Journal of Social Value Creation

JOURNAL OF SOCIAL VALUE CREATION Volume I, Issue I, Summer 2021

Acknowledgements First and foremost, we would like to thank our incredible participants of the first iteration of the Research Impact Fellowship. Every single student researcher showed immense dedication, flexibility, and passion during their fellowship, and we are incredibly proud of the work showcased in this journal.

We would also like to thank our associated faculty and mentors for their leadership and guidance throughout the program: Dr. David Kirsch, Lily Griner, Amanda Lazar, Mark Stewart, Amna Kirmani, Dr. Nicole Coomber, Dr. Philip Evers, Alphonse Kouagou, Dr. Melissa Rocco, Dr. Michael Gerst, Dr. Wei Ai, Mark Franz, Michelle Bensi, Somayeh Mohammadi, Dr. Rosellina Ferraro, and Jordan Litter This program would not have been the same without your dedication to student research and assistance along the way.

Finally, we would be remiss if we did not thank our Center Director Nima Farshchi and Program Coordinator Joanna Ihm for launching this fellowship.

We are so appreciative of everyone who helped make the inaugural iteration of this program and this journal happen. Thank you all for your hard work and dedication towards student research.

Letter from Fellowship Lead Dear Readers: Research ignites the fire of curiosity, novelty, and innovation. At its core, research is meant to bring understanding to the complexity of our world in hopes that understanding will spark positive change. Without research, the benefits of the advancements that improve quality of life, safety, and efficiency may have ceased to exist. While time spent learning in classrooms is crucial, there is a growing need for further experiential learning to challenge our students and open them to the possibilities that research can unfold. As a center, we believe the opportunity to lead and conduct responsible research prepares students to think critically and better understand the importance of balancing the interests of shareholders with the social outcomes of business.

In June 2021, the center debuted its first-ever multidisciplinary undergraduate research program the Research Impact Fellowship in hopes to further this ideal.

Under the guidance of esteemed faculty and mentors, our 13 fellows have been able to discuss the innovations, trends, and ethical concerns of their research projects.

The iterative research process has enabled our students to develop greater problemsolving skills, deepen their understanding of social value strategies, and pioneer creative solutions. This journal serves as a testament to the students’ dedicated efforts and commitment to expanding and challenging the current pool of knowledge.

The collective work between faculty, students, and mentors has proven to be a successful combination, and we look forward to continuing these efforts for future iterations.

Joanna Ihm

Sustainable Development Goals Impacted

Table of Contents The Effects of Autonomous Airborne Vehicles on Soiling Maintenance for Solar Farms Raed Ahmed

8

The Sustainability of Fast Food Packaging During the COVID-19 Pandemic Christopher Chen & Eleanore Spies

33

Microfinance Around the World: A Comparative Analysis of Micro loan Performance in Economies of Varying Graham Dilworth

58

Commitments to Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion: Statements Versus Action Adjoa Egyen-Davis and Divya Kumar

74

Development of Smart Grids System in the Netherlands and its Potential Impacts on Electricity Consumption Vikramdeep Hanspal & Chengzi Tian

88

Synthesis of Research on the Sustainability and Safety of Autonomous Vehicles Kacie Ho

105

Exploring the Current Value of ESG Metrics in the Investing Community: A Comprehensive Review Roshini Parameswaran

118

Table of Contents Continued Food Packaging: Is Sustainability Profitable?

Hannah Scott

135

A New Age of Cryptocurrency Pump-and-Dump Ronit Tuladhar

153

Exploring Factors that Impact Gender Inequality in the Workplace and the Strategy and Method used to Solve Them Yanwei Wang

168

THE EFFECTS OF AUTONOMOUS AIRBORNE VEHICLES ON SOILING MAINTENANCE FOR SOLAR FARMS By: Raed Ahmed

8

Author Biography Raed Ahmed is a current sophomore at the University of Maryland, College Park with a passion for researching sustainable energies and robotics. To support these passions, he is pursuing a double degree in the Clark School of Engineering with a Bachelor’s degree in Chemical and Electrical Engineering. His extracurricular activities further these passions as a current member in the production team of the Accessible Prosthetics Initiative organization.

Raed hopes to continue his research and further the sustainable robotics field.

Acknowledgments I’d like to give my sincere and heartfelt thanks to those who have been supporting my ambitions in this project. First and foremost, I need to thank my mentors Professor Michele Bensi and Ms. Somayeh Mohammadi for taking the time to guide my ideas and help me refine my naïve dreams into something tangible. I’d also like to say thanks to Joanna Ihm, Nima Farshchi, and the RIF program for giving me the means to begin my first steps as a researcher at the University of Maryland.

Abstract Within the most recent decades, technology, especially robotics, has been lightening the burden on modern day tasks and increasing the quality of life. At the same time, there is a growing movement for the increase in dependence for sustainable energies. As the needs and investments of sustainable energies rise, so are the pressures to perform efficiently. Minor inconveniences in these sustainable plants may result in energy fueling millions of homes to be lost. Modern innovations to artificial intelligence and robotics may yet solve this new age problem as well. This project takes numerous analyses on the effects of modern-day solar plant soiling and determines to what extent automated drones may reduce this problem on a power and cost basis. The paper analyzes the individual extent of soiling felt by plants across the world and compares these rates with the current software and hardware innovations within maintenance drone technology.

I.

Introduction The energy industry is gradually expanding, and the growth of renewable energy plants

are on the rise. Wind, solar, biomass and waste-to-energy, geothermal, small hydro and marine sources between them added 138.5GW in 2015, up from 127.5GW in 2016 (Frankfurt, 2017).

The practical development of biofuels and hydrogen cells are approaching their debut while investments in environmental power are inflating, especially within PV solar cells. In 2016, over 114 billion dollars went into the expansion and development of solar energy (Frankfurt, 2017).

However, the increased dependence on clean energy comes with greater need for efficiency to support the growing demand. Smaller efficiency deficits in solar cells show prevalence with a larger scale.

The performance efficiency deficit appears as power production surpasses billions or

trillions of watts per plant annually. Even minor shifts in efficiency or output could result in millions of households and dollars being affected. In Nevada, 670 thousand homes and 15 percent of the state’s total energy is run on solar cells (Nevada Solar, 2021) .One such issue is the effects on power efficiency left by dust particle buildup on Photovoltaic cells. This process is referred to as soiling Solar plants account for most renewable energy investments and growth in the US. As more photovoltaic power plants function at high power (Frankfurt, 2017), "it becomes more necessary to mitigate effects that hinder energy generation, because higher are the losses" (Dantas et al., 2020). On average, power losses in plants within regions such as the US reached around 0.5 percent, and less moist areas of India or Saudi Arabia hit 1 to 1.2 percent per day (Dantas et al., 2020). With smaller plants individually, this may seem negligible but, in comparison to the global total solar energy output hitting 720 TWh or 720 trillion watts per hour, the loss of up to 7.2 trillion watts per day to environmental maintenance reveals a much greater magnitude in sum.

Currently, most practical soiling prevention methods come down to forms of manual cleaning and natural weathering. This method involves the manual inspection of large portions of solar farms for potential particle layers on panels. Staff members are systematically raised to the PV panels to jet brush, wipe down, or otherwise clean equipment with tailored solutions to completion at specific weekly frequencies (Sayyah et al., 2014). Although these manual methods can be cheaper for certain plants, some may find the environments and conditions of the plant to be cumbersome, tedious, and, at times, dangerous. These methods involve plant-wide checkups every 6 to 12 months depending on the plant yet still result in soiling and frost reducing power output by 1.6-6% and 2011 having a record-high 11 % loss (Sayyah et al., 2014). Additional

factors like geography, climate, and plant size can present barriers that make maintenance increasingly inefficient and costly. Offshore plants, desert plants, and larger plants pose this limitation. The maintenance conditions in such plants are far from identical and can be near impossible for more extreme conditions. A new method is required to account for these limitations and increase efficiency.

One alternative method to soiling are the renewable drone programs (Tiainen et al., 2020). This program employs drones equipped with A.I. capable of recognizing microscopic dust particle buildup from a wide variety of elements from ice and moisture to cement, biomass, and sand. These machines employ infrared sensors, trained particle recognition A.I., as well as a set of tools for maintenance such as ionized cleaning solutions, precise cleaning algorithms, and sustainable energy systems designed for extreme climates (Jaradat et al., 2021). This method was beginning development in the past decade. However, the impression surrounding the installations of these robots was that they were costly and primitive in design or purpose. Recent developments in energy and robotics may prove these devices to be the more practical option.

Sources demonstrating the practicality of renewable drones existed in the past, but none display nor document the complete effectiveness of recent innovations in software and hardware alike.

This study intends to analyze the capabilities of new-age renewable maintenance drones against the harsh environments of plants today and display the degree of the effect they may provide for PV efficiency using previous studies. These drones may soon provide an effective form of maintenance and save millions of watts of energy for a sustainable economy.

II.

Literature Review

The employment of robotics for maintenance and overall utilization within the renewable industry is far from recent. A wide variety of robotics has existed to perform similar tasks in the past few decades. There are arrangements of research on the use of terrestrial, biomimetic, and insect-inspired drones used for latching on to turbine blades for manual maintenance or the employment of industrial assembly robots to manually dust off the panels in a timed algorithm (Dantas et al., 2020). There have even been papers on self-cleaning solar panels.

The various systems demonstrate effective maintenance capabilities and great thoroughness in recognizing and cleaning abilities. However, these robots had practicality, mobility, and cost barriers too expensive to the plants' needs. Individual automated panel wipers with cleaning solutions were efficient but too expensive to install; terrestrial and industrial robots were cheaper but lacked sufficient mobility; the majority of drones at the time had mobility but were only used to scare off birds and intruders (Sayyah et al., 2014). Many automated maintenance sources existed but they couldn’t overcome the individual limitations of the systems or properly combine system strengths.

These factors limited the amount of research conducted to evaluate the effectiveness of automated drones. The simplest methods of manual scrubbing and cleaning were effective and sufficed for plants at the time. In addition, during the early 2010s, drones used for maintenance were rare due to the excessive price to employ such devices and unreliable software at the time.

Out of the four practical options available, drones were of the least considered as manual labor with human precision and judgment was more reliable and cheaper than the installation of expensive test drones. These methods were deemed too complex for modern robotics and marginally more expensive to utilize.

In recent years, several achievements followed within the renewable energy industry with innovations in the robotics industry. Drones are far more equipped and diverse than they were a decade ago. Companies can choose dual-motor drones for price efficiency, octocopters for strength, or balanced quadcopters (Dantas et al., 2020). These drones employ infrared cameras, advanced flight algorithms, heat pads, climate adaptations, and even sustainable power sources.

They can cover marginally more ground than a person or terrestrial drone and follow greater price efficiency as drone technology becomes more readily available (Drone Wind Turbine Blade Inspection « Terra Drone, 2021). Recent advances in drone maintenance technology haven't been explored in practical environments yet. Their effectiveness as a modern energy-saving method has yet to be researched in sum thoroughly. One aspect of this study sums the results of modern innovative automated maintenance technology and theoretically measures its effectiveness in modern plants.

Prices for maintenance continue to increase as power plants expand to contain whole regions requiring marginally more labor and vigilance to maintain. The price for a single staff member to identify residues and clean a row of ten panels with a cloth and solution can be more cost-efficient and practical than a drone routinely and carefully. However, a single routine drone for a field of offshore Photovoltaic (PV) panels is more efficient and cheaper than shipping and raising a team of cleaners (Drone Inspection of Wind Turbines On- and Offshore, 2021.). The magnitude, location, and environmental composition of debris play a significant role in overall maintenance efficiency. In addition, society is advancing to offshore plants and nearly completely self-automated plants that are geographically less convenient for manual maintenance.

Many individual sources display the effectiveness of automated systems in recognizing

and cleaning individual panels, yet none illustrate the cleaning capabilities of drones in such conditions. While past papers have comparisons between manual and robotic PV maintenance, none completely discuss the capabilities of recent drone hardware and software innovations.

Many sources compare maintenance methods of ideal scenarios, not illustrating the effectiveness or cost within various environments and not ideal conditions. This study intended to sum the precipice of modern drone technology and compare its cost and maintenance effectiveness to manual labor in various environmental conditions using the information from previous sources.

