuses. Her hope is that she can help not only to make such abuses a thing of the past, but also to demonstrate the value proposition of sustainable business.
Isaac worked as a forensic accountant for a Big Four accounting firm before realizing that uncovering the mistakes or fraud of others was uninspiring work. After a few years poring over accounting records, he found that embezzlement schemes or financial misstatements were symptoms of terrible company cultures or management teams. Rather than addressing the symptoms, he wanted to focus his efforts on finding a remedy. So, to help shine a light on the companies that are truly doing great work, Isaac joined the Motley Fool to share his thoughts with everyday investors. Isaac currently works as the editor for the Industrials and Consumer Goods sectors on Fool.com. He writes regularly about everything from restaurants (he loves Chipotle) to retailers (Amazon.com) to manufacturers (GE). He believes the leaders of great companies are visionaries, not copycats, and they’ll change the world for the better. He has a particular interest in stakeholder theory and corporate responsibility. Isaac holds Bachelor of Business Administration and Masters of Accountancy degrees from the University of Oklahoma. Isaac is also a Certified Public Accountant (Texas).
Program Description: As organizational development practitioners, we are frequently engaged with the sustainability of organizations and individuals. We believe that attention to organizational development principals builds organizations that can withstand the tests of time and change, while doing good or even great things along the way. But how do we prove these theories? Profitability and shareholder value is perhaps the most often cited among the success factors of public companies. A frequent criticism of both organizational development and sustainability in general is that it just isn’t profitable. But is this true? Is it possible for organizations involved in providing greener, more equitable solutions to the world to compete on stock exchanges and deliver ROI to investors? Join us to hear two of The Motley Fool’s experts on sustainable investing, Sara E. Murphy and Isaac Pino, cover the basics of what Sustainable and Responsible Investing looks like and why it matters, followed by a facilitated discussion of what this means to us as organizational development practitioners.
- 6:30 - 9:00 PM | Program starts at 7:00 PM
Location:
1625 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
Attendance policies: Please register so we know how many will attend. After you have registered for the SIG meeting, if you won’t be able to attend, please contact Margarita and Priscilla at
CBODNinternationalSIG@gmail.com to let them know.
