Insights & Research

Generating novel thought leadership that advances the global dialogue around our key areas of focus is a critical component of our work. Learn more about some of our selected insights below

Our Latest Insights

Achieving green finance leadership: Why institutional readiness is the real bottleneck to climate capital in Africa

African banks are standing at the edge of a historic capital reallocation. Climate finance flows to emerging markets are accelerating, yet they remain highly concentrated in a small set of countries and institutions. The constraint is no longer a lack of capital — it is institutional readiness. African banks that cannot demonstrate credible emissions baselines, disciplined reduction pathways, and defensible impact measurement are increasingly sidelined from green capital flows, regardless of ambition or intent. For domestic leaders, the opportunity is clear: elevate sustainability architecture to global standards and position the institution as a trusted regional conduit for climate finance.

Real Estate Brief: Smart capital planning for BPS compliance, grid constraints, and energy availability

Real estate owners have traditionally treated energy upgrades as a nice-to-have line item: do them when capital was cheap, incentives were rich, and occupancy was stable enough to tolerate disruption.

Board series: The Board Chair of 2026 – From strategy steward to enterprise risk integrator

As corporate complexity multiplies into 2026, the board chair will have to grapple with the upheaval on the corporate landscape. Historically centered on governance stewardship, strategic guidance, and CEO partnership, the chair is increasingly becoming the architect of enterprise risk governance and – in real-time – the chief navigator for continuous strategic revision.

Policy Briefing: Shifts in the SEC’s shareholder proposal process — Follow changes to 14a-8 enforcement

In November 2025, the U.S. Securities and Exchange Commission’s (SEC) Division of Corporation Finance announced a significant change to how it will handle Rule 14a-8 shareholder proposal exclusions for the 2025-2026 proxy season. Rather than providing substantive no-action responses on most exclusion requests, the Division will largely step back from evaluating whether companies can exclude shareholder proposals. In turn, this leaves companies and proponents to navigate more uncertainty and shifting responsibilities in the proxy process.

Higher Education Brief: University endowments: Mission, money and climate risk and higher education

U.S. university endowments collectively hold more than $800 billion in assets, with approximately 50% in alternative investments and 30-40% in public equities. These portfolios are vital to funding scholarships, research, and campus operations. However, these entities are facing heightened exposure to climate-related risks, including stranded assets in fossil fuels, physical damage to tangible assets, and transition risks stemming from regulatory and market changes. Analysis suggests $1-4 trillion in fossil fuel assets globally could become stranded by 2050 if climate policies tighten, creating potential permanent impairments for equity holders. Some elite institutions still report fossil-fuel exposure of 2–6%.

Real Estate Brief: The new compliance frontier – How building performance standards are reshaping REIT strategy

Building Performance Standards (BPS) represent the most significant regulatory transformation in commercial real estate since modern zoning codes. Unlike voluntary sustainability frameworks, BPS regulations impose mandatory carbon and energy targets backed by substantial financial penalties, effectively placing a price on building inefficiency.

Management briefing: How to test – and build – rapid switch-back supply chains for a world where the rules keep changing

In Q2 2025, tariff volatility and regulatory shifts have evolved from a “trade” concern to a core business performance variable. For management teams, the implications reach across finance, operations, and strategy. The companies that outperform are those that treat regulatory shocks as operational scenarios to rehearse, not surprises to react to.

Board series: Stress testing supply chains in a fractured world – The case for rapid-switch back planning

In Q2 2025, tariff volatility and regulatory shifts have become a defining force in enterprise strategy — no longer a “trade” issue, instead a board-level risk. The most sophisticated multinationals are now deploying structured stress-testing frameworks to model “policy shock” scenarios: tariff spikes, export control expansions, carbon border pricing, and compliance detentions. These models link granular HS-code exposure, supplier geography, and product carbon intensity to real-time profit-and-loss simulations —quantifying the margin at risk and working capital requirements under each regulatory outcome. For directors, the strategic question is shifting from “Where should we produce?” to “How fast can we re-position when the rules change?”