This study takes the information gathered from sources on environmental conditions of energy plants (debris density, composition, climate, etc.), innovations in renewable drone technology (AI, software, hardware, etc.), and cost-efficiency to display the comparison of factors against one another to determine the overall theoretical performance of automated maintenance drones in PV plants. Drone performance was calculated based on the environmental factors from the gathered data. This data was later used to calculate performance and cost efficiency.

III.

Methodology The methodology featured within this work was an array of carefully analyzed sources

individually reviewed to capture the variety of conditions and constraints that an automated airborne vehicle would come across to perform maintenance tasks. The resources utilized ranged from the most recent and two decades spanning from 2006 to 2021 as these were the prime years of development and featured the most effective and relevant research results. The research bases employed were IEEE, Science Direct, RSD journal, and Google Books.

From these databases, the first piece of information found was the hardware and software of each drone analyzed based on current cutting-edge models. The technologies analyzed included the overall recognition effectiveness of the image capturing and infrared technology used to recognize organic and inorganic particles, the composition of the solutions employed by the drones for such maintenance (relative to particle composition, density, and size) and the current results of the respective technologies in similar or identical maintenance tasks such as agricultural maintenance.

The next piece of information gathered involved climate and environmental conditions.

These conditions played a significant role in determining the degree of effectiveness a drone may have in completing its task. These factors included the frequency of maintenance required, the composition of dust particles accumulating, airborne dust concentration, and the overall location practicality of plants in different settings worldwide. These factors were the most prevalent environmental conditions affecting the need for drone maintenance. For certain plants, manual labor may provide a cheaper and more effective result. Other plants required constant survey, featured thick particle layers, or had locations offshore that made manual labor nearly impossible.

This methodology utilized a hybrid qualitative-quantitative approach to compare the effectiveness of such drone’s maintenance on a statistical and practical level. The quantitative portion of the study accumulated the statistics gathered from previous research studies on the environmental and technological factors previously mentioned. Data collection began with the debris accumulation in various plants based on the classifications, statistics, and categories The environmental factors taken from five PV plant locations acted as the basis for this study. The plants were given names A through E and had variables sampled from the five of the most

common plant environments based on international energy statistics. Figure 1 presents the factors used for each plant.

Figure 1 Table showing experimental plants samples for the research study (Air Quality Year-to-Date Report | ADEQ Arizona Department of Environmental Quality, 2017).

Plant

Location

Biome

Rainfall (inches)

Maintenance Frequency (Per year)

Debris Composition

A

Copper Mountain, Nevada (United States) Bhadla Solar Park (India) Kuala Lampur (Malaysia)

Desert

8

2

Clay, Sand, Quartz

Urban City

31.5

1

Jungle

100

5

Benban Solar Park (Egypt) Nunez de Balboa Photovoltaic Plant (Spain)

Desert

0.7

Urban forest

17.8

B C

D E

Debris Density (Annual average) (mg/m^2) 0.3173

Average Annual Temperature (F)

Power Plant Area (acres)

89.3

1920.00

Sand, organic debris

0.0517

78.404

14085.00

0.0282

79.295

230208.0 0

2

Pollen, bacteria, fossil fumes, volcanic soil Soil, sand

0.07887

61.25

5.28

2

Soil, sand

0.0108

62.50

2470.00

The next portion of quantitative data utilized related to the drone hardware and software, including the particle recognition percentages, solution cleaning rate and hardware features. The statistics logged specifically included the software and camera specs of the software used, the Accuracy rate and conditions required for the software used, drone body type, and designed environment. These features are categorized on the table 1 based on their best performance conditions and organized into categories.

Table 1 Features menu for practical maintenance drones (Dantas et al., 2020).

Software Systems 1

Software

Capture Conditions Parallel to Panel

Camera

-

Infrared Capability None

Commercial

Recognition Accuracy (%) 82.00

2

-

None

Current sensor

-

98.96

3

Python

Available

FLIR A325sc

97.90

4

MATLAB

None

Terrestrial Vehicle Above Panel

-

90.00

Table 1.2 Most common forms of cleaning solution used for soiling maintenance. Efficiency based on a 45 day non-pressurized cleaning trial (Sayyah et al., 2014).

Solution

Composition

Price (Per Gallon) (g/L)

Efficiency (%)

Water and Salt

NaCl+H2O

3.99

51.61

Ionic Solution (surfactants)

Cationic (Cetylpyridinium Bromide): C21H38BrN Anionic (Sodium docecyl): NaC12H25SO4 Sulphate): Zwitterionic (Tween-80).: C64H124O26

12.93

96.12

Figure 2 [REF] Display of Panel efficiency with solutions over 45 days (Sayyah et al., 2014).

The basis for the drone type chosen for the experiment was the software and hardware most suited for soiling maintenance performance. Each of these factors carries a corresponding success percentage and price for employment. The tables above indicate the most suited software for maintenance is software 4 as it features the highest soiling recognition rate without requiring an additional terrestrial robotic body or current sensor within the panel. In addition, the solution employed was the Ionic surfactant solution as it maintains much greater efficiency for the panels.

The third component chosen was the body of the drone. The body most suited to strong precipitation and higher load weight is the octocopter (8 motor). This build can handle 24 pounds of payload weight, 14 to 122 degrees Fahrenheit of heat and 18 miles per hour of wind resistance (DJI Spreading Wings S1000 Professional Octocopter with Gimbal for NEX-7, 2020). Finally, the total component price was found and compared with manual labor rates based on the price per component.

Figure 3 [REF] Normalized loss for dust concentration chart

The final piece of Quantitative data gathered was the respective statistics of dust composition relative to the plant locale. Data utilized included the effects of dust density,

composition, weathering, climate, and temperature on the current, voltage, and power loss in solar panels and turbines.

Figure 4 Energy lost due to particle accumulation on equipment from plant to plant

In this study, a function of the energy saved by the drones versus the (1) respective dust density; (2) Dust Composition; (3.) Climate (temperature and precipitation); (4.) distance from shore were all modeled to determine theoretical power saved per year by the drones.

The energy saved would be determined through a derived, original equation model.

Given table 1, the drone particle identification percentage is multiplied by the particle removal rate of the solution. This portion determines the cleaning constant of the drone per layer. 𝐶𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛 = 𝑘𝑠𝑜𝑙𝑢𝑡𝑖𝑜𝑛 * 𝑘𝑐𝑎𝑚𝑒𝑟𝑎 = 0. 9790 * 0. 9612 = 0. 9410 The cleaning percentage constant is multiplied with the given environmental constants (dust density, dust composition, and weathering constants for the first three figure types depending on the figure) to get the percentage of energy saved. This percentage will be subtracted from the original environmental constant to get the annual energy percentage saved.

These environmental constants are the power percentage losses of PV cells due to debris

layer density, soil composition, and weathering frequencies given from the studies (Rao et al., 2014). The bar graphs will display the respective power percentage saved in both decimal and Gigawatt-hour per year. Finally, these percentages will be averaged with the other matching conditions of plants A to E to estimate the theoretical yearly energy saved within the plant.

Compared side by side and subtracted with the actual annual energy loss from a similarly logged plant will determine the extent of effectiveness a renewable drone would have.

Figure 5 The power outputs globally and the annual estimated Plant Annual Power Output (Gwh) A

1348.00

Recorded Energy lost (%) 4.7

Days of soiling buildup

B C

5803.64 9.44

13 18

365 73

D E

3800.00 832

49 4.4

183 183

183

This method is vital in revising and considering the drone method as a new alternative.

Many factors may not come into play until the testing phases. It is crucial to account for outside factors and limitations to truly reflect on this methodology. The anticipated results show that future renewable drones save a significant amount of energy in various solar plant conditions due to higher recognition, cleaning, and range variables. The results would have proved that using automated airborne vehicles for maintenance will marginally increase efficiency, power output, and practicality in power plants without the need for extraneous upgrades or expansions. Plants of extreme size, climate, distance from the mainland, and dust density support the theory. In

addition, this method proved the cost efficiency of modern drone systems in maintenance compared to manual labor methods.

It is important to have such results reviewed for innovations in the industry and eventual employment to have plants produce much greater energy production with minimal construction and increase self-sufficiency of the systems. Testing innovations and revising current methods would create a marginally more self-sufficient society with minimal effort or expense. This method could bring millions more energy, expand the efficiency and output of clean energy, and save money for further projects.

Figure 6 Table illustrating red soil power loss relative to density, initial loss, and amount cleaned Red Soil Power Loss Density

Initial loss (%)

Amount Cleaned (%)

Net Loss (%)

0.12

4.8

4.5168

0.2832

0.22

6.1

5.7401

0.3599

0.26

7

6.587

0.4130

0.35

9.8

9.2218

0.5782

IV.

Results Limestone Power loss

Density

Initial loss (%)

Amount Cleaned (%)

Net Loss (%)

0.28

6

5.646

0.354

0.33

6.3

5.9283

0.3717

0.77

6.2

5.8342

0.3658

1.51

10.8

10.1628

0.6372

Ash Soil Power loss Density

Initial loss (%)

Amount Cleaned (%)

Net Loss (%)

0.63

2.5

2.3525

0.1475

2.08

12

11.292

0.708

3.11

16.3

15.3383

0.9617

3.72

25

23.525

1.475

Figure 7 Illustrating the net power loss from dust density of various compositions Plant A

Final density (g/m^2) 0.058

B

0.012

C

0.002

Annual net power loss (%) (Density variable) (Sand) 0.284 (Sand) 0.274 (Ash) 0.108

D

0.014

E

0.002

(Soil) 0.005 (Soil) 0.001

The first trend was between the debris density and the power loss of ash, limestone, and soil. Using figure three and a linear regression model, the trend between density and power loss was graphed. These values were then multiplied by the theoretical cleaning constant 𝐶𝑐𝑙𝑒𝑎𝑛 to find the percentage of power returned after maintenance. The difference was found and graphed to display the estimated power loss after the use of the drones The power loss due to dust density was interpolated from each plant and the net loss was found based on the line of best fit equations. This was done by dividing 365 days by the yearly number of maintenance checks. This new value represents the average number of days of soiling per year. The value found would then be multiplied with the daily airborne debris concentration of the area to determine the final density on the panel before maintenance. This value is used in the line of best fit equations of the most similar recorded mineral composition.

The next factor recorded was the relationship between urban dust composition at a constant flow versus the percentage of power loss. The original loss, percentage cleaned, and final losses are displayed below. Jungle, forest, and other uninhabited biomes of development feature less carbon and cement debris concentration. Desert biomes will feature limestones as sand and geological debris are present. The values of the nearest dust composition are applied to the sample plants in Figure 7.

Figure 8 Power loss versus debris composition (left) and debris variations across biomes (Right) (Power Loss Due to Soiling on Solar Panel_ A Review | Elsevier Enhanced Reader, n.d.)

Plant

Net percentage saved (%)

Net Loss (%)

A

4.42

0.28

B

12.23

0.72

C

16.95

0.99

D

46.13

2.70

E

4.14

0.24

Power Saved (GW) 1407.582 6513.425 11.04008 5552.94 866.4448

The final component evaluating the effectiveness of drones in PV plants is the relative size of the plant compared to the energy saved. This was determined by using the annual percentage lost in figure 1 and dividing the amount by the cleaning constant. This value was subtracted by the original to find the net percentage lost. This value was converted into gigawatts.

Figure 9 Energy based on plant location (Son et al.,2021)

Plant

Dust composition

Net power loss (%)

A

Limestone

1.172

B

Limestone

1.172

C

Carbon

5.274

D

Limestone 2

1.465

E

Limestone 2

1.465

The final percentage evaluating the effectiveness of drone maintenance on soiling maintenance is determined by taking the average of the three net loss percentages for each plant and converting the final value to gigawatts. This value gives the average power saved based on the debris composition, debris density, and plant location. In addition, the cost of drone maintenance is calculated by multiplying the fifteen-thousand-dollar price of a commercial

renewable drone by the plant area divided over one hundred. This is the price range of an MG1 octocopter drone with 8 engines, automated flight patterns, liquid spray systems and a chassis built for extreme weather and handling. These drones cover and monitor up to 100 acres of land per day (MG-1 - DJI, 2021). The calculations will be made under the assumption that the drones will cover 100 acres each. In contrast, the manual labor and cleaning prices were calculated by taking the annual cleaning cost of a 10MW plant of 25 thousand (NREL, 2020.), multiplying it by 1000 to get 25 million dollars per Gigawatt output and dividing the total yearly output on figure one by the value.

