Meet Peter Fusaro – Chairman – Global Change Associates @ #Intro2ESG Training

Posted on June 5, 2017 by Hank Boerner – Chair & Chief Strategist

#Business & Society #ESG Issues #Financially Material #Impact Investing #Indexes #Intro2ESG Training at Baruch #Investor Engagement #Materiality #Shareowner Activism #SRI #Sustainable Investing 

Presenting at Introduction to ESG, Sustainable & Impact Investment OneDay Training
The How & Why of Applying ESG to Corporate Valuations
Hosted by Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College/CUNY on June 15th
Introduction:  For professionals in the capital markets, and in the corporate sector, G&A Institute and Global Change Associates are teamed to present a one-day professional training program, hosted by Zicklin School of Business at Baruch College/CUNY, in midtown Manhattan.  This is an excellent introduction to the application of ESG factors to investment making decisions and corporate valuations.  Find out more at https://intro2esg.eventbrite.com
ESG = the corporate environmental, social or societal and corporate governance factors to be evaluated by the financial analyst, asset owner, asset manager, and others in the capital markets in looking beyond the financial in selecting public companies for “buy/sell/hold” portfolio management decisions. (This is also referred to as “sustainable investing,” “impact investing,” and similar titles by practitioners.)
The outstanding faculty presenting during the one-day course will include experts in ESG / sustainable / impact investing, covering topics such as best practices; data sources; analytical tools; research resources; methodologies; why ESG matters; and realized outcomes using these approaches to analysis and investment management.
MEET ONE OF YOUR COURSE LEADERS
Peter Fusaro
Chairman, Global Change Associates
Topic:  Case Study of Corporate Malfeasance: The VW Emissions Scandal


A conversation with Peter:
Q: How is your day-to-day work related to the Intro to ESG, Sustainable & Impact Investment Certificate Program to be presented at Baruch?
[PF]  I work broadly in the area of corporate finance for sustainability for private companies in the area of clean energy, clean water and sustainable agriculture. Most of my work centers in clean energy arena for both electric power generation and transportation. 
Today, I work on solar energy finance as well as energy storage with advanced batteries and fuel cells. I work with a  hydrogen manufacturing company for both energy storage and transportation of fuel cell vehicles. In the past I have worked on taking the lead out of gasoline with the US EPA and was a consultant to the Toyota Prius development team. 
Because of this expertise, I am intimately aware of the VW emissions scandal and its ramifications in terms of corporate governance for that company.
Q:  What can attendees expect to learn from your session?
[PF] Course participants will learn that the VW emissions scandal is not a one-off crisis event. That Volkswagen has committed many transgressions in the past 25 years and tried to cover them up. I will go through the specifics of how they tried to get away with the fraudulent use of software to hide defects in their diesel fuel technology of their engines.  So far, this has lead to over US$15 billion in fines and great damage to their corporate reputation. It is a text book example of corporate malfeasance.
Q:  What advice do you have or opportunity that you see for attendees who complete the Certificate Program?
[PF] Attendees will learn not only the basics of ESG but also come away with some ideas on what to look for investment in public companies. The rigorous ESG screens are still evolving but with the expertise of the instructors for this program, course participants will learn what analysis is needed to vet both investment and sustainability parameters within companies. Moreover, they will learn what red flags to look for in any due diligence process.
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CAREER BACKGROUND: PETER FUSARO
Peter C. Fusaro is a best-selling author, keynote speaker and thought leader on emerging energy and environmental financial markets.  He’s Chairman of Global Change Associates, a financial services advisory in New York City, and author of “What Went Wrong at Enron,” as well as 15 other books on energy and the environmental financial markets.
Peter has been on the forefront of energy and environmental change for more than 40 years, his work focusing on how to use energy more efficiently and in an environmentally-benign manner.  His current focus is on environmental financial market acceleration toward the goal of the low-carbon economy through sustainable finance in renewable energy, clean technology and resource efficiency.  Peter founded and runs the Wall Street Green Summit — now in its 15th year. Information at: www.wsgts.com.
Peter served at the US Department of Energy in the 1970s where he worked on removing lead in gasoline with the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency (EPA), as well as co-writing an Environmental Impact Statement on LNG (liquefied natural gas) safety and siting.
He was a senior policy analyst in the New York City Mayor Office of Energy & Telecommunications, where he created the first energy efficiency programs for electricity and natural gas with Con Edison (the electric utility) and Brooklyn Union Gas in the mid-1980s.   In the early-1990s he established his consultancy and implemented energy efficiency and conservation programs for the Port Authority of New York & New Jersey, including lighting retrofits, mechanical systems and energy savings.
Peter worked with the Toyota Prius development team on electric power issues in the mid 1990s. He has run a cleantech venture capital fund as well as worked with hedge funds on portfolio construction. Today, he works with several clean energy technologies and fund managers in clean energy project finance.
Peter was graduated with an M.A. in International Relations from Tufts University and a B.A. from Carnegie-Mellon University.  Peter was an adjunct professor at Columbia University, where he taught a popular renewable energy project development and finance course each fall semester to second year graduate students.  He is on the advisory board of Bard College’s MBA in Sustainability program as well as having served for eight years on the External Advisory Board of the ERB Institute for Global Sustainable Enterprise, Ross School of Business, University of Michigan.
For more information about the course and how to register, visit: https://intro2esg.eventbrite.com

Tagged : #Intro2ESG