EcoVadis Brief: Case Study – How Tessy Plastics turned EcoVadis into a revenue growth engine

For small and mid-sized manufacturers, sustainability assessments like EcoVadis can initially seem like compliance hurdles. However, for Tessy Plastics, a U.S.-based injection molding company, embracing EcoVadis became a catalyst for significant business transformation and revenue growth.

Higher Education Brief: The cost of waiting – Why deferred maintenance is now an enterprise risk in higher education

Deferred maintenance has evolved from operational challenge to enterprise-level risk. Collectively, U.S. colleges and universities face a staggering $112 billion in urgent deferred renewal needs, with Moody’s projecting $750–950 billion in spending required over the next decade just for rated institutions to modernize and stabilize backlogs. In a recent survey, 36% of chief financial officers (CFO) cite maintenance as a top risk. The average age of campus buildings is approximately 50 years, with many facilities already having surpassed their intended life spans. This aging infrastructure is reflected in Facility Condition Index (FCI) scores, where many systems report values greater than 0.10 — the commonly accepted threshold for “poor condition.”

Real Estate Brief: Water – The overlooked business imperative in real estate

Water is rapidly emerging as a defining business case in U.S. real estate, yet it remains largely under-considered in most investment and operational strategies. Scarcity, flooding, infrastructure failures, rising water costs, and regulatory tightening are already impacting asset values, insurance costs, and development feasibility. With half the global population projected to live in water-stressed regions by 2030 and U.S. cities already integrating water stewardship for future developments, proactive water management is becoming a crucial competitive differentiator and financial imperative for real estate leaders.

Board series: The state of the global energy transition – What the close of 2025 signals for 2026

Large multinationals are moving from pledges to procurement and projects — locking in long-dated clean power contracts, electrifying heat and fleets, re-tooling supply chains, and backing carbon removal. More broadly, the global energy transition to renewable technologies remains intact, but uneven. Global energy investment will reach $3.3 trillion USD in 2025, with $2.2 trillion being invested in renewables, nuclear, grids, storage, low-emissions fuels, efficiency, and electrification (which stands at 2x fossil investment). On a dual-track energy system — adding clean energy capacity without fully displacing fossil fuels — China, the EU, India, and the U.S. continue to drive most of the additions.

Management Briefing: The next frontier — How AI is transforming supply chains into a strategic asset

The passage of The Big Beautiful Bill (OBBBA) on Friday, July 4th, marks a decisive recalibration of U.S. clean-energy policy and incentive structure—elevating urgency, compliance, and strategic flexibility for corporations. The upending of financial incentives create a real-time operational challenge. Boards must respond by aligning capital schedules, fortifying supply chains, and taking out cost from their decarbonization strategies. How should enterprises evolve their capital allocation for operational effectiveness, ESG targets, and financial return?

Board series: Self-driving supply chains – How AI is reshaping multinational operations for resilience, agility, and profitability

Geopolitical volatility, shifting trade policies, and rising tariffs are redefining supply chain risk. More than ever, agility and transparency raise to the top of board and management’s priorities. Generative artificial intelligence offers powerful tools—predictive insights, scenario modeling, and real-time visibility—that can help enterprises anticipate shocks, ensure compliance, and sustain continuity. Moreover, agentic AI will allow companies to deploy “self-driving” supply chains to hasten decision-making and realize greater benefits of timeliness, cost-containment, and more. The challenge for directors is not whether to adopt AI, but how to govern its integration: ensuring management has the data infrastructure, talent, and oversight to capture value.

Board series: Entering the Quantum Economy – What boards need to know in 2025

Quantum computing is moving fast from theoretical promise to boardroom strategy. With venture funding topping $2.6 billion globally in 2024, of which $1.7 billion went to U.S. companies, U.S. multinationals are launching quantum pilots and assessing their risks to encryption threats. Whether it’s big tech, pharmaceutical, or energy, if fully commercialized, analysts estimate a $2 trillion economic impact by 2035. Can your organization gain the quantum advantage?