Figure 10 Plant

A

Average Power saved (%, GW)

Households Powered (Millions)

Annual Drone Price

Annual Maintenance Price

(thousands)

(thousands)

4.676 %,

5.92

288.00

2005

70.34

2112.75

5612

0.16

1371.435

10.25

172.41

370.5

4125

3.42

79.20

2080

63.032 GW B

12.917 %, 749.656 GW

C

17.624 %, 1.664 GW

D

48.317 %, 1836.046 GW

E

4.375 %, 36.400 GW

V.

Discussion

Drone systems employing debris recognition technology and cutting-edge hardware against soiling perform to a great extent. The results gathered demonstrate drone technologies are performing at optimal efficiency and can eliminate most debris. The performance of modern drones is over 95% and can reduce the effects of soiling on power output by nearly 99% on average. In addition, the cost-effectiveness of the drones was also greater than predicted. With every plant excluding D, the drone cost was lower than the price of annual manual labor for a plant of proportional size. Plant D was the smallest plant compared to the rest and had a significant price gap. Given the data collected, drones as a maintenance method would be an extremely cost and power-effective method for constant maintenance in solar plants.

The results derived pave the way for the expansion of the use of drone maintenance in solar plants. Previously, drones were primitive robotic systems capable of only scaring birds.

With the combined cost statistics and the effectiveness of modern recognition technologies, drones can prove to be more effective than manual maintenance and provide marginal energy to the surrounding communities.

These results featured limitations in individual plant research. The study worked off soiling data in the area for data. There were no consistent and reliable methods to get the actual values for energy lost and dust concentration density for the sample plants. In addition, the debris densities and composition statistics for the data came from a limited sample study. Values for debris were estimations of these values. Individual dust density and loss percentages for each plant require on-sight research and experimentation. Also, only samples of drone hardware and software were employed. The effectiveness of the variety of drone parts and Intelligence systems would require individual study and sampling. Drones of specific build and part compatibility

may provide more variable, stable results for price and effectiveness. Finally, cost calculations were theoretical estimations of annual plant maintenance. These studies assumed other plants had similar and proportional size and salary to those of American plants. The cost per drone and maintenance worker would require data on the team size and pay, training, drone repair, and drone expenses aside from the initial price.

In a future study, much more thorough practices would result in a more accurate theoretical result. Studies on energy lost on each plant based on soiling and current maintenance practices are needed. In addition, laboratory and field tests for each drone system and build would provide more accurate data on the drone's effectiveness in recognizing and eliminating soiling. Cost analysis on the individual plant maintenance teams would determine the actual value of PV cell cleaning and team size without outside expense. The drone cost analysis would require additional research into personal training, repair, and drone refuel. These factors may shift or alter the previous results and improve accuracy.

VI.

Conclusion In conclusion, the use of dust recognition software in cell maintenance is effective to a

great extent. The results illustrate a 95% dust clearing rate with a near 99% reduction in soiling.

Cost efficiency was significant as well. Drone price per plant was less than the yearly cleaning costs per proportional plant. Bigger plants were much more cost-efficient and had much more energy restored like the hypothesis predicted. Desert and dry biomes featured marginal power increase with a high of over 45%. Composition and density had a similar effect on soiling losses.

Future work would need to feature individual data collected per plant and biome specifically rather than theoretical generalizations in this study to have more accurate results per plant. This study concluded the effects of drone maintenance on solar plants. Previous studies displayed soiling effects globally, innovations in drone technology, and robotics in agriculture.

This study combines them to create a theoretical cost and power effectiveness evaluation of new-age drone technology in preventing soiling compared to other methods. With the strides of drone technology displayed, plants may consider this method in providing increased power output. More specific studies will appear and refine the generalizations into data per plant and test the practicality as a new method.

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THE SUSTAINABILITY OF FAST FOOD PACKAGING DURING THE COVID-19 PANDEMIC By: Christopher Chen & Eleanore Spies

33

Author Biographies Eleanore Spies is a fourth-year undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park. She is majoring in economics and minoring in statistics and sustainability.

Previously, she served as a B Corp intern at Bethesda Green, a nonprofit that works to address local environmental challenges. Outside of academics, Eleanore is the Service Vice President of the co-ed national service fraternity, Alpha Phi Omega Epsilon Mu. Eleanore is looking forward to working as a Student Assistant at the Office of Leadership and Community Service-Learning this upcoming year.

Christopher Chen is a third-year undergraduate student at the University of Maryland, College Park, studying Management in the Robert H. Smith School of Business. He currently is a student support intern for the UMD Division of Administration. Outside of academics, Christopher is a member of the Smith Undergraduate Student Association, the University Senate, and the Global Consulting Fellows Program.

Acknowledgments We would like to express gratitude to our faculty mentor, Rosellina Ferraro, Ph.D., an Associate Professor of Marketing at the Robert H. Smith School of Business at the University of Maryland, for her support and guidance throughout the entire research process. We would also like to thank the Research Impact Fellowship program staff and the Robert H. Smith School of Business Center for Social Value Creation.

Abstract The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted the sustainable practices of industries around the world. One particular industry that has been heavily impacted is the American fast-food industry.

During these unprecedented times, companies have reevaluated their approach towards packaging, specifically sustainable packaging. While it is known that consumers have devoted more attention to sustainability in recent years, the understanding of sustainability from a company standpoint is much less developed, specifically during this pandemic. Thus, through a secondary analysis of the top 50 American fast-food companies, this paper aims to address the state of sustainable packaging initiatives during the COVID-19 pandemic, with a focus on new and ongoing packaging initiatives.

I.

Introduction Food packaging comes in many different forms and sizes. It can be made from materials

such as plastic, paper, styrofoam, glass, and aluminum. According to the Environmental Protection Agency, packaging is defined by its intended life span. Specifically, packaging consists of “products that are assumed to be discarded the same year the products they contain are purchased” (Containers, 2021). Packaging waste leads to a host of environmental and health problems, including the overconsumption of limited natural resources and the accumulation of microplastics in food. In 2018, containers and packaging accounted for 82.2 million tons of municipal solid waste in the United States (Containers, 2021). Companies are increasingly acknowledging the importance of sustainable packaging initiatives, which protect the long-term health of the company and attract new customers. However, the COVID-19 pandemic has

revealed a significant tradeoff between public health and the environment as sustainability objectives are overshadowed.

One major industry impacted by the pandemic is the fast-food, or quick-service industry.

Both consumers and companies in the fast-food industry have increased their reliance on single-use food packaging due to safety concerns. As reported by CNN in June of 2020, “consumers and restaurants have become more dependent on single-use plastic bags, containers, and utensils due to health concerns prompted by the coronavirus pandemic” (Newburger & Lucas, 2020). Paper consumption has also increased during the pandemic; for instance, Chick-fil-A switched to serving all meals in paper to-go bags, which include napkins, condiments, and utensils (Working, n.d.). On a policy level, many cities have reversed plastic bag bans, resulting in larger profits for the plastic industry. The implications of COVID-19 on the environment remain overlooked as public health and socioeconomic consequences are prioritized. Packaging waste should be a top concern given its threat to the long-term vitality of our planet.

Fast-food companies have incorporated various types of strategies to limit food packaging waste throughout the past decade. These strategies include strengthening their recycling and composting programs, sourcing more sustainable raw materials, and incorporating reusable packaging instead of single-use. For instance, McDonald’s is aiming for 100 percent of their guest packaging to come from renewable, recycled, or certified sources with a preference for Forest Stewardship Council certification by 2025 (By 2025, 2018). Companies are also creating objectives for the disposal of their packaging waste. For example, Subway is aiming to only use packaging that can be recycled or composted in all areas with proper facilities

(Environmental, n.d.). Now more than ever, research in the area of sustainable packaging should be conducted as waste accumulates in our landfills and oceans.

By gathering published sustainability initiatives from the top 50 American fast-food companies, we intend to evaluate the state of sustainable packaging initiatives of American fast-food companies during the COVID-19 pandemic. Using this data, we can develop an understanding of the direction that fast-food companies are heading in terms of sustainability.

II.

Literature Review A literature review was conducted using six studies. The first study, Food packaging

during the COVID-19 pandemic: Consumer perceptions, found that Canadian consumers generally did not support tighter regulations or bans on single-use plastics but were more willing to pay for biodegradable alternatives (Kitz et al., 2021). The second study, Restaurants and COVID-19: What are consumers’ risk perceptions about restaurant food and its packaging during the pandemic?, concluded that consumers were more concerned about contracting COVID-19 from restaurant packaging than food at large (Byrd et al., 2020). The third study, Plastics and the coronavirus pandemic: a behavioral science perspective, analyzed how the COVID-19 pandemic can create a shift towards sustainable behaviours (Makki et al., 2020). The fourth study, Food packaging wastes amid the COVID-19 pandemic: Trends and challenges, reviewed how the pandemic impacted the use and disposal of food packaging and asserted that the adoption of bioplastics for single-use food packaging is necessary for a sustainable future.

(Oliveira et al., 2021). Next, Review of Online Food Delivery Platforms and their Impacts on Sustainability is the first study that reviews a wide range of areas impacted by the increased use of online food delivery (Li et al., 2020). The final study, Unsustainable plastic consumption

associated with online food delivery services in the new normal, proposes actions that online food delivery service providers can take to be more sustainable, such as strengthening their accountability (Janairo, 2021).

Various approaches were utilized in the studies. Two studies pursued a quantitative approach and conducted surveys to measure consumer perceptions of food packaging during the pandemic (Kitz et al., 2021; Byrd et al., 2020). The former conducted two separate public opinion surveys. The latter incorporated a historical approach using a retrospective survey. While the two quantitative studies utilized a primary research method, the following four studies centered on secondary research. Three studies pursued a descriptive approach (Makki et al.; Oliveira et al., 2021; Li et al., 2020). The sixth study took on a remedial approach by proposing recommendations to reduce unsustainable plastic consumption (Janairo, 2021).

The studies examined also varied in terms of research perspective. One study focused heavily on behavioral science and its role in actions and policies (Makki et al., 2020). Two studies were conducted through a consumer perspective lens, specifically focusing on Canadian consumer attitudes towards plastic packaging (Kitz et al., 2021), and restaurant customers (Byrd et al., 2020). One study explored plastic consumption from a sustainability perspective (Janairo 2021) and another utilized scientific methods to discuss trends and challenges associated with food packaging waste (Oliveira et al., 2021). Another study made use of the three lenses, economic, social, and environmental, to reveal the positive and negative impacts of online food delivery on sustainability (Li et al., 2020).

A number of concepts have been established to aid researchers in their understanding of the influences behind packaging waste. Commonly noted by researchers is the misperception that reusable products are not as hygienic as single-use ones (Makki et al, 2020). On top of this,

COVID-19 was originally viewed as transmissible through food packaging, although this idea has since been debunked (Marshall, 2021). In response, some companies moved in the opposite direction of sustainability as they introduced more food packaging to prioritize consumer safety.

Some stores even temporarily prohibited the use of reusable bags. These combined factors pressured companies to shift towards unsustainable packaging practices.

The literature review revealed some areas in which further research should be conducted.

At large, there has been a lack of research carried out on the sustainability of fast-food companies in the United States. Moreover, research should be conducted on the sustainable habits of companies, rather than solely those of consumers. The literature review also revealed that a greater number of studies focus on personal protective equipment, or PPE, rather than packaging, as the primary subject of waste from the pandemic. Lastly, the ‘fresh start’ effect occurs when a crisis, such as the pandemic, instigates major shifts in public perception (Makki et al, 2020). Thus, further research should be conducted on how fast-food companies and their customers can become newly motivated to make sustainable decisions going forward.

III.

Methodology We anticipate that fast-food packaging initiatives have changed throughout the

COVID-19 pandemic. This can be attributed to the widespread increased use of packaging due to health concerns, changing attitudes on sustainability and personal wellbeing, and the changes in company strategies due to the changing business environment. We anticipate that companies are struggling to meet their ongoing sustainable packaging initiatives. Across fast-food companies in general, we anticipate that more companies have implemented new unsustainable packaging initiatives than sustainable packaging initiatives.

