Michael Kraten – McAlan LC

ESG/Sustainability

Sustainability Reporting and the Supply Chain

Consider, for a moment, the supply chain that must be employed to produce and sell cups of coffee to morning commuters at a drive through service window. How many factors must the coffee bar’s analyst include in the process flow analysis?

Michael KratenNovember 29, 2023

ESG/Sustainability

Why Do Companies Use The Phrase “Science Based Targets” In Their Environmental Sustainability Disclosures So Frequently?

Moody’s 2022 TCFD Report discloses environmental performance metrics in accordance with the policies and standards of the Task Force for Climate-Related Financial Disclosures. In its 47 page PDF document, Moody’s employs the phrase “Science Based” 26 times to describe its targets or standards.

Michael KratenNovember 15, 2023

ESG/Sustainability

Environmental Catastrophe and the Risk Assessment Function

The 1975 summer movie Jaws portrayed a suburban New York beach community that recoiled from the assault of a voracious great white shark. Although the film was a work of fiction, a shark (in reality) seriously injured a swimmer last week near a New York City beach. It was the latest shark attack to strike the Big Apple during the…

Michael KratenNovember 1, 2023

ESG/Sustainability

How Sustainability Metrics Can Help Preserve A Historic Parisian Business Community

The Opening Ceremony’s Parade of Nations may prove to be the most unique event of the 2024 Paris Olympics. Instead of situating the event in a stadium, the Olympic Committee will place the athletes on boats and send them down the River Seine.

Michael KratenOctober 18, 2023

Information

Apple And Overstock: The Value Of A Name

Although all Americans celebrate Independence Day on July 4, those who own Apple stock may be rejoicing more than others this year. On the final trading day before the holiday weekend, Apple became the first publicly traded company to achieve a $3 trillion market value.

Michael KratenOctober 11, 2023

ESG/Sustainability

And The Pigs Shall Lead!

Do you remember George Orwell’s classic novel Animal Farm? In that fable of a farm that is managed by its own livestock, the pigs become the leaders of the rural community. Although that didn’t quite occur last week, a pig protection law did manage to survive a Supreme Court decision that may impact the future of sustainability regulation.

Michael KratenSeptember 27, 2023

ESG/Sustainability

Arizona’s Slow Motion Disaster

In the 2004 film The Day After Tomorrow, a trio of meteorological “super storms” triggers a global descent into a second Ice Age. How much time do the storms need to destroy the planet? A few days to a week is all they require to wreak havoc on the world.

Michael KratenSeptember 13, 2023

ESG/Sustainability Information

Canada’s Blazing Environmental Catastrophe

Two weeks ago, Arizona Governor Katie Hobbs declared a freeze on the development of certain new homes in the Phoenix suburbs. Apparently, climate change’s imposition of drought conditions on the American West is constricting the public water supply and imperiling economic growth.

Michael KratenAugust 30, 2023

ESG/Sustainability Information

Sustainability Standards: Is This An Improvement?

by Michael Kraten, PhD, CPA What is the most common complaint heard about the current state of sustainability reporting standards? It may be the bloated number of free-standing, independent, overlapping, and often conflicting standards. Regrettably, no single entity has yet emerged as the clear consensus choice for defining corporate disclosures. There were hopes, though, that this situation would have improved two weeks…

Michael KratenAugust 15, 2023