High Meadows Institute is a Boston-based think tank and policy institute focused on the role of business leadership in creating a sustainable society.
Who We Are
Who we are
We are a Boston-based policy institute focused on strengthening the role of business leadership in creating a sustainable society.
Learn MoreOur work
We conduct research, lead programs and develop frameworks to increase private sector contribution in addressing the challenges of the 21st century.
See MorePrograms
Three key challenges in today’s global economic system underpin our work. Find out more about these challenges and how we are working to address them.
Learn MoreFinancial Times Moral Money Forum
Co-sponsored by High Meadows Institute
Navigating the bumpy road to net zero
Hundreds of companies have made net-zero pledges to slash their greenhouse gas emissions by 2050, but few have a clear plan for how to get there. Pressure is now growing for businesses to do better: to set interim targets, to align their goals with the scientific guidance and to report transparently on their progress. The final FT Moral Money Forum report explores how what was once seen as a burden is increasingly being framed as a way for boards to manage risk, and a market opportunity for those that have the foresight to act.
Stakeholders Incorporated:
Can capitalism change if company charters stay the same?
The rise of the public benefit corporation has been a striking phenomenon, but such alternative structures are still exceptions to the rule, and many people in business and investment remain confused about their exact meaning. The third FT Moral Money Forum report cuts through the complexities and illuminates a trend that looks likely to become more important to all of us, whether we are assessing our portfolios or simply buying shoes.
Measuring What Matters:
The scramble to set standards for sustainable business
The proliferation of ESG metrics and reporting frameworks in recent years has left executives and investors complaining about the difficulty of keeping up with so many apparently clashing standards — or even remembering what the different acronyms stand for. But this year is shaping up to be a pivotal one for efforts to simplify the “alphabet soup” of ESG reporting. The second FT Moral Money Forum report looks at the challenge of setting standards for sustainable business.
The long-term view in a short-term world
The human and financial pressures of Covid-19 mean that business and investment leaders have rarely been more aware of the potential trade-offs in trying to look beyond the short term. And yet, there has also rarely been more momentum behind efforts to make business and investment more long-term focused. The first FT Moral Money Forum report focuses not just on the case for looking to a further horizon, but on the practical ways in which some long-term leaders are showing it can be done.
Our Most Recent Projects
Our Most Recent News and Briefings
Blog
Beyond ESG – Collaborative Governance the Next Challenge to Business
HMI President & CEO Chris Pinney explores four key roles for the private sector in 21st century governance and the challenges they pose for business.
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Some Thoughts on the Future of Responsible Investment
HMI Fellow Steve Lydenberg looks back at the ways that the responsible investment field has defined itself and forward to the steps it must take to contend with the 21st century's greatest challenges.
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Credit Markets – The Elephant in the ESG Room
HMI President & CEO Chris Pinney explores why meaningful progress on sustainability issues cannot be achieved without ESG integration across all asset classes.
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Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory: A Review
Has modern portfolio theory outgrown its usefulness in the 21st century? Our review of Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory, the new book from Jon Lukomnik and James Hawley.
ReadPublications from Our Fellows
Moving Beyond Modern Portfolio Theory: Investing That Matters
Jon Lukomnik and James P. Hawley offer a bold critique of Modern Portfolio Theory and propose a new imperative to improve finance’s ability to fulfill its twin main purposes: providing adequate returns to individuals and directing capital to where it is needed in the economy.
21st Century Investing: Redirecting Financial Strategies to Drive Systems Change
William Burckart and Steve Lydenberg explore how investment has evolved since the 20th century and how institutions and individuals can go beyond conventional and sustainable investing to address complex problems such as income inequality and climate change on a deep, systemic level.