Board series: From oversight to exposure — Mitigating personal risks for corporate directors

With broad policy upheaval in the U.S. under President Trump’s second term, Sustainability Committees on corporate boards stand on shaky ground. The administration has effectively terminated and significant allocations for renewable energy, retreated from the Paris Agreement, spurred ESG-backlash, weakened the EPA, NOAA, and SEC mandates. At the same time, the global momentum for ESG and Sustainability persists. Even if the political momentum is going in one direction, board members will have to balance the reality of climate, social, litigation, and governance risks remain financially material and globally governed.

Board series: Corporate diplomacy in the age of economic warfare

With broad policy upheaval in the U.S. under President Trump’s second term, Sustainability Committees on corporate boards stand on shaky ground. The administration has effectively terminated and significant allocations for renewable energy, retreated from the Paris Agreement, spurred ESG-backlash, weakened the EPA, NOAA, and SEC mandates. At the same time, the global momentum for ESG and Sustainability persists. Even if the political momentum is going in one direction, board members will have to balance the reality of climate, social, litigation, and governance risks remain financially material and globally governed.

Board series: Cyber threats to energy – From downtime to shareholder impact

With broad policy upheaval in the U.S. under President Trump’s second term, Sustainability Committees on corporate boards stand on shaky ground. The administration has effectively terminated and significant allocations for renewable energy, retreated from the Paris Agreement, spurred ESG-backlash, weakened the EPA, NOAA, and SEC mandates. At the same time, the global momentum for ESG and Sustainability persists. Even if the political momentum is going in one direction, board members will have to balance the reality of climate, social, litigation, and governance risks remain financially material and globally governed.

Board series: Navigating the storm – Global shipping in turmoil

With broad policy upheaval in the U.S. under President Trump’s second term, Sustainability Committees on corporate boards stand on shaky ground. The administration has effectively terminated and significant allocations for renewable energy, retreated from the Paris Agreement, spurred ESG-backlash, weakened the EPA, NOAA, and SEC mandates. At the same time, the global momentum for ESG and Sustainability persists. Even if the political momentum is going in one direction, board members will have to balance the reality of climate, social, litigation, and governance risks remain financially material and globally governed.

Board series: Beyond China – Strategic CPG expansion into India amid global trade shifts

With broad policy upheaval in the U.S. under President Trump’s second term, Sustainability Committees on corporate boards stand on shaky ground. The administration has effectively terminated and significant allocations for renewable energy, retreated from the Paris Agreement, spurred ESG-backlash, weakened the EPA, NOAA, and SEC mandates. At the same time, the global momentum for ESG and Sustainability persists. Even if the political momentum is going in one direction, board members will have to balance the reality of climate, social, litigation, and governance risks remain financially material and globally governed.

Higher Education Brief: What’s in a university’s environmental footprint?

For all the environment and sustainability-focused talk on campuses, granular knowledge of what makes up a university’s footprint is often missing. From energy intensive laboratories to manicured lawns and long commutes, it can be quite complex to make sense of a university’s footprint. Yet, understanding where institutions consume the most energy, water, and waste - and generate emissions - is the first step towards being sustainable and lowering operational costs. For higher education leaders, knowing where to look and what to tackle first is critical to making meaningful progress.

Real Estate Brief: Real estate’s AI moment: Growth opportunities meet new constraints

The U.S. power grid is straining under the weight of aging infrastructure, extreme weather, and surging demand from AI, EVs, and electrification. Real estate, which consumes the 75% of U.S. electricity, is going to be directly impacted. What was once a stable utility is now a strategic risk—and potentially, a competitive advantage. The question isn’t whether grid disruption will affect your portfolio, but how you’ll lead through it.

EcoVadis Brief: What to look for in an EcoVadis advisor — And why it matters

EcoVadis is becoming a standard requirement for suppliers doing business with large corporations. What began as a niche sustainability evaluation tool is now a global platform used by over 1,400 large corporate buyers to assess supplier performance across environmental, social, ethical, and procurement metrics.

EcoVadis Brief: EcoVadis on the rise – What suppliers need to know

Despite recent headlines, global corporations continue to implement their sustainability and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) programs, including building sustainable, transparent, and resilient supply chains. As a result, suppliers of all sizes and across all sectors are increasingly being asked to demonstrate their ESG performance.