The findings of the project will contribute to the academic fields of business, sustainability, and public policy. Companies can use these findings to gain a stronger understanding of the packaging initiatives of competitors and adjust or implement their own initiatives. Sustainability academics can use our findings to further examine how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted packaging initiatives. Finally, public policymakers can use this study to help guide the creation of policies to promote sustainable packaging initiatives.

The anticipated results will be an important contribution to the research field. First, the anticipated results will address and connect current gaps in knowledge, such as the sustainable packaging initiatives of fast-food companies in the United States; the commitment of companies to sustainability efforts and initiatives; and the changes in packaging initiatives in the United States during the COVID-19 pandemic. The anticipated results will also address and bring awareness to larger, overarching problems, such as the increase in plastic packaging in the United States and its harmful effects on the environment.

We selected a secondary data analysis for our research method. We analyzed publicly accessible, published information on food packaging initiatives for American fast-food companies. Company information can be in the form of press releases, news articles, reports, and other publications. Information was collected by reviewing the companies’ websites and other related websites that specialize in content on the fast-food industry and food packaging. These initiatives include specific objectives aimed to reduce plastic food waste as well as company decisions on the use or design of their packaging.

Our research focus is limited to food companies in the United States. Our sample is based on the 2020 QSR 50, a list of the top 50 fast-food companies in the United States based on 2019 sales. QSR is an American magazine that specializes in quick-service (fast-food), fast-casual

dining, snack shops, and pizza restaurants. We chose this report for convenience purposes as it provided us with a large list of companies. We conducted a comprehensive online search to identify packaging initiatives for each of the 50 companies. For each company, we aim to identify the following information: 1. Ongoing sustainable packaging initiatives: Increase in recyclable, renewable, or reusable packaging; reduction in non-recyclable, non-renewable or non-reusable packaging; reduction in packaging overall. Initiatives must have been implemented prior to 2020.

2. Whether a company has made progress towards meeting ongoing sustainable packaging initiatives: Updates on goals, missions, and objectives set in initiatives; progress reports; revisions to past initiatives.

3. New sustainable packaging initiatives: Increase in recyclable, renewable, or reusable packaging; reduction in non-recyclable, non-renewable or non-reusable packaging; reduction in packaging overall.

4. New unsustainable packaging initiatives: Increase in non-recyclable, non-renewable or non-reusable packaging; reduction in recyclable, renewable, or reusable packaging; increase in packaging overall.

IV.

Results We found that out of the top 50 fast-food companies in the United States, 21 companies,

or 42 percent have ongoing sustainable packaging initiatives (Figure 1). Of the 21 companies that have ongoing sustainable packaging initiatives, 11 companies, or 52 percent have made progress towards meeting their ongoing sustainability initiative(s) during the pandemic (Figure 2). Examples of ongoing sustainable packaging initiatives include long-term goals to reduce

packaging, to incorporate more recyclable, renewable, or reusable materials, and to manage packaging waste through methods like recycling or composting.

Figure 1 Number of companies that have ongoing sustainable packaging initiative(s)

Figure 2 Number of companies that made progress towards meeting their ongoing sustainability initiative(s) during the pandemic

We found that 29 out of the 50 fast-food companies implemented new packaging initiatives during the pandemic (Figure 3). 15 of these companies implemented sustainable packaging initiatives (Figure 3, 4). Examples of new sustainable packaging initiatives include Tim Horton’s napkins made from recycled materials; Shake Shacks’ AirCarbon cutlery and straws from Restore Foodware; and Tropical Smoothie Cafe’s edible straws from SORBOS. In contrast, the other 14 companies implemented unsustainable packaging initiatives (Figure 3, 5).

In addition, four companies implemented both sustainable and unsustainable packaging initiatives during the pandemic (Figure 3). Five companies with ongoing sustainable packaging initiatives implemented new unsustainable initiatives during the pandemic (Figure 6). Examples of new unsustainable packaging initiatives include the restriction of refillable dinnerware and the increased use of single-serve and to-go packaging.

Figure 3 Number of companies that have implemented new packaging initiatives during the pandemic, by type of initiative

Figure 4 Number of companies that have implemented new sustainable packaging initiative(s) during the pandemic

Figure 5 Number of companies that have implemented new unsustainable packaging initiative(s) during the pandemic

Figure 6 Number of companies with ongoing sustainable packaging initiatives that implemented new unsustainable packaging initiatives during the pandemic

Lastly, when analyzing both ongoing and new sustainability initiatives, we found that 13 companies are targeting the reduction of plastic packaging, 12 companies are targeting the reduction of paper packaging, and four companies are targeting the reduction of styrofoam packaging (Figure 7).

Figure 7 Type of packaging companies are aiming to reduce through sustainability initiatives

V.

Discussion The results provide an overview of the current landscape of sustainable packaging in the

fast-food industry. Less than half of the top 50 fast-food companies have ongoing sustainable

packaging initiatives. Of the companies that do have ongoing initiatives, only about half of them have reported making progress towards meeting or achieving the goals set in the initiatives during the pandemic. Although 15 companies have implemented new sustainable packaging initiatives during the pandemic, an almost identical number of companies have implemented unsustainable initiatives. Moreover, five companies that have ongoing sustainable packaging initiatives implemented new unsustainable packaging initiatives during the pandemic. Overall, the key takeaways from the results are that the majority of the top 50 companies do not have ongoing sustainability initiatives and have not introduced sustainable packaging initiatives during the pandemic. This may indicate that the sustainability of packaging waste is not a prioritized objective of most fast-food companies. Regarding company initiatives to reduce packaging waste, plastic and paper appear to be the most common types of packaging material targeted by companies.

The results can be used to inform experts as they advise companies in the fast-food industry on their sustainability objectives of packaging waste. In addition, companies can compare their own performance with these results to determine if their actions are more sustainable than the majority of the top 50 fast-food companies. This data can then be used to inform and create recommendations for sustainable packaging initiatives. Ideally, these findings will encourage companies to improve their efforts towards more sustainable packaging and waste reduction. Furthermore, consumers can use these results to inform themselves of the fast-food industry’s approach to sustainability. In turn, they can advocate that companies increase their sustainability efforts. Lastly, scientists can compare these results to their own studies’ findings.

This study is limited by the lack of information available to the public on sustainability initiatives from the top 50 fast-food companies. Full sustainability reports were only found for a

few companies. Instead, the majority of information on sustainable packaging initiatives came from company press releases and news articles. Because we only utilized publicly available information, we did not take into account any unpublished packaging initiatives. This aspect impacts the precision of our results. Moreover, this project is being conducted during the pandemic, which began only approximately a year and a half prior to this study, and it is currently ongoing. Therefore, relatively less information is available now in comparison to data from years prior. This reduces the scope of our secondary source analysis method.

Future studies should analyze a greater number of fast-food companies so that the results can be more accurately generalized to the entire industry. If the sample size increases, companies can be divided into categories; for instance, by the type of food or beverages sold. Researchers can also request information directly from companies in addition to the publicly available information from search engines such as Google. To supplement the data on sustainable packaging initiatives, researchers can interview company representatives to inquire one-on-one about their objectives. Future studies should also examine sustainability initiatives implemented after the pandemic significantly subsides. Thus, a comparison can be made to see if the state of sustainable packaging initiatives significantly changes before, during, and after the pandemic.

VI.

Conclusion Overall, the investigation of the sustainable packaging initiatives of top 50 American

fast-food companies during the COVID-19 pandemic revealed that less than half of companies are focusing on ongoing and new sustainable packaging initiatives, and around a quarter have implemented unsustainable packaging initiatives. The key takeaway is that throughout the pandemic, companies implemented an almost identical number of new sustainable packaging

initiatives as unsustainable ones. Our research opens the door to the exploration of the impact of the pandemic on the sustainability of fast-food companies. A sizable portion of the top 50 fast-food companies shifted their focus away from sustainability. We hope that unsustainable initiatives are only temporary in nature, and companies adopt a fresh start after the crisis subsides.

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Subway Sustainable Packaging Policy. Subway. (2019). https://www.google.com/url?sa=t&rct=j&q=&esrc=s&source=web&cd=&ved=2ahUKE wi58fyQ6InyAhVnQt8KHfEICB4QFjABegQIDhAD&url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.sub way.com%2F-%2Fmedia%2F_SubwayV2%2FResponsibilityPage%2FDocs%2FSubwaySustainable-Packaging-Policy.pdf&usg=AOvVaw1w2lTFl1HBoSAMXGkL2PIS. Sustainable Packaging. Wendy's. (n.d.). https://www.wendys.com/csr-what-we-value/footprint/sustainable-packaging.

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Taco Bell teams up with teracycle to Recycle hot Sauce packets. Flexible Packaging RSS. (2021, April 19). https://www.flexpackmag.com/articles/91191-taco-bell-teams-up-with-terracycle-to-recyc le-hot-sauce-packets.

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(2019, May 13).

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Update on Starbucks Journey to Find a More Sustainable Cup. Starbucks. (2020, March 9). https://stories.starbucks.com/press/2020/update-on-starbucks-journey-to-find-a-more-sust ainable-cup/.

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MICROFINANCE AROUND THE WORLD: A COMPARATIVE ANALYSIS OF MICRO LOAN PERFORMANCE IN ECONOMIES OF VARYING DEGREES OF DEVELOPMENT By: Graham Dilworth

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Author Biography Graham Dilworth is a Junior at the University of Maryland who is passionate about combating inequality and human rights violations around the world. He is currently studying for a Master of International Development as well as a Bachelor of Public Policy with a minor in Spanish. Outside of the classroom, Graham is heavily involved with refugee activism and resettlement, teaching a class on English language skills to Syrian refugees and serving as an Employment Specialist at the International Rescue Committee.

Acknowledgments I have many people who have helped me with this process that I would love to thank.

First among them is my mentor, Alphonse Kouagou who helped me navigate the incredibly complex international web of International Development. I would like to thank Lee Ihm and Nima Farshchi for the opportunity to participate in this program. Additionally, I would like to thank Meredith Arterburn for her assistance with data analysis as well as Tim and Katherine Dilworth for their support throughout this process.

Abstract In recent years, microfinance has exploded in use around the world and is now one of the most widely utilized and invested in forms of international development. Its use has expanded past low-income economies and is now present in all types of countries throughout the world.

Until now, there has never been conclusive research comparing which types of economies are the most successful environments for microloans to succeed. After comparing microloan performance in various countries around the world, it became evident that there are three major factors that limit microfinance success: a lack of government regulation, a high startup cost for businesses, and a high cost of living.

I.

Introduction

What is Microfinancing?

Microfinancing (or microloaning) is an alternative method of Economic Development.

Made popular by the Bangladeshi Grameen Bank, microfinancing is the process where Microfinance Institutions (MFIs) provide small loans to individuals or businesses. The goal of microfinancing is to extend formal credit and financing options to those that have historically been excluded from starting their own microbusinesses, small businesses with few employees.

This includes people in areas without formal banking systems as well as those that are unable to put forward enough collateral to access larger loans. As a result, the vast majority of microloan recipients are women or ethnic minorities with almost all living in rural areas. While there is no universally accepted cutoff on microloan size, these loans are always small, oftentimes only a few hundred to a thousand dollars. First popularized as a concept in the 1980s, microfinancing

has grown to become one of the largest tools of economic development in the world. In the last ten years especially, microfinancing has exploded at a dramatic rate and is now estimated to be a $43 billion market internationally. While mainly distributed throughout low-income and developing nations, microloans are present throughout the world, even in the most developed economies.

The main draw of microfinancing has always been that it provides money directly to those that need it and can use it. Early groups involved in the practice reported remarkably high repayment rates and improvements to recipient quality of life. In recent years however, this idea has been called into question. Studies have found that large portions of money distributed by microfinance institutions are not invested into businesses but are instead used for short term consumption. While this is useful to cover debts or help families in need temporarily, it does nothing to build a business or develop wealth. Despite these doubts, microfinancing has continued to grow at a rapid rate.

How are economies grouped?

According to the World Bank, the world’s economies can be grouped into three distinct categories. The first of these are Developing Economies. These are nations without large private sectors. This mainly includes highly impoverished nations without a formal economy, but also refers to those with centralized economies that are controlled by the government. In all these countries, the per capita GDP and quality of life are low and formal businesses are not well developed. In many cases, this means that there is a highly active informal private sector where payments are not recorded with the government. The second group is Developed Economies. In Developed Economies, there is a strong formal private sector and the standard of living is

relatively higher. This label refers almost exclusively to countries in Europe and North America but also includes Japan, Australia, New Zealand, and South Korea. Found between Developing Economies and Developed Economies is a group known as Economies In Transition. This refers to a relatively small group of countries found in Southeastern Europe and Central Asia.

