​Addressing a topic at the forefront of global interests in business and development, this book is the first comprehensive book in the world that addresses ESG wholistically. It combines academic and practical content through multidisciplinary analysis, integrating economics, statistics, finance, strategic management and mathematics with an African focus. The book argues that ESG is largely in the interest of the firms/companies themselves, in addition to benefitting the larger society in which they exist. It also makes it everyone's responsibility to play a part in addressing global climate challenges. Thus, the book views the survival of the corporations, economies and the larger societies as interlinked. It will be of interest to researchers, policymakers and business persons in and outside of Africa.

The book addresses the criticality of the Environmental-Social-Governance (ESG) framework in the contemporary business world, especially in the Indian context. It aims to provide a conceptual understanding of ESG, extensively detailing each component (Environmental, Social, Governance). The book is a practical guide for stakeholders like Sustainability & ESG Professionals, Students, Non-Financial Audit & Assurance Professionals, Board Members, Investors, Consumers, and Employees. The Present Publication is the 2024 Edition, authored by Prof. Garima Dadhich and Dr. Ravi Raj Atrey, with the following noteworthy features: • [ESG as a Crucial Concept] The book emphasizes ESG as a vital and increasingly popular concept, highlighting its importance for the sustainability and competitiveness of businesses • [Relevance to Indian Context] It addresses the unique challenges and dilemmas faced in the adoption, integration, practice, and reporting of ESG within the Indian landscape • [Comprehensive Coverage] The book offers a conceptual understanding of fundamental ESG aspects and delves deep into each ESG component • [Practical Guidance] Readers are provided with a step-by-step guide to initiating and implementing ESG practices in a company • [Innovative Concepts] This book features unique contributions like the 'New Theory of Responsibility', advocating for responsible capitalism and a new age of responsibility • [Originality Approaches] It introduces original approaches for businesses to integrate ESG and benefit from positive practices genuinely • [Solar System Model of ESG] This book presents an innovative 'Solar System Model of ESG', exclusively developed by the authors • [Focus on Indian ESG Dynamics] This book analyses essential elements of ESG, specifically tailored to the Indian context The detailed contents of the book are as follows: • [ESG – Definitions, Theories, & Models] – This chapter discusses the established definitions of ESG, tailoring them to the Indian context. It analyses the global and Indian evolution of ESG, presenting existing theories alongside a novel theory of responsibility. Various ESG models, including a new 'solar system model', are introduced for comprehensive understanding • [ESG in India] – Focusing on the Indian landscape, this chapter discusses the evolution of ESG in India, detailing the tools for integration, practice, measurement, rating, and reporting. It defines key concepts such as NGRBC and BRSR, explores the regulatory environment, and examines significant trends and issues in Indian ESG • [Beginning with ESG Journey in an Organization] – This practical chapter outlines steps for initiating an ESG journey within an organization. It covers baseline assessment, benchmarking, policy development, target setting, performance monitoring, auditing, and reporting. Additionally, it links ESG to branding, investing, profitability, and risk mitigation and aligns it with global goals like the SDGs • [Environmental Dimensions of ESG] – This chapter addresses India's environmental risks, responsible investing, and regulatory frameworks. Key concepts such as Climate Change, Carbon Accounting, Business and Biodiversity Conservation, and others are explored. It also introduces tools like EIA, CRZ, and Eco-labelling • [Social Dimensions of ESG] – This chapter discusses the social aspects of ESG, including risks, diversity and inclusion, human rights, community relations, and CSR. It also provides information on social impact certifications and auditing tools • [Governance Dimensions of ESG] – Redefining corporate purpose in the context of responsibility, this chapter revisits corporate performance, leadership, shareholder rights and duties, corporate governance in Indian law, and effective board management. It also discusses transparency, financial disclosure, and risk management, offering insights into global best practices • [ESG Trends, Challenges and Way Forward] – This concluding chapter offers insights into the current state of ESG in India, including key targets, challenges, and achievements. It discusses the benefits of adopting ESG practices, the role of government institutions, and perspectives on sustainable value addition and sustainability champions

Social finance and social investment are not challenging concepts to grasp. They use commercial-style investment tools to create a social as well as a financial return. The application, however, is not always as straightforward. This book begins in the wider field of social finance but focuses primarily on social investment as a tool. The reader is helped to understand this from different angles: introducing social investment, discussing social investment and taking a "deep-dive" into it to bring it to life. This unique book takes the reader on a journey from first principles to detailed practical application. This book examines the policy context and asks why social investment has only recently become so popular, when in reality this is a very old concept. This is linked to the agenda of making charities more "business-like", set against the changing face of investment, as charities can no longer rely on donations and grants as guaranteed income. The work they do is more important than ever and social investment, used with care, offers a new opportunity that is further explored in this text. Mark Salway, Paul Palmer, Peter Grant and Jim Clifford will help readers understand how a small amount of borrowing, or a different business model focused away from grants and donations, could be transformational for the non-profit sector.