Higher Education Brief: What universities need to consider during this time of national pushback

Months into the new administration, campus sustainability efforts continue to face heightened scrutiny and shifting political headwinds. For university leaders, the question isn’t whether this work still matters—it’s how to continue advancing it amid the risks and pressures. Some institutions have chosen to keep a lower profile. Others are rebranding or reframing their efforts to stay aligned with changing expectations. In this environment, strategy - not silence - is the key to staying on course.

Real Estate Brief: Power shift – Why the grid now belongs on every real estate agenda

The U.S. power grid is straining under the weight of aging infrastructure, extreme weather, and surging demand from AI, EVs, and electrification. Real estate, which consumes the 75% of U.S. electricity, is going to be directly impacted. What was once a stable utility is now a strategic risk—and potentially, a competitive advantage. The question isn’t whether grid disruption will affect your portfolio, but how you’ll lead through it.

Onshoring to the U.S.: are companies considering the physical risks?

With the reorientation of manufacturing to the U.S. in response to President Trump’s trade policy, multinationals focus on potential site evaluation and selection. Be it Hyundai in Indiana, Apple in Texas, or Toyota in North Carolina, global companies have made public commitments to bring back parts of their complex supply chains to the U.S. While a myriad of factors must be considered – talent pools, state incentives, land availability, access to first-tier supplies—an underrated question is that of physical climate risks. As manufacturing returns, management teams will have to ask their teams what climate-driven risks—water shortages, extreme heat, or flooding—will these new sites face? Where will climate-related hazards pose the greatest threat to business continuity and long-term profitability? Is it enough to reconsider our site location?

Board Series: Real Estate’s AI moment – opportunity and uncertainty

Artificial intelligence is no longer a distant frontier — it is a present and pressing force across industries, and real estate is no exception. From smart buildings and predictive analytics to generative design and personalized tenant services, AI has arrived with the potential to radically transform how real estate is developed, operated, and invested in. But as the sector races to adopt new tools, boards must remain clear-eyed: AI’s potential benefits for real estate firms are significant, but so too are the emerging risks. The AI revolution may bring as many new constraints as it does capabilities. In this rapidly evolving environment, directors must lead with balance — understanding not just where AI can unlock value, but also where it may strain the foundations the industry relies on, from energy infrastructure to labor markets.

The CEO confidence gap – How can boards step up in a context of global uncertainty?

With multinational businesses stretched by intensifying geopolitical conflict, macroeconomic shocks, and global trade tensions, CEOs will need expert counsel from their corporate boards more than ever. Yet, new data shows that only one-third of CEOs say they are highly confident in their board’s ability to help them navigate the challenges facing their organization. What’s missing? What are CEOs not getting from their boards and how can the confidence gap be overcome?

Telesto Strategy CEO and Author Alex Kruzel inspires passionate debate with Northwestern students with her book The Courage to Continue: Stay the Course on Sustainability to Secure our Future

Alex Kruzel, Founder and CEO of Chicago-based management consulting firm Telesto Strategy recently spoke to students in the Chicago Field Study program at Northwestern University about the current state of sustainability investments amidst a backdrop of federal policy upheaval on energy, trade, and higher education, as well as emerging anti-ESG and anti-Climate tensions. Students in the Field Studies program earn academic credit while working full-time and exploring key business topics through classroom discussion. Using the 10 pillars of sustainability from Kruzel’s book, students were divided into teams to explore the reasons why – or why not – to continue supporting sustainability investments in support of President Trump’s whole of government national security strategy.

Telesto Strategy Champions Water Week Conversation on the Future of Corporate Water Stewardship

Tariff Engineering: Multinationals reduce tariff exposure, introducing new risks

The roll-out of President Trump’s tariff regime has ignited an international response, with markets reeling, inflation risks escalating, and projections for a recession increasing. China’s tariff rate has been increased to 145%, while most other countries remain under a 90-day pause on most high tariffs. As the world waits and sees where the trade policy will land, management teams are working with their boards in identifying strategies to reduce their immediate economic losses. To do so, large multinationals with global supply chains are leveraging tariff engineering to modify products or their classification to reduce import duties.