These are Post-Soviet states that have transitioned most of the way to a Developed Economy but have not yet fully finished the transformation.

II.

Methodology Microloans are not something that have an immediate effect on their recipients. Clients

need to be able to spend or invest the loan and months or years down the line, can reap the benefits or costs of their investments. As a result, in order to gather data for this analysis, it was necessary to use the data collected from surveys and reports conducted by various organizations internationally. This was done by accessing the individual financial reports of NGOs, banks, and government agencies as well as data available on publicly accessible databases, such as Microtracker, a database dedicated to tracking microfinance performance within the developed world. Because of the variety of different sources used, the means of data assessment greatly varied. For example, the International Rescue Committee’s Center for Economic Opportunity measures its success through credit score improvements, the World Bank MicroData Library tracks business profitability, and the French Financial Board tracks self-reported evaluations of personal income. These are not comparable means of assessment, and directly contrasting them would lead to untrue and misleading conclusions.

As a result, it was not feasible to directly compare this data, and a qualitative analysis

became necessary. Quantitative data from individual countries and programs were used to provide a picture of the performance of microloans in the country that could then be compared.

The immediate instinct when determining the effectiveness of a program was to look at the economic status of the recipients and their businesses before and after loan use. If a client can start a business or increase their investment in an already existing one, it is often assumed to mean that their life has improved. And yet, quality of life is much more complicated than this. If clients are cutting back on necessary goods to supplement their microloans, they could be worse off even though their business is doing better. Because of the complicated nature of measuring success as well as the wildly different ways in which organizations assess their clients, it became necessary to group gathered data into positive and negative signs.

Signs of Positive Change: 1. Family/Business Income: This is the most commonly used way to assess program successes. When clients are making more money, they typically can better provide for themselves and their families. However, as stated above, this is not a foolproof method of assessment and needs to be looked at in conjunction with other signs of change.

2. High On-Time Repayment Rates: When a client is issued a loan, it is abnormal for them to simply hold onto it. They typically either invest it into a business or spend it on short-term consumption. Neither of these is immediately refundable uses of the money, so when a client can repay a loan, it proves that their income is at least high enough to return the loan plus interest. High repayment rates are a sign that the loan has not created debt for the client, and while not necessarily a solid positive benefit, is not negative.

3. Growth of Credit: This is a means of assessment only useful in developed economies

where credit scores are widely used. This is a more niche measurement, normally used by programs that are specifically dedicated to growing client credit but are useful for showing the effectiveness of those specific programs. However, it is not especially useful when comparing across different economic types, as credit scores are less widely used in developing and in-transition economies.

Signs of Negative Change: 1. Accumulation of Debt: This method of assessment is a clear sign that a microloan has failed. Instead of helping a client build up their wealth, it has led to them losing it instead.

This can be seen as a sign that the loan either had a high enough interest rate that the client was unable to pay it back, or that the current economy was not fitting for the growth of a new business. Either way, this is a sign that the loan was unable to achieve its goal.

2. Insufficient Income: When a client can successfully launch a microbusiness, but the income provided by it is insufficient to live off, this is a warning sign that a microloan was not large enough to set up a successful business. As a result, the loan has not lifted the client out of poverty and has left them with a business that does not provide for them.

3. Dropping Child Education Rates: In some instances, when a client can start a new business, they will pull their children out of school to support the family company. While the additional labor can help the business in the short term, it creates lasting impacts on the job opportunities and prospects of the child. This is an unintended consequence of a microloan and an example of how when a business is doing well, it can still be having negative effects on its owners.

After creating the framework for evaluating different microlending organizations, it became necessary to select the specific countries that would be focused on. In the three different categories of economies, the largest microlending economies were selected: India for Developing, France for Developed, and Bosnia and Herzegovina for In-Transition. The reason for selecting these three is that they have the most robust microlending organizations and economies and are therefore most representative of what a large-scale micro lending operation looks like in an economy with that level of development. Next, an additional country was selected per category based on specific organizations or factors that make them unique. In Developing Economies, Indonesia was selected as it is a rare example of the government running almost all microlending. For Developed Economies, The United Kingdom was selected due to its unusually high default rate on loans. For In Transition Economies, Kazakhstan was selected due to its abnormally high levels of debt.

III.

Results

Developed Economies In the Developed World, microloans are used to address low-income individuals who do not have access to traditional banks. Due to the higher cost of starting a business in a developed economy versus a lower income country, these loans tend to be larger in size, oftentimes averaging around $10,000. One of the goals of these loans is to eliminate economic inequalities and to increase social mobility.

France France has the largest micro lending economy in a developed nation, with an estimated

value of 300 million euros split across 45,000 recipients a year. (Diriker et. al) The vast majority of these loans are given to entrepreneurs attempting to start local businesses. Within this expansive economy, loan recipients average a low default rate of only 4.6%, (Driker et. al) a rate that is competitive with almost any microlending program in the world. However, a 2021 report by the French Financial Board found that 60% of borrowers considered the income that they were making from their microbusinesses to be insufficient. (Caisse D’epargne) That same report found that only one out of every three microloan recipients said that their fiscal situation improved as a result of the loan.

The United Kingdom The United Kingdom has a relatively large microlending program, estimated to be worth around 165-175 million euros. (Lynch) What makes this microlending economy especially unique however, is the high rate of defaults and write offs. The write off rate for microloans in the United Kingdom is estimated to be between 12.2% and 25%. (University of Bristol) This is a massive number of loans defaulting, over twice the rate of any other European country. The lowest default rates, on average less than half the rate of the market as a whole, were with loan recipients from immigrant and minority groups who did not have the collateral necessary to receive larger loans.

Developing Economies The vast majority of microloans are distributed in developing economies, mainly spread between South Asia, Southeast Asia and Africa. These loans are often only a few hundred dollars and are given out by NGOs as well as for-profit and government banks. The purpose of

these loans varies wildly as does the means of distribution and assessment.

India India has by far the largest microfinancing market in the world. The International Finance Corporation estimates that this system is worth $20 billion (Chavez), nearly half of the world’s microloaning market. The size of individual loans in this market are low however, averaging just $487 per person, but they are distributed across 58 million loan recipients, (Field et. al) nearly one in every twenty Indian citizens. For years, India’s microcredit economy has been touted as a major success story with tales of profitable small businesses being used to draw in funding from around the world.

This was all called into question in 2010 when 54 farmers in the Andhra Pradesh Province committed suicide after falling deeply in debt to MFIs. Many of these farmers were being intimidated and harassed by local debt collectors who told them that their debts could be paid off by life insurance payouts. This news caused a massive blow to the microfinancing industry in the country and investment plummeted for the next two years. Since then however, money has returned to the industry, causing it to increase tenfold in the last eight years. The debt caused by this industry was called into question once again in 2020. Due to pandemic related shutdowns and struggles, the number of late payments ballooned, rising to over 20%. Despite a temporary moratorium on loan repayments, collection rates are still 15% lower than pre-pandemic and the use of debt collectors has continued to rise. (Ghosh) Indonesia The microfinancing sector in Indonesia is a unique case, with the entire market being run by Bank Rakyat, a government-run bank. Bank Rakyat has very high rates of investment

returns and has become one of the most profitable banks in the world. Within this heavily regulated environment, microloans have been largely successful. Especially among female entrepreneurs, microloans were able to increase both family and business income by around 30% on average (Seibel). The effects of this were largely felt in urban areas however, as the benefits of entrepreneurship are slow to reach rural parts of the country. This is in large part due to the cultural differences in these areas. In many rural Indonesia, owning an individual business is frowned upon while participation in communal farms and projects is valued highly.

As a result, the rate of clients in rural communities who accept micro loans that they are offered is incredibly low (Wirdiyanti).

In Transition Economies Microloans in In Transition Economies vary greatly in their size and purpose. While the cost of living and level of private sector development are higher than Developing Economies, the size of microloans do not always reflect this. Oftentimes, loan amounts average around $1000, but can be larger depending on the microlending organization and location.

Bosnia and Herzegovina The largest micro lending industry in an In Transition Economy, Bosnia and Herzegovina’s microlending economy is worth around 300 million euros with loans averaging just under 1000 euros. (Diriker et. al) Initial assessments of the effects of these microloans were quite positive, with business ownership rates increasing by 11.6% among loan recipients.

(Augsburg et. al) After further investigation, however, it has become clear that there are unintentional consequences of these loans. Within the families of loan recipients, food consumption decreased by 15% while the children of loan recipients were 9% less likely to

attend school. (Meghir et. al) These are signs that these loans alone were not enough for clients to build their businesses. They needed to further invest their funds and rely on labor from their families to make their businesses survive.

Kazakhstan Following the collapse of the Soviet Union, the World Bank marked Kazakhstan as a priority area for development and microlending. One requirement for microlending organizations moving into this space was that they had to operate as for-profit organizations.

While this setup is typical in many areas, a lack of a strong centralized government meant that regulation of this industry was sparse and rarely enforced. Because of this, many MFIs began practicing predatory behavior, sometimes charging 100% interest rates and massive fines.

(Mamo et. al) As a result, many loan recipients, mostly women, were left deeply in debt to these institutions. The problem got so bad that in 2019, the Kazakh President Nursultan Nazarbayev signed an executive order releasing 30% of the population from the loans that they owed.

Making the problem worse, a 2021 survey found that 66% of microloan recipients were using the loans to pay for emergency costs, buy necessary short-term items or pay off pre-existing debt (Samma). None of these loans create further wealth and instead are used for consumption.

IV.

Discussion In the years following its popularization, microfinance was billed as a solution to world

poverty. It was advertised as a foolproof method of empowering local businesses and people in a way that avoided state corruption. In recent years, however, it has become clear that like any form of development and aid, it has its own problems. This does not mean that it should be

written off as a means of development, however. As evident in countries like Indonesia, it is possible for microlending programs to successfully provide jobs and income for their recipients.

The problems arise when these loans are distributed in economies that fit one of three criteria: low regulation, prohibitively high business startup costs, or excessively high costs of living.

When government regulation of microloans is low, MFIs are able to practice predatory behavior, trapping loan recipients in debt. This is especially prevalent in In Transition Economies, where a weak central government normally does not have the power or urge to protect its citizens from extortion. This can even be seen in rural parts of India, where a lack of regulation leads to the suicides of dozens of farmers. This is not a problem in Developed Economies, however, as these countries normally have stronger governments that are able to regulate the banks and lending organizations within their borders. These economies normally have excessively high startup costs for businesses.

When a microentrepreneur receives a loan from an MFI, they need to be able to support their business without bankrupting the rest of their lives. This is why it is possible for microfinancing to work in developing economies; the cost of starting a business is so low that clients can build a company out of just a loan. This begins to fall apart as economies grow more developed and beginning a micro-enterprise becomes more expensive. In places like Bosnia and Herzegovina, microloans are not adequately large. While In Transition Economies demand a larger investment to build a business, microloans stay almost as low as in developing nations, often only around $1000. Because of this, clients need to sacrifice their already sparse funds to make their investments work. In these situations, loan recipients need larger investments, often ones outside the range of a microloan.

Microenterprises work best in economies where the cost of living is low. This is because microenterprises are exactly that, micro. They are not massive money makers and do not provide their owners with huge monetary gains no matter how well they do. As a result, in countries where there is a high cost of living, microenterprises simply are not adequate. In France for example, very few microloan recipients are able to cover their living expenses and find the income from their businesses inadequate. This is especially a problem in Developed Economies and wealthier In Transition Economies.

VI. Conclusion International Development as a field has the potential to transform lives and eliminate the challenges facing the most vulnerable people around the world. There is always a push to find the most effective and advanced ways to serve others. For years, microlending seemed to be the solution that people had been searching for. As a result, it expanded into economies around the world no matter their level of development. However, over time, it has become clear that while effective in Developing Economies meeting specific criteria, this is not a practice that is universally applicable. In Developed Economies, microloans are normally not enough to help people get out of poverty and more drastic means need to be taken. For microlending to be most successful, it needs to be utilized in economies and countries that best support it: those with well-regulated and easy to access economies.

