Location & Start Date
Online
Self-PacedCourse Launch:
April 29, 2024
Content Access: 5 months
Time Commitment: ~ 8 hours of mandatory content
Who Should Participate
This course approaches ESG from a cross-functional perspective and explores both legal and business risks and opportunities. Participants from prior iterations include directors of corporate boards and C-suite executives.
If you do not serve on a corporate board or hold a top management position within your company, please register for our Sustainable Capitalism in Practice track.
Course Structure
Lectures
All modules begin with a series of short lectures that include theoretical underpinnings for each topic and case studies of leading company practices. Module titles are found below.
Practitioner Perspectives
Most modules include interviews with thought leaders at the forefront of defining and implementing ESG. These conversations provide concrete insights into how ESG and sustainable capitalism are being debated and operationalized, and enable students to keep their finger on the pulse of this movement.
Case Studies
Module Six (The Costs of Unsustainable Practices) and Module Seven (The Opportunities of Sustainable Capitalism) feature 10 case studies highlighting real world examples of the challenges, issues, and opportunities surrounding ESG and sustainable capitalism.
Curated Readings
With new articles being published each day, it is difficult to navigate the vast literature around ESG and sustainable capitalism. In this course, we have curated some of the most important resources, which include:
- Ground-breaking academic papers (which we have excerpted)
- Opinion pieces and articles written by leading experts
- Industry reports containing data on ESG trends and highlighting ESG risks and opportunities
- Media articles that show how ESG issues are being discussed and debated in the court of public opinion
Live Office Hours
Participants can join four optional, live office hours, providing opportunities to engage in facilitated discussion and debate on course-related topics. Office hours will include participants from our Sustainable Capitalism in Practice track.
Board Sessions
The Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance will host three live sessions featuring special guests on topical issues unique to corporate board directors. These sessions are a special feature of the Sustainable Capitalism for Directors track.
Course Modules
Below is a list of the course modules. For an overview of the course pedagogy and a more detailed description of each module, please download the ESG University: Sustainable Capitalism for Directors syllabus.
Module 1
Introduction and History of Business
Module 2
The Corporate Sustainability Movement
Module 3
Mapping the Sustainability Ecosystem: Government
Module 4
Mapping the Sustainability Ecosystem: Corporate Stakeholders
Module 5
Mapping the Sustainability Ecosystem: Civil Society
Module 6
The Costs of Unsustainable Practices
Module 7
The Opportunities of Sustainable Capitalism
Module 8
Beyond Compliance, Transparency, and ESG
Tuition & Discounts
General Tuition
$1,500
UC Berkeley Alumni and Government, Nonprofit, and University Employees*
Applies to past participants of paid Berkeley Law Executive Education courses.
$1,275
Save 15%
Stanford Rock Center for Corporate Governance Constituents*
$1,275
Save 15%
Partner Organization Members*
$1,275
Save 15%
Group Rate*
Available for groups of three or more people from the same organization
$1,275
Save 15%
*For all special rates (i.e. UC Berkeley alumni and government, nonprofit, and university employees; Rock Center constituents; partners; or groups), please email [email protected] for instructions to access your tuition category. To register a group, please email [email protected]. All special rates are discounted off of the general tuition.
Sallie Mae Financing
If you are interested in financing this course, Sallie Mae provides competitive education loan programs for credit-qualified borrowers. For more information and to apply, visit the Sallie Mae website. If you decide to pursue such financing, please submit your application to Sallie first and then contact us at [email protected]. We will provide additional instructions on completing your registration.
Professional Development Sponsorship
If your employer provides professional development opportunities and funding, we highly recommend asking them to subsidize the cost of tuition for the course. This certificate program is an excellent professional development and networking opportunity, and your employer may be willing to cover some, or all, of the costs. You are welcome to customize this template for your purposes.
Certificates & MCLE
Certificate Type
Certificate of Completion
Participants who complete all required course elements will receive a certificate of completion from Berkeley Law Executive Education.
MCLE
5 Hours
This program has been approved by the California State Bar to offer up to 5 credit hours of MCLE. Attorneys from other states will need to contact their local bar to verify their own certification requirements.
Instructor
Angeli Patel
Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business
Angeli Patel is the Executive Director of the Berkeley Center for Law and Business. Prior to joining Berkeley Law, she was an attorney in the Sustainability & ESG Advisory Practice at Paul, Weiss, Rifkind, Wharton & Garrison LLP in San Francisco where she advised clients on the governance of climate and social risks, and a Lecturer at Berkeley Law. Previously, Angeli was a corporate associate at Jones Day and held an advisory role at the UN Global Compact Network Australia. Angeli graduated from UC Berkeley, School of Law in 2020. While there, Angeli was the co-President of Women in Tech Law and an editor of the Berkeley Technology Law Journal. Prior to her legal career, Angeli served at the White House Office of Management and Budget under the Obama Administration and served as a policy advisor at the Ministry of Finance in the Government of Chile.
Research Associate & Course Facilitators
Silvia Fregoni
J.S.D. Candidate ’24, Berkeley Law
Adam Sterling
Assistant Dean at Berkeley Law
Expert Contributors
Erin Augustine
Senior Director, Operations and Supply Chain Sustainability, Oatly
Lloyd Carney
Independent Director, Visa Inc. and Chairman & CEO, Carney Global Ventures, LLC
Rob Chesnut
Former Chief Ethics Officer at Airbnb & Author of Intentional Integrity
Hilary Dessouky
General Counsel at Patagonia
Elizabeth Doty
Director, Corporate Political Responsibility Taskforce, The Erb Institute, University of Michigan
Jaren Dunning
Global Head of Human Rights at PepsiCo
Robert Eccles
Visiting Professor of Management Practice at Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Michelle Edkins
Managing Director at BlackRock Investment Stewardship
Josh Faddis
Senior Vice President, General Counsel and Corporate Secretary at Veeva Systems Inc.
Bruce Freed
President and Co-founder, Center for Political Accountability
John Goldstein
Global Head of Sustainability and Impact Solutions at Goldman Sachs
Keir Gumbs
General Counsel at Edward Jones
Lori Heinel
Global Chief Investment Officer at State Street Global Advisors
Stephen Johnson
Vice Chair and Chief Strategy Officer, American Airlines
Courteney Keatinge
Senior Director at Glass Lewis & Co.
Susan Mac Cormac
Chair of Social Enterprise + Impact Investing Group and Co-Chair of Energy + Cleantech Group at Morrison & Foerster LLP
Omeed Malik
President of 1789 Capital
Esteban Mezzano
General Counsel Corporate Operations & Sustainability, Nestlé
Amy Norris
General Counsel, Clif Bar & Company
Kevin Self
Former Senior Vice President Strategy, Business Development & Government Affairs, Schneider Electric
Omari Scott Simmons
Professor of Law, The George Washington University Law School
Leo Strine
Of Counsel, Wachtell, Lipton, Rosen & Katz. Former Chief Justice of the Delaware Supreme Court
Amy Weaver
President & Chief Financial Officer at Salesforce
Rupert Younger
Director, Oxford University Centre for Corporate Reputation, Saïd Business School, University of Oxford
Accessibility
For disability accommodation requests and information, please contact us at [email protected]. Please attempt to make your service request with as much advance notice as possible.
