Share

Dollars and Change Podcast

All the greatest insights into the world of social impact and business.


Latest episode

More episodes

View all episodes

  • Investing in Refugee Entrepreneurs in East Africa

    30:59
    Wharton’s Katherine Klein talks to Julienne Oyler, co-founder and CEO of the African Entrepreneur Collective, which helps micro, small, and medium businesses across East Africa.
  • How Companies and Capital Can Be Forces for Good, with Jean Case, Founder of For What It’s Worth

    29:02
    Jean Case is a business leader, philanthropist, and author who served as a senior executive at AOL before launching The Case Foundation in 1997. She is also creator of “For What It's Worth,” a weekly newsletter to demystify impact investing, and the author of Be Fearless: 5 Principles for a Life of Breakthroughs and Purpose. On this Dollars and Change episode, Jean talks with Wharton’s Katherine Klein about finding purpose and reaching beyond your bubble.
  • The Hard Work Ahead to Realize the Promise of ESG Investing, with Vit Henisz, Wharton Professor and Founder of the Wharton ESG Analytics Lab

    32:22
    Vit Henisz, the Deloitte & Touche Professor of Management at The Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, discusses ESG investing today – the increasingly popular practice of considering companies’ environmental, social, and governance performance and practices when deciding whether and where to invest. Measuring ESG well is difficult and many ESG investment products don’t live up to the hype. What will it take for investors to realize the financial benefits and impact of ESG investing?
  • On Theater, Impact Investing, and Wealth Taxes with Liesel Pritzker Simmons, Co-Founder and Principal of Blue Haven Initiative

    34:52
    Liesel Pritzker Simmons, Co-Founder and Principal of Blue Haven Initiative, joins host and Vice Dean of the Wharton Social Impact Initiative Katherine Klein to discuss the work and strategy of her single-family office that focuses on impact investing and ESG. She also talks about why theater is the best major for a career in business, and dives into why she advocates for a wealth tax.Transcript.
  • How Clif Bar Delivers Impact with Roma McCaig, Senior Vice President of Impact & Communications at Clif Bar

    30:47
    Roma McCaig, Senior Vice President of Impact & Communications at Clif Bar, joins host and Vice Dean of the Wharton Social Impact Initiative Katherine Klein to discuss how Clif Bar’s business model produces a virtuous cycle where productive growth delivers positive impact. McCaig outlines the company’s plans to cut carbon emissions, discusses their support of organic food science research, and talks about ways to create a restorative food system. Compostable packaging and plant-based pet treats are just a few of the company’s upcoming sustainability innovations.Transcript.
  • How do impact investors measure impact? With Michael Brown, Head of Research at Wharton Social Impact Initiative

    32:25
    Michael Brown, Head of Research at Wharton Social Impact Initiative, joins host and Vice Dean Katherine Klein to discuss the complexities around impact measurement. Most impact investors report meeting or exceeding their impact performance metrics. But is this truly the case? Brown collaborated with Wharton PhD candidate Lauren Kaufmann on research that uncovers how it is common practice for impact investors to report impact metrics primarily to market, or publicize, their success – rather than to evaluate and understand where their impact may fall short. While the reality of impact measurement may not meet the rhetoric, Brown believes this is due to the challenges of measuring impact rigorously while simultaneously running an investment fund. He offers recommendations for measuring impact, and also explains why the field needs to get more comfortable with impact underperformance in order to learn and grow.Transcript.