Works Cited Augsburg, B., De Haas, R., Harmgart, H., & Meghir, C. (n.d.). The Impacts of Microcredit: Evidence from Bosnia and Herzegovina. American Economic Journal.

Chavez, D. (n.d.). For women in India, small loans have a big impact. International Financial Corporation. www.ifc.org/wps/wcm/connect/news_ext_content/ifc_external_corporate_site/new s+and+events/news/india-microfinance-loans-rural-women.

Diriker, D., Landoni, P., & Benaglio, N. (n.d.). Microfinance in Europe: Survey Report 2016- 2017. European Microfinance Network.

Field, E., Pande, R., Bernhardt, A., & Rigel, N. (n.d.). Household matters: Revisiting the returns to capital among female micro-entrepreneurs. The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). www.povertyactionlab.org/evaluation/household-matters-revisiting returns-capital-among-female-micro-entrepreneurs.

Ghosh, S. (2021, February 3). Millions of Defaults Threaten Microfinance's Future in India.

Bloomberg.com. www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-02-04/microfinance-is facing-a-crisis-with-one-in-20-indians-in-debt.

Lynch, M. (2020, August 2). BEF - social impact report & annual Statement 2020 2021. European Microfinance Network. www.european microfinance.org/publication/bef-social-impact-report-annual-statement-2020-2021.

Mamo, C., Đorđević, N., & Nikolova, M. (2021, June 14). In parts of Central ASIA microfinance

is increasing inequality. Emerging Europe. emerging-europe.com/news/in-partsof-central-asia-microfinance-is-increasing-not-decrea sing-inequality/.

Meghir, C., Augsburg, B., De Haas, R., & Harmgart, H. (n.d.). Increasing access to Microcredit to encourage business start-up and Participant welfare in Bosnia and Herzegovina. The Abdul Latif Jameel Poverty Action Lab (J-PAL). www.povertyactionlab.org/evaluation/increasing-access-microcredit-encourage business-start-and-participant-welfare-bosnia.

Samma, A. (n.d.). Improving Access to Finance in Kazakhstan's Agribusiness Sector.

Organization for Economic Co-Operation and Development.

University of Bristol. (n.d.). Micro-lending for Enterprise in the UK . The Personal Finance Research Centre.

Wirdiyanti, R. (2019, December). Microcredit Effectiveness and Micro-Small Business Development: Lesson from Indonesia. Otoritas Jasa Keuangan. Étude d’impact du Microcrédit Personnel. Caisse D'epargne. (n.d.).

COMMITMENTS TO DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION: STATEMENTS VERSUS ACTION By: Adjoa Egyen-Davis and Divya Kumar

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Author Biographies Adjoa Egyen-Davis is a junior at the University of Maryland, College Park majoring in Cellular Biology & Genetics. She currently works as a research intern for the Engineering For One Planet initiative and hopes to pursue a career in medicine.

Divya Kumar is a sophomore at the University of Maryland, College Park majoring in Business Management. She is currently a senior policy advisor for a Maryland gubernatorial candidate and hopes to pursue a career in law.

Acknowledgments Many thanks to Dr. Nicole Coomber for her continuous guidance and mentorship throughout the process of completing our research. As well as Joanna Ihm and Nima Farshchi for their support and encouragement.

Abstract In recent years, the rise of multiple major social movements has led many Fortune 500 companies to address the problem of a lack of diversity, equity, and inclusion within Corporate America. These social movements have encouraged companies to make public statements on how they would increase diversity within their own companies, but many of the profound statements made have still led to no change. The research conducted analyzed statements made by large consulting firms in terms of how they would increase diversity, in comparison to how BIPOC (Black, Indigenous, and People of Color) employees felt working in these settings. The survey results found that despite consulting firms creating different initiatives to increase diversity, and hiring a small percentage of BIPOC employees, the majority of those surveyed still felt as though they had a disadvantage to their white colleagues. Also, a large percentage of employees felt as though they did not have equal employment and advancement opportunities in their companies. The results indicated that although many companies made statements to increase diversity, their statements failed to align with how BIPOC employees feel in the workplace today.

I.

Introduction Diversity is a term that is valued by some and ignored by most. To be diverse means to

show variety, or be very different. In the workforce, being diverse requires including or involving people from a range of different social and ethnic backgrounds and genders. Due to the rise of the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2020 more companies are now taking the initiative to increase diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) within their workforce. Many Fortune 500 companies have made bold public statements in how they would act to increase DEI in their businesses. Efforts to protect marginalized and minority groups from workplace discrimination

go back to the Civil Rights Act of 1964 that prohibited employers from discriminating against employees because of race, color, religion, sex, and national origin (Grissom 2018). Now almost 60 years later, there has been some progress but minorities remain underrepresented in leadership roles in workplaces across the United States.

In this paper, we focus on investigating whether the statements that many corporate companies have made regarding BLM and increasing diversity, equality, and inclusion within their companies are present within their workforce. Increasing diversity, equality, and inclusion within companies are one of the most important elements that contribute to a business’ success.

It’s important to assess whether companies are truly standing and acting on their statements or if it’s simply just empty banter. In the past, companies have hired a very small percentage of minority employees to increase the percentage of minorities in their company by less than 2%.

African Americas alone account for 12% of the United States population but occupy only 3.2% of the senior leadership roles at large companies, and only .8% of all Fortune 500 CEO positions (“Center for Talent,” 2019). Countless diversity trainings have been conducted each year yet minimal change has occurred. To increase diversity in an effective way, more minority groups should be hired but also feel welcome and wanted in their position. This includes being willing to listen to minorities groups’ thoughts and feelings of how they feel underappreciated and providing them with the necessary support and encouragement. Understanding what minority groups experience working in corporate environments requires listening to their wants and needs.

This is something that we have found to be a broad weakness by many authors to articulate or acknowledge, and as women of color, we have used our own experiences and knowledge to fill in those gaps.

Increasing DEI in the Workplace The revived Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement in 2020 prompted an increase in companies that are now taking the initiative to increase diversity, equality, and inclusion (DEI) within their workforce. Many Fortune 500 companies have made bold public statements in how they would act to increase DEI in their businesses. Statements such as, “We are standing up for equality and making progress on our bold goals that will be met with conviction,” or “the passion that our company has for increasing equality and making a positive and impactful change has never been stronger.” These types of statements are great to the ear, but unless real action is taken they mean nothing. It’s important to focus on how employees feel they are being treated versus how executives may think they feel. A report published by the Capgemini Research Institute surveyed their employees and found a great difference between the opinions of leading executives and underrepresented employees. From those surveyed, 85% of executive leaders felt as though their organization provided equitable opportunities for career development and promotions to every employee, while only 18% of the underrepresented employees agreed (Lazzaro 2021). This large gap demonstrates that empty statements will not promote change but true accountability will.

II.

Literature Review While the idea of DEI in the workforce was not something that was actively spoken

about, it has been found to be a huge benefit for companies both socially and financially. Bersin (2019) conducted a study in order to determine what qualities are needed to run a successful company and was able to break it down into nine levels. At the bottom of this list included the necessary fundamental elements that are needed to run a company, next was the skill in hiring

the correct people that would be able to lead and manage a team. Near the top were learning leadership development and forming relations with employees. At the very top of the list that correlated with the highest positive impact on business performance was the importance of diversity and inclusion. The idea of diversity and inclusion being found to be one of the elements that can make a company strive is odd to some, but it shows that the ability to attract and engage with people of all ages, cultures, and backgrounds is key to a businesses success. This can be done by hiring more diverse groups and placing them in leadership roles to help them feel seen and heard (O’Donovan 2018).

Although the simplest way to increase diversity within companies is to hire more underrepresented people, with that comes teaching employees how to work as a team and understand each other's differences. Grissom (2018) highlights a few ways this is possible by 1st referring to a few novels that senior leaders should read to learn practical tools to implement diversity and diversity initiatives in their organizations.

In order to establish the importance of diversity in the workforce, to begin with, our research layed out why, aside from moral and ethical reasons, businesses must begin focusing on diversity and inclusion. Businesses are ultimately going to make decisions based on what advances the company and increases profits (Martin 2014); according to previous research, it is widely acknowledged that diversity has a strong positive correlation with profitability (Lorenzo 2018). Therefore, by providing a business operations and financial perspective regarding diversity in the workforce, and surveying BIPOC working in corporate environments, we could further solidify the importance of diversifying the workforce and creating a more equitable working environment for BIPOC.

III.

Methodology For our research, we decided to survey to obtain data that allows us to better understand

how BIPOC employees are treated in the workforce today. We chose the survey method to collect our data since we could get our specific questions answered, it was convenient to conduct and distribute (especially amidst the pandemic), and it wasn’t time-consuming for these busy employees. The survey questions cover a range of related topics including workplace treatment and employee perceptions of workplace diversity. The overall purpose of this survey was to develop a better understanding of how current BIPOC employees at top companies are treated and how they feel about their company’s current and in-progress workplace diversity initiatives/overall attitude towards diversity in the workplace. This data helped us gauge the current atmosphere for BIPOC workers, which allowed us to develop modern, practical, and effective methods of adopting diversity in the workplace that goes beyond surface-level initiatives. The survey we created was sent out to BIPOC workers of a large, Fortune Global 500 consulting firm, and all responses were anonymous.

Since our research was focused on gathering BIPOC employees' opinions and feelings towards the way they are treated in their respected workplace, we asked questions that touched on not only how they personally felt towards their company's urge to increase diversity; but also how they viewed the representation of people in their workplace. In order to do this, we distributed surveys to BIPOC employees that work in Fortune 500 companies to gather their thoughts. The majority of the questions on the survey were in a matrix table for participants to record their responses from a level of strongly disagree, somewhat disagree, neither agree nor disagree, somewhat agree, and strongly agree. This was done to reduce the amount of space needed in the survey when asking similar questions. It’s been found that respondents are less

likely to complete a survey if they have to continuously scroll to answer multiple questions.

Also, by using a Likert scale for respondents to use to determine the level at which they agree with the questions asked provided a better understanding and representation of the participants’ thoughts and feelings. Matrices helped with data analysis, question-wording, and assessing multiple items of data by using the same scale. As for limitations, we only surveyed sixty BIPOC employees. Therefore, our data is limited in representing how the potential “majority” of employees feel about the company’s attitudes towards diversity. However, it was important that we only surveyed BIPOC employees since they are often the least represented in corporate settings.

We also included questions that specifically spoke to how participants felt their companies responded to the Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, and if they felt as though they saw any change in their company due to the movement. It was important to record participants' feelings towards their companies in general when it came to increasing diversity and inclusion because it provided a baseline view of where many of these companies stood on these types of issues. The questions specifically focused on companies' response to the BLM movement and if any change occurred due to the movement helped to answer our research question directly. It allowed us to see if, due to this global social movement, companies were able to positively or negatively increase diversity, equity, and inclusion within their companies.

Due to the rise of many social movements and BIPOC personal experiences working in Corporate America, there are countless articles and studies that have been performed to assess BIPOC experiences in the workplace. We are well aware of the disadvantages that BIPOC experiences when it comes to working in a corporate environment, and we can find the countless statements that companies have made in order to make BIPOC feel more valued and respected in

their company. It’s easy to make empty statements like these, so our research will help the academic community see if companies actually stood by the statements; and if not, to provide them with effective ways to make their BIPOC employees feel more seen and respected in the workplace.

IV.

Results

Figure 1

The figures above display the results of important questions asked in the survey. It is important to note that the majority of respondents somewhat disagreed with the last (bottom) three questions, asking about equal opportunity, encouragement to apply for higher positions, and equal career development opportunities.

Figure 2

The two graphs above display how respondents rated their company’s response to the Black Lives Matter movement (started 2020) and the Stop Asian Hate movement (started 2021).

There is a large disparity between the two with a combined 78% of respondents claiming BLM sparks some to a lot of change within the company. While an overwhelming 68% of respondents claimed the SAH movement sparked little to no change in their company. Understanding this drastic change between movements is key in figuring out how true and effective company statements are, especially amidst a popular social movement.

V.

