Responsible Investing Initiative
The initiative was developed in the university’s long-range planning process as part of the Presidential Initiatives on Mission & Values. The goals of the initiative, which is housed at Stanford Graduate School of Business, are to deepen research efforts and create a robust set of educational offerings for students across the university with interests at the dynamic intersection of social change, finance, philanthropy, and governance.
Responsible investing is interpreted broadly to include issues related to corporate social responsibility, corporate purpose, sustainable finance, and environmental, social, and governance policies and measures. It also covers shareholder activism, the effects of divestment and socially screened funds, board governance issues and shareholder voting, and impact investing.
Our three objectives:
- Sponsor and support research focusing on issues related to responsible investing;
- Facilitate new and existing courses, workshops, lectures, internships and other educational experiences in this evolving area of scholarship;
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Arrange for conferences and other ways to bring researchers and practitioners together to explore issues, and share research findings, involving responsible investing.

“The world is moving away from a sharp separation between ‘finance’ and ‘social responsibility’. At the GSB, we’re excited to join with others across the campus to develop this new initiative that will bring together ethics, investing, social responsibility, corporate finance and other closely related topics.”
Jonathan Levin, Dean of the Stanford Graduate School of Business.