China hits back: What do Beijing’s countermeasures mean for U.S. businesses

As tensions between D.C. and Beijing escalate, management teams are looking to better understand and reduce their exposures to the U.S.-China trade war. As of mid-April 2025, we offer a review of China’s non-tariff countermeasures that target the U.S. With an unclear off-ramp for either side, management teams will have to further build scenarios that offer greater supplier optionality in the short-term while also re-evaluating long-term enterprise strategy. Overall, the cost of doing business in and with China will increase for U.S. business and will likely have lasting impact. How can businesses manage through China’s escalating retaliation?

Know your supplier: Diversifying comes with risk, amidst escalating trade wars

With global trade tensions escalating, supplier diversification has been embraced as the leading antidote to mitigate short-term risks. Thus, rapid pushes for multi-sourcing, local-for-local, component substitution, stockpiling, and scenario planning have engulfed executive teams. CPG companies are accelerating years of work in nearshoring and onshoring suppliers and production. While the financial benefits of supplier diversification seem straightforward, the risks posed to an enterprise without a robust know your supplier program will expose new threats to reputation, operations, customer interfacing, and more. How should executive teams re-imagine due diligence during Trump 2.0 and global trade upheaval?

Board Series: Tariff Engineering – Boards face new risks as multinationals reduce tariff exposure

The roll-out of President Trump’s tariff regime has ignited an international response, with markets reeling, inflation risks escalating, and projections for a recession increasing. China’s tariff rate has been increased to 145%, while most other countries remain under a 90-day pause on most high tariffs. As the world waits and sees where the trade policy will land, corporate directors are moving swiftly to support their management teams in identifying strategies to reduce their immediate economic losses. To do so, large multinationals with global supply chains are leveraging tariff engineering to modify products or their classification to reduce import duties.

Telesto CEO & Founder Alex Kruzel releases new book, The Courage to Continue, at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

“Has Sustainability failed . . . ?” A provocative and critical question that was raised in last week’s public launch of Alex Kruzel’s, CEO & Founder of Telesto Strategy, book The Courage to Continue at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Patrick Shewell, Director of Global Packaging Sustainability of Mondelez, provided the expert moderation to an at-capacity audience full of public and private sector leaders. Watch full discussion: Securing a Sustainable Future in a Polarized Era

Telesto Strategy & Optiml’s Odyssey Shortlisted for Sustainability Delivery Award

Tariffs endgame, economic powerplay or political gamble?

After a week of wild swings in markets and growing demands from investors, President Trump’s trade war may be coming into clearer focus with Wednesday’s (4/9) pause on most reciprocal tariffs for 90 days. With stocks surging on Wednesday, many are hoping that his goal is clearer – China containment. President Trump cited talks with foreign nations in explaining the reversal, but said China would not be included after Beijing announced further retaliations. While the China angle is feasible, we also offer a spectrum of scenarios to help decision-makers play-out risks and opportunities. How will executives assess their risks and re-conceptualize their strategies – supply chain, CapEx, de-valuation, and more?

RTO is here to stay

Real estate companies are navigating RTO policies by balancing financial impacts, employee preferences, and market trends. The rise of remote and hybrid work has led to underutilized office spaces and changes in tenant demand, prompting management teams to explore repurposing, flexible leasing, and strategic property acquisitions. To retain talent, companies are adopting hybrid work models while carefully planning space utilization. Companies are also capitalizing on market downturns by acquiring discounted office properties to adapt to evolving business needs. As the landscape continues to shift, the question is whether management teams are being bold enough to rethink the traditional office model, or are they merely reacting to short-term trends?

Navigating shifting Political Risk under Trump 2.0 – how companies are staying ahead

In the past, political risk has been a specific category of risks that management teams and their boards reviewed quarterly and managed through insurance policies. Acute issues were handled by task forces or crisis management teams. Now, under President Trump’s second administration, political risks are blurring and broadening to include: protectionist trade policy, sanctions, tariff retaliation, export/import bans, cyber-attacks, regional strife and conflict, border security, human rights, international terrorism, failed multilateral cooperation, increasing influence of populist governments, and more. With many of these themes presenting themselves weekly and daily, how do companies recast their political risk management under Trump 2.0?