Discussion Upon analyzing the survey results, we noticed interesting trends that had meaningful

contributions in helping us better understand corporate attitudes towards social justice and diversity. Firstly, when asked if employees of different backgrounds are treated fairly in their company, very few chose the “strongly agree” option, whereas triple the number of respondents selected the “somewhat agree” (refer to figure 1). This reluctance to be confident in knowing if their company treats those from different backgrounds fairly is part of the problem. Most people selected options lower than “strongly agree,” indicating that there is a general consensus among the respondents that fair treatment of all employees, regardless of background, is not a corporate

normality. When asked if their company has equal career development opportunities for all employees, participants again had a consistent response in not selecting the ‘agree’ options (refer to figure 1). This statement was one of the least agreed upon in the survey. Taking both of these results into account, the data seems to point towards a larger, widespread problem.

Why did the vast majority of respondents feel as though it’s possible for employees to be treated unfairly due to their background and that career development opportunities are not equally distributed in their companies? Yet, when asked if their companies have policies against discrimination, an overwhelming majority agreed with that statement? Do these anti-discrimination policies do enough? If they did, why would the majority of respondents not entirely agree that the intended effects are in fact in effect in the workplace? This roots back to the fundamental idea that these anti-discrimination policies are not enough, and can not solely aid a company in fostering a diverse workforce where BIPOC employees feel safe and respected.

Instead of only relying on anti-discrimination policies as a safety net (they are often in place to protect large corporations legally), it is imperative companies take the next step forward in enacting more meaningful policies that go beyond simply not tolerating discrimination. This is the bare minimum, and we can see these effects in the concerning way respondents viewed their companies’ attitudes toward fairly treating all employees and giving them equal opportunity to advance in the workplace.

The participants of this survey had overwhelmingly consistent responses when asked how their company reacted to the Stop Asian Hate (SAH) movement. Many indicated that the movement was barely addressed if at all (refer to figure 2). When asked to rate how their company handled the SAH movement out of five (one being very poorly, five being very well), the average rating was 2.81. The following question asked how much change the SAH

movement sparked in their company, with 68.18% answering it sparked little to no change.

When compared to the results of how companies responded to BLM, it was significant to see such a sharp contrast when another social movement emerged. Did companies feel the need to address future highly-publicized social movements now that they had spoken up during BLM? Was BLM simply a checkmark for large companies, indicating that they were in the clear for publicly supporting a social movement? The lack of consistent actions for SAH made it seem like companies no longer had the responsibility of speaking out against violence/about a major social movement unless it financially benefited them or ensured they didn’t lose any of their customer base.

VI.

Conclusion Large companies releasing press statements with inclusive language and big promises

sound great until said promises are found empty according to their own employees. The results of the survey succeeded in proving that companies’ diversity statements and promises, often in wake of a social movement, must carry more weight and authenticity to be able to make an actual difference in DEI in the workplace. Respondents offered insightful advice on how their companies could do better in improving DEI and responding to large social justice movements, most of which is supported by current research in the field. A few respondents explained that effective DEI measures should entail a more transparent decision-making process, especially from executives higher up in the company.

Transparency, coupled with proper resource allocation and funding to address DEI and work on company-specific solutions to solve ongoing issues was a trend in the responses. Proper funding and resources to say, a DEI committee, would be an excellent way to uplift BIPOC voices, giving them a platform to voice their concerns or issues with DEI or the company in

general. With these potential solutions in mind, companies should be able to better align their public promises with effective action in the workplace that will allow BIPOC employees to feel safe, respected, and valued in the workforce. Further research could inquire about how intersectionality can play a role in corporate America and how that specification impacts DEI.

Works Cited Center for Talent Innovation. (2019). Being black in corporate America: An intersectional exploration.

Bersin, J. (2019). Why diversity and inclusion has become a business priority. updated March, 16.

Grissom, A. R. (2018). The alert collector: Workplace diversity and inclusion. Reference & User Services Quarterly, 57(4), 243-247.

O’Donovan, D. (2019). Organizational Behaviour and Human Resource Management. Springer.

Martin, G. C. (2014). The Effects Of Cultural Diversity In The Workplace. Journal of Diversity Management (JDM), 9(2), 89–92. doi.org/10.19030/jdm.v9i2.8974.

Lazzaro, S. (2021). 84% of tech workers report their products aren't inclusive. VentureBeat. venturebeat.com/2021/07/27/84-of-tech-workers-report-their-products-arent-inclusive/.

Lorenzo, R., Voigt, N., Tsusaka, M., Krentz, M., & Abouzahr, K. (2018). How diverse leadership teams boost innovation. Boston Consulting Group, January, 23.

DEVELOPMENT OF SMART GRIDS SYSTEM IN THE NETHERLANDS AND ITS POTENTIAL IMPACTS ON ELECTRICITY CONSUMPTION By: Vikramdeep Hanspal & Chengzi Tian

88

Author Biographies Vikramdeep Hanspal is a Sophomore at the University of Maryland. He is interested in improving infrastructure and developing technology in the pursuit of a more sustainable future.

He is majoring in fire protection engineering and outside of the classroom, he is a part of Engineers Without Borders which works with communities to find solutions to their infrastructure needs.

Chengzi Tian is a senior at the University of Maryland. Majoring in Information Science and Economics, she is interested in understanding and solving social-related issues through technologies. Outside of classrooms, she is an undergraduate student ambassador for the College of Information Studies.

Acknowledgments We are very grateful to participate in the first iteration of the Research Impact Fellowship. We would like to thank Joanna Ihm and Nima Farshchi for this opportunity. In addition, we would like to thank our mentor Dr. Wei Ai for supporting and advising us through this project. With his encouragement and expertise in data science, he pushed us to better understand the world of data analysis.

Abstract With the growing problem of climate change and increasing urban population, infrastructure must be sustainable and capable of accommodating growing energy consumption.

This study explores the potential solution of “smart grids,” which is heralded as capable of decreasing environmental footprint and decreasing energy consumption. However, there are limited studies on existing smart grid technologies in major cities and their impact on energy consumption. This paper specifically focuses on the implementation of smart meters and their impact on energy consumption in the Netherlands. Smart meters are the central tenet of a smart grid system as a smart meter allows two-way communication between utility and its customers.

I.

Introduction Urbanization is imminent as the global population increases and more and more people

are moving into major cities. According to the United Nations, 68% of the global population is projected to live in urban areas by 2050. According to the expected growth of the world’s population, there will be about 2.5 billion more people in urban areas by 2050. With growing urbanization comes needs for housing, transportation, energy systems, preparation for natural disasters, health care, and much more. Compounding climate change with an outdated power grid system is highly likely leading to power failures. For example, during the 2020 wildfire season and 2021 winter, many Californians and Texans were left without power respectively.

These surging needs also bring increasing pressure on traffic, resource distribution, and the environment. In order to accommodate growing urbanization, a strong infrastructure that promotes sustainable innovation is imperative. A potential solution to the question of sustainable urbanization is “smart cities.” In particular, there is discussion over energy systems and “smart

grids” under the context of smart cities as a viable sustainable solution to the increased energy requirements. Currently, there are some smart grids deployments in the US cities such as New York City, Austin, Arizona, Oklahoma, etc.

Urban areas generate about 70% of the world’s greenhouse gas emissions, according to Galina Churkin, a researcher at the Potsdam Institute for Climate Impact Research. With the serious problem of climate change, steps must be taken to diminish the environmental footprint of urban areas while accounting for increasing energy consumption and being cost-effective. In this research, we will analyze the smart grid system in the Netherlands in order to evaluate its effectiveness. In literature about the grid, it is explained that a smart grid allows two-way communication between the utility and its customers. There are multiple major benefits, including reduced peak hour demands, reduced utility costs, and quicker restoration of electricity after power disturbances. The advanced grid system in the Netherlands serves as an example connecting household energy units and solar panels to the grid, which relieves energy stress during peak hours by storing energy during off-peak time. We hope to learn from this example for future applications of smart grid technology.

II.

Literature Review Smart grids serve as a modernized solution to coordinate, manage separate local electrical

grids and fluctuating demands. Research trends in this field show that there are 26,668 different research articles published about this topic in the past ten years and the number of publications per year has been steadily increasing. Much previous research has studied various aspects, including the system structure, technological advancements, environmental impacts, challenges, future prospects, etc.

Studies agree that compared to traditional grids, the structure of smart grids has many key features. Smart grids are known for their bi-directional power transition, distributed power generation, highly monitored with the aids of numerous sensors, reduced manual control, and faster response. Smart grids’ structure is mainly composed of three systems: distributed generation system, demand response system, and energy storage system.

Throughout the decades, many experts strived for innovating and improving the technological developments of smart grids. These technologies include Automatic Voltage Regulation (AVR), Energy Management System (EMS), Automatic Generation Control (AGC), Advanced Metering Infrastructure (AMI), Meter Data Management (MDM), Distribution Management System (DMS), Geographical Information System (GIS), Outage Management System (OMS), Wide Area Management System (WAMS), and Demand Side Management (DSM). Together, they found and supported the transition toward a well-functioned infrastructure. AVR keeps the voltage profiles within the limit, and previous research studied its control, protocol, and regulations. On the other hand, EMS focuses on large-scale reliability, and previous research covered its efficient operations and backup batteries. AGC performs optimal load distribution among the generating units to regain stability margins. Relevant research looked at the high-frequency fluctuations control, smart grid intermittency mitigation, attack detection, and the impact of data. AMI allows the customers to control their electric consumption and report accurate billings. Studies on metering in smart grids covered the connection and disconnection of end-users, as well as data collection. GIS integrates data into geographic views, and previous research provides necessary tools for network modeling and tracing, data accuracy, strategies, efficient workflow, and more. Also, OMS, restoring functions after outages, is another

focus of previous research. Relevant studies include power restoration, automated solutions for reporting problems, normal operations, emergencies, and analysis.

Environmental influences and user experiences are also other areas of research focus. The incorporation of smart meters can help people keep track of power use which will raise their awareness and can reduce overall and peak demand. In addition, smart meters prevent energy waste and increase the use of clean energy. Also, the Environmental Defense Fund found that smart grids can save thousands of lives by reducing air pollution by as much as “30% by 2030”.

Before entire cities implement smart grid technologies, testing is done in pilot residential neighborhoods. Uchechi Obinna et al. compared pilots in the Netherlands and Texas with a focus on energy performance and user experiences in order to better understand their connection as there is very little literature connecting the two. They found that these factors influence energy consumption in households: environmental characteristics, occupational characteristics, building characteristics, system characteristics, and types of appliances. In both pilots, the amount of energy consumed was less than the average consumption of conventional grids in their respective cities. Through surveys of participating users, they found that users preferred technologies that automatically shifted their energy use and also found an increased awareness of one’s energy consumption. Ultimately smart grids promote sustainability and serve to protect the environment and humans from climate change.

Main challenges to smart grids include reliability and security within communication and management. They found cybersecurity objectives to be the following: integrity, confidentiality, and availability. As a whole, they concluded that the technical challenges with secure data management and effective communication must be addressed before smart grids can fully be

successful. Because smart grids involve many technologies, there are many different issues to be resolved; however, the potential benefits make smart grids worth the time to fix current issues.

Despite current challenges, the smart grid revolution has begun. Studies have considered the future of smart grids and their societal, economic and political impacts. A study by Peter Palansky et al. concluded that existing infrastructure should not be replaced but enhanced with smart technology/grids in order to ease the costs of implementation. On the government end, policies must adjust for the implementation of the smart grids. Many experts agree that smart grids require various stakeholders, such as industry members, the public, and the government, to work together to implement multiple technologies. Also, different countries should work together to faster achieve technological breakthroughs and economic development. Moreover, they recommend that companies should be willing to take risks in order to open a new world of energy conservation and mitigate climate change.

As a whole, we seek to verify the cost-effectiveness of smart grid systems. Rather than looking at pilot neighborhoods as some previous research does, we will look at the Netherlands smart city system holistically and analyze its energy consumption over time in order to better understand their impacts.

III.

Methodology/Procedure Seeking to understand the impact of smart grid technology on energy consumption, we

decided to do data analysis using the Python Jupyter notebook. Specifically, we hope to understand how the smart grids system develops over time in the Netherlands and explore its impacts on energy consumption.

The dataset found on Kaggle covers energy consumption in the Netherlands from 2010 to 2019. It collects the public data published by the three most popular utility companies in the Netherlands: Enexis, Liander, and Stedin. The data comes in the form of CSV files for each year and each company. Each file contains fourteen columns: network administrator, code of area purchasing energy, street, zip code from and to, city, number of connections, percentage of electricity consumed, percentage of active connections in zip code range, type of connection, percentage of the main type of connection, annual energy consumption (kWh), percentage of consumption during low tariff hours, and percentage of smart meters in zip code ranges.

