[Webinar] Sustainability, Inc.: How a False Promise Delivered Profit But Failed the Planet | Fletcher Office of Strategic Partnerships

Register for the webinar by visiting this link: https://tufts.zoom.us/webinar/register/4717928591232/WN_Ls8tJrwJRiy-azPQNCwmmA.

How did responsibility for solving the world’s biggest social and environmental challenges shift from governments to corporations?

Sustainability, Inc. traces the surprising history of that transformation, revealing how an idea incubated at the United Nations evolved into a global movement that reshaped business, investing, academia, public policy and the planet.

Sustainability, Inc. is a multi-billion-dollar ecosystem of corporate executives, trade associations, consultants, academics, asset managers, ESG ratings firms, NGOs, certification bodies, and media outlets that came to champion voluntary, market-based sustainability. Although motivated by different interests, the membership of Sustainability, Inc. converged on the same compelling promise: that companies could increase profits while protecting the planet.

Businesses embraced the model to preserve their license to operate and fend off regulation. Politicians championed markets ahead of public regulation. Influential academic researchers published studies that appeared to validate the business case. Consultants, asset managers, ratings firms, and accounting firms built thriving businesses around it; the prospect of pain-free, "win-win" solutions proved irresistible.

This presentation drawn on international relations theory, U.S. foreign policy analysis, and global political economy data to explain why we got here and what might happen in the future.

Date: November 19, 2026

Time: 11:00 - 11:45 AM Eastern Time

Agenda: 5 min | About The Fletcher School 25 Min | Presentation by Professor Kenneth Pucker 15 Min | Q&A and Discussion

About Kenneth Pucker: https://fletcher.tufts.edu/academics/faculty/kenneth-pucker Professor of the Practice in Sustainability at The Fletcher School at Tufts University