Other Featured Insights

Board series: Armed conflict in the boardroom: Planning for a year of geopolitical flashpoints

In 2026, geopolitics no longer simmers in the backdrop; instead, it should be considered a design constraint for growth, capital allocation, and operational continuity. As opposed to thinking about which conflict is most likely to erupt, leaders will have to understand which stack of pressures will compound fast enough to break our assumptions. The World Economic Forum’s 2026 Global Risks Perceptions Survey puts geoeconomic confrontation (e.g., tariffs, investment restrictions, resource leverage) as the top short-term risk, now overtaking armed conflict. The central question worth exploring – can your firm absorb shocks without halting growth?

Audit committee growing pains—and the pressure it’s putting on your team

Audit committees have long been the mandated nexus of corporate financial reporting, internal controls, and risk management. Even though these committees face a full slate of topical oversight and compliance – financial, internal audit, AI, cyber, ESG, Sustainability, DEI – 2025 has also brought forward a new suite of risks. Namely, trade and tariffs, and geopolitical conflict. With so much responsibility across a broad spectrum of issues, have audit committees become the “kitchen sink” of corporate boards?

The CEO confidence gap – How can boards step up in a context of global uncertainty?

With multinational businesses stretched by intensifying geopolitical conflict, macroeconomic shocks, and global trade tensions, CEOs will need expert counsel from their corporate boards more than ever. Yet, new data shows that only one-third of CEOs say they are highly confident in their board’s ability to help them navigate the challenges facing their organization. What’s missing? What are CEOs not getting from their boards and how can the confidence gap be overcome?

Telesto CEO & Founder Alex Kruzel releases new book, The Courage to Continue, at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

“Has Sustainability failed . . . ?” A provocative and critical question that was raised in last week’s public launch of Alex Kruzel’s, CEO & Founder of Telesto Strategy, book The Courage to Continue at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Patrick Shewell, Director of Global Packaging Sustainability of Mondelez, provided the expert moderation to an at-capacity audience full of public and private sector leaders. Watch full discussion: Securing a Sustainable Future in a Polarized Era

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Lorem Ipsum is simply dummy text of the printing and typesetting industry. Lorem Ipsum has been the industry’s standard dummy text ever since the 1500s, when an unknown printer took a galley of type and scrambled it to make a type specimen book. It has survived not only five centuries, but also the leap into electronic typesetting, remaining essentially unchanged. It was popularised in the 1960s with the release of Letraset sheets containing Lorem Ipsum passages, and more recently with desktop publishing software like Aldus PageMaker including versions of

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TELESTOSTRATEGY IN THE NEWS

Reports issued by the McKinsey Global Institute are often cited in international media, and MGI authors frequently contribute to leading business publications.

Telesto CEO & Founder Alex Kruzel releases new book, The Courage to Continue, at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs

“Has Sustainability failed . . . ?” A provocative and critical question that was raised in last week’s public launch of Alex Kruzel’s, CEO & Founder of Telesto Strategy, book The Courage to Continue at The Chicago Council on Global Affairs. Patrick Shewell, Director of Global Packaging Sustainability of Mondelez, provided the expert moderation to an at-capacity audience full of public and private sector leaders. Watch full discussion: Securing a Sustainable Future in a Polarized Era
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From Corporate Strategy to Global Policy: The New Book The Courage to Continue Explores The Rationale For Corporate Sustainability in Support of President Trump’s Whole-of-Government National Security Agenda

As global trade and security challenges continue to escalate as President Trump begins his second term, an insightful and compelling new book, The Courage to Continue, calls for a non-partisan approach to evaluate how businesses can effectively advance their environmental sustainability agendas and support America’s national security priorities. Authored by Alex Kruzel, founder of Chicago-based management consulting firm Telesto Strategy, the book prompts decision-makers across all industries and sectors with crucial questions and considerations for leaders to advance their corporate sustainability goals.
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