Demystifying Global Macroeconomics (DGM) provides readers with a practical, working use of international macroeconomics. For serious business and political leaders, understanding the global interconnections in economic and financial markets is crucial for making informed and well-timed decisions. DGM takes the mystery out of seemingly complex economic interactions by providing an easy-to-understand framework within which to analyze the effects of economic, social, and political shocks to a nation’s economy. John E. Marthinsen integrates the three major macroeconomic sectors, which are the credit market, goods and services market, and foreign exchange market. The author provides the reader with contemporary examples that virtually leap off the front pages of our daily news reports and confront business managers and politicians with choices and decisions to make. For example, DGM shows how to use macroeconomic tools and a global framework to analyze the effects of: U.S. tariffs on China and China’s tariffs on the United States Infrastructure spending Speculative capital outflows from nations under stress, such as Argentina and Turkey, and speculative capital inflows into safe-haven countries, such as Switzerland Demonetization in India Successfully fighting the opioid abuse problem in the United States Border adjustment tax Monetary policies Fiscal policies Marthinsen keeps readers visually engaged with the strategic use of figures, tables, charts, and illustrative exhibits. Demystifying Global Macroeconomics emphasizes the interaction among markets and equips readers with a macroeconomic perspective that will last (and be used) for years.

The objective of the multi-volume book Developments in Managing and Exploiting Risk is to offer a balanced view to enable the reader to better appreciate risk as a counterpart to reward, and to understand how to holistically manage both elements of this duality. Crises can challenge any organization, and with a seemingly endless stream of disruptive and even catastrophic events taking place, there is an increasing emphasis on preparing for the worst. However, being focused on the negative aspects of risk, without giving consideration to the positive attributes, may be shortsighted. Playing it safe may not always be the best policy, because great benefits may be missed. Analyzing risk is difficult, in part because it often entails events that have never occurred. Organizations, being mindful of undesirable potential events, are often keenly averse to risk to the detriment of capitalizing on its potential opportunities. Risk is usually perceived as a negative or downside but a commensurate weight should also be given to the potential rewards or upside, when evaluating new ventures. Even so, too much of a good thing may create unintended consequences of positive risk, which is also an undesirable situation. Developments in Managing and Exploiting Risk provides a professional and scholarly venue in the critical field of risk in business with particular emphasis on decision-making using a comprehensive and inclusive approach.

Across the globe, communities face increasing challenges in building resilience and sustainability in the face of climate change, economic disparities, and other complex issues. The tourism sector, often seen as a driver of economic growth, has also been a source of environmental degradation, cultural erosion, and social inequities in many destinations. There is a growing need for a new approach to sustainable tourism development that enhances community well-being and environmental stewardship. Building Community Resiliency and Sustainability With Tourism Development provides a comprehensive framework for transforming the tourism sector into a force for positive change. The book explores the relationship between tourism, community development, and environmental conservation. It offers practical solutions to promote resilience and sustainability in tourism-dependent communities. Through case studies, best practices, and innovative strategies, readers can learn how to leverage tourism to promote economic, social, and environmental benefits.

This edited volume brings together finance industry perspectives from top global institutions, which focus on the bottom line for integrating ESG factors into the operations of the finance industry. Executives and senior practitioners answer the question: 'does following sustainable finance principles make commercial sense for a commercially-oriented financial institution, and if so, what evidence is there?' '

This paper evaluates the progression of the sovereign ESG landscape since the initial comprehensive assessment of the sector in 2021 in “Demystifying Sovereign ESG” by conducting a comparative analysis of the current sovereign ESG methodologies of commercial ESG providers. The 2021 study articulated the distinct nature of the sovereign ESG segment from corporate ESG and documented fundamental shortcomings in sovereign ESG methodologies, such as the “ingrained income bias”, lack of consensus on environmental performance, and conflation of risk and sustainability objectives. While sovereign ESG methodologies have evolved since 2021, the significant correlation across providers of aggregate, S, and G scores persist. In response to market demand there has been a notable shift towards greater focus on the E pillar against growing heterogeneity on climate and environmental considerations across ESG providers. The findings underscore the disparity between perceptions and realities in implementing a sustainability strategy within the sovereign debt asset class. This necessitates a reevaluation of sovereign ESG scoring methodologies towards outcome-based metrics and urges a globally coordinated effort to establish robust sustainability measurement frameworks.

Climate finance is a complex and rapidly evolving field, with practices and regulations varying widely across countries. This lack of standardization and understanding poses a significant challenge for stakeholders, hindering effective decision-making and impeding progress toward climate goals. Additionally, the sheer breadth of topics within climate finance, from carbon pricing mechanisms to sustainable investments, can overwhelm researchers and practitioners alike, further complicating efforts to address climate change effectively. Modern Concepts and Practices of Climate Finance offers a comprehensive solution to these challenges. Written by distinguished experts in the field, the book thoroughly examines climate finance practices worldwide. It is a valuable resource for academics, researchers, and professionals, offering insights and lessons learned from theory and real-world applications. Whether you are a researcher seeking to understand the latest trends or a practitioner looking for practical solutions, this book is an essential guide for anyone working in the field of climate finance.

This textbook provides the first holistic resource on Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) investing for undergraduate and graduate programs. It provides a thorough background and history of ESG investing, as well as cutting-edge industry developments, in a way that introduces the reader to the rapidly developing field of responsible investing. Beginning with a comprehensive background of ESG investing and the development of models measuring risk and return, the book then discusses the development of ESG risks, and provides an overview of ESG rating systems. The textbook also outlines the current position of ESG investing in portfolio management through granular analysis, provides insight into common investor concerns about ESG investments, discloses qualitative theories relevant to ESG investing, and reviews literature attempting to model ESG investment performance. Finally, the authors provide readers with a foundation on the development of financial models measuring risk and return, which will be useful for measuring the performance of ESG investments. With case studies from contributors around the world, this textbook is the first of its kind to truly provide a compelling blend of quantitative and qualitative analysis supporting the incorporation of ESG investment strategies into investment portfolios. Offering an excellent overview of the growing trends in ESG investing, as well as a close analysis of ESG theories and their practical application both today and in the future, this book will be a great resource for both undergraduates and graduate students.