In order to answer our research question, we limited the dataset to data only from one single company. Since different companies have variations in their data recording, we chose to focus on Enexis as it is one of the leading utility companies in the Netherlands. Because Enexis covers over one thousand cities, the conclusions we found can be generalized to a typical city in the Netherlands.

From the dataset column, we looked at smart meter percentage, number of connections, and annual consumption of electricity. In relation back to our original research question, we sought to find a relationship between implementing smart grid technology (smart meter) and annual electricity consumption. Recalling back to the literature review, the smart meter is a focal point of smart grid systems as they are responsible for the two-way communication between the consumer and company. This technology allows the consumer to be more aware of their consumption as well as in control of their consumption. As a result, we were interested in the impact of energy consumption in actual practice.

Before answering specific questions, we first cleaned and prepared the original data. We started by compiling the necessary data into CSV format, specifically loading and combining the

Enexis electricity data from 2010 to 2019. We also add a column to keep the year explicit for later analysis convenience to find the annual energy consumption. Previously the data had annual consumption for each city and street that purchased energy. Given a large number of distinct cities and streets, finding the total annual consumption was necessary. We checked for any null values and found that it is not a big problem in this case. Afterward, we saved the concatenated data frame.

While there are many different methods to understand the development of smart grids over years, time series analysis is the best fit for the data in the Netherlands. We hope to explore and visualize how the total electricity consumption changes over time in the Netherlands at a city level. We also hope to understand how the smart meter percentage changes over time. We used a Python Jupyter notebook to manipulate data and generate graphs. Specifically, the Pandas, Numpy, and Matplotlib packages are our main tools.

First, we conducted a preliminary analysis to explore the distributions of the most important variables: smart meter percentage and annual consumption. An initial understanding of the general distribution helps to proceed with the following analysis more smoothly, and we believe histograms are the best way to visualize these distributions.

Second, we sought to obtain the smart meter percentage for each city during each year.

Because the cities have varying sizes, we decided to calculate each city’s weighted smart meter percentage. A benefit of this method is that it minimizes the disruptions of outliers. In python, we aggregated the total number of meters of all the zip codes that belong to one city and weighted it by its smart meter percentage. The results are displayed as a panel dataset. Next, we created a grouped boxplot, with each boxplot representing one year’s overall smart meter percentages across all the cities. It visualizes the average percentage as well as the extremes of

the data. We anticipate that weighted smart meter percentage increases over time in the Netherlands’ cities, which implies the development of a smart grids system.

Third, to better understand specific city’s smart meter development and energy consumption, we decided to use a sample to generalize all cities in the Netherlands. From 1101 cities, we randomly selected nine cities and generated a line graph plotting each city’s weighted smart meter percentage vs electricity consumption. Our anticipated result is that with an increasing weighted smart meter percentage, electricity consumption is likely to decrease.

Finally, once we understand both the smart meter development pattern and the general relationship between smart meter percentage and electricity consumption, we hope to quantify this relationship. A fixed-effect regression model is the best solution here because it applies to penal data by minimizing the noises of non-numeric predictors. The regression model will show the degree of the impact and the strength of the relationship.

At the same time, however, these methods and procedures have some potential limitations. One major limitation comes from the data availability. The currently available data only describes the yearly energy consumption situation, so it limits researchers to study energy consumption in more detailed ranges such as its monthly, daily, or even hourly pattern. Another potential limitation is that we only chose to use data from one single energy company and generalize its results to the overall case, assuming that Enexis represents the typical energy consumption and smart grids. Although Enexis is one of the largest energy companies in the Netherlands and has been involved in smart grids systems since the beginning, there are potentially still many variations among different energy companies, especially the regions where Enexis takes a smaller market. Also, due to the length of the research, we decide to only focus on

the smart grids under the context of electricity consumption, which ignores other areas of the smart grids such as its economic impact on the users as well as gas consumption.

IV.

Discussion

This set of histograms shows that smart meter percentage and electricity consumption have different distributions. The smart meter percentage histogram shows that the majority of data rests between 0 and 20. This histogram is u-shaped suggesting that the smart meter installations occurred rapidly as there are more percentages in the 80-100 range than the 40-80 range. The maximum percentage is between 95 and 100. The electricity consumption histogram shows a lower frequency of larger electricity consumption values with values between 0 to 5000 kWh being most common. Another note is that there are more values between 65000 to 70000 than 60000 to 65000.

The result of this graph indicates that the smart meter percentage tends to increase across the cities in the Netherlands over the nine-year interval. These results thus match our hypothesis.

There are outliers where some percentages were close to 0% and others were close to 100%.

These results show that cities in the Netherlands have varying degrees of smart grid development. With the majority of cities starting at 0% in 2010, there is a clear trend of development whereas, in 2019, 50% of cities are roughly at 35%-80%. The boxplots get larger indicating that the rate of smart meter development varies largely by city.

The result here is that 3 cities had an overall decrease in consumption with increasing smart meter percentages: Spaubeek, Oldekerk, Zijdijk. However, 4 cities had an overall increase in consumption with increasing smart meter percentages: Loosbroek, Wedde, Vriescheloo, Niehove. The other 2 cities' consumption stagnated: Moorveld and Eppenhuizen. Similarly, the regression model only returns a low r-squared value, indicating that the smart meter percentage only explains around 11% of the total variation of the annual electricity consumption. Thus, it cannot be said with much certainty that with increasing smart meter percentages, electricity consumption decreases. Such results fail to verify our hypothesis.

However, these results do indicate important information about smart meter installations and their impact in the Netherlands. The increasing smart meter percentage over time indicates consumers’ willingness to transition into a greener alternative to the traditional meter. As well as an increase in companies and government support of the transition into greener technology.

Although there was no clear relationship between smart meter percentage and electricity consumption, most sampled cities experienced some form of a decrease in electricity consumption with some cities experiencing an uptick in consumption in the most recent years. In addition, cities starting with larger annual electricity consumption all experienced an initial decrease in consumption, however, cities with smaller starting consumption did not experience the same dip in consumption.

While this analysis has some limitations mentioned in the methodology section, we recommend further data analysis addressing the limitations of our data analysis. For example, looking at data from multiple utility companies. Due to limitations in the available data, we recommend looking into energy consumption in smaller ranges such as monthly, daily, or hourly.

Weather and population play a major role in electricity consumption, so it follows to analyze the two over time and see their impact on consumption as they are variables that we did not analyze.

V.

Conclusion The smart city recently has emerged as a discussion hotspot and has been visioned as a

sustainable solution to energy shortage, environmental pollution, and urbanization consequences.

As one of the most important components of a smart city, the smart grid system provides two-way energy communications and smooths out differences between peak and off-peak energy usage. While much previous research studied technical potentials and challenges and drew bright blueprints for the large-scale smart cities, we focused on one case, the electrical smart grids system in the Netherlands. By analyzing the data published by a major Dutch energy company, Enexis, we tried to understand how the smart grids system develops over time in the Netherlands and explore its impacts on energy consumption. Through a preliminary study at the variable distributions, a time analysis that uses weighted mean to calculate the smart meter percentages at the city level, zoomed-in visual analytics at nine random cities, and regression analysis, we found that nationwide the smart grid system has grown during 2010 to 2019, but the development becomes more complicated at the city level does not show a strictly clear relationship with the electricity consumption. Although the results do not completely match the hypothesis, it still sheds light on the variations of smart grids systems across different cities.

Such variations might be influenced by many other aspects of the city systems, which encourages city planners, policymakers, and other related audiences to develop smart grid systems according to the city’s surroundings. Instead of using a universal solution to address

energy consumption problems, people need to be aware of the specific conditions about the city itself and consider the energy consumption holistically to ensure the solution fits the situation.

Works Consulted Alotaibi, I., Abido, M. A., Khalid, M., & Savkin, A. V. (2020). A Comprehensive Review of Recent Advances in Smart Grids: A Sustainable Future with Renewable Energy Resources. Energies, 13(23), 6269. MDPI AG. Retrieved from dx.doi.org/10.3390/en13236269 Basanisi, L. (2020, June 21). Energy consumption of the Netherlands. Retrieved from www.kaggle.com/lucabasa/dutch-energy Bari, A., Jiang, J., Saad, W., & Jaekel, A. (2014). Challenges in the Smart Grid Applications: An Overview. International Journal of Distributed Sensor Networks. doi.org/10.1155/2014/974682 Butt, O. M., Zulqarnain, M., & Butt, T. M. (2021). Recent advancement in smart grid technology: Future prospects in the electrical power network. Ain Shams Engineering Journal, 12(1), 687-695. doi:10.1016/j.asej.2020.05.004 Camacho, E.F.; Samad, T.; Garcia-Sanz, M.; Hiskens, I. Control for renewable energy and smart grids. Impact Control Technol. Control Syst. Soc. 2011, 69–88.

Dirkman, J. Best Practices for Creating Your Smart Grid Network Model; Schneider Electric Inc.: Fort Collins, CO, USA, 2013.

Hashmi, M., Hänninen, S., Mäki, K. "Survey of smart grid concepts, architectures, and technological demonstrations worldwide," 2011 IEEE PES CONFERENCE ON INNOVATIVE SMART GRID TECHNOLOGIES LATIN AMERICA (ISGT LA), 2011, pp. 1-7, doi:10.1109/ISGT-LA.2011.6083192.

Keyhani, A.; Chatterjee, A. Automatic generation control structure for smart power grids. IEEE Trans. Smart Grid 2012, 3, 1310–1316.

Obinna, U., Joore, P., Wauben, L., & Reinders, A. (2017). Comparison of two residential Smart Grid pilots in the Netherlands and in the USA, focusing on energy performance and user experiences. Applied Energy, 191, 264-275. doi:10.1016/j.apenergy.2017.01.086.

Palensky, P., Kupzog, F.. Annual Review of Environment and Resources Vol. 38:201-226 (Volume publication date October 2013) First published online as a Review in Advance on July 31, 2013 doi.org/10.1146/annurev-environ-031312-102947.

Rahman, F.; Rehman, S.; Abdul-Majeed, M.A. Overview of energy storage systems for storing electricity from renewable energy sources in Saudi Arabia. Renew. Sustain. Energy Rev. 2012, 16, 274–283.

Sridhar, S.; Govindarasu, M. Model-based attack detection and mitigation for automatic generation control. IEEE Trans. Smart Grid 2014, 5, 580–591.

Tuballa, M.L.; Abundo, M.L. A review of the development of smart grid technologies. Renew.

Sustain. Energy. Rev. 2016, 59, 710–725.

SYNTHESIS OF RESEARCH ON THE SUSTAINABILITY AND SAFETY OF AUTONOMOUS VEHICLES By: Kacie Ho

105

I.

Introduction Being environmentally friendly by reducing greenhouse gas emissions and recycling

batteries will create a much greener planet. Sustainability is an area of improvement for our world as it is projected that by 2050 the world’s largest coral reef ecosystem, the Great Barrier Reefs, would be dead due to global warming (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, 2019).

Thus, being sustainable and transitioning to lower and zero emissions engines will greatly help decrease the greenhouse gas emitted into the atmosphere (Great Barrier Reef Marine Park Authority, 2019).

The sustainability and safety of vehicles are vital in our world today as society leans towards technology and innovation. In 2018, the transportation sector comprised 28% of greenhouse gas emissions in the United States, which is the most out of the other categories of industry, electric power industry, agriculture, commercial, and residential (NEPIS, 2020). In addition, 83.1% of the transportation greenhouse gas emissions were from on-road vehicles not including motorcycles (NEPIS, 2020). With the rise in electric autonomous vehicles, road laws and regulations are in a gray area for these vehicles. The importance of safety with vehicles is tremendous as the United States had 227 million licensed drivers in 2018 and 229 million licensed drivers in 2019 (FHWA, 2020). The 2 million increase from 2018 to 2019 suggests there are more people driving by the year (FHWA, 2020). With the vast usage of cars, manufacturing a vehicle with the right safety requirements, such as airbags to use the right materials for parts is significantly important as it may cause malfunctions or defects in deployment to millions of users if it is poorly made. In 2019, there was a rise in Tesla, an electric car, battery combustions such as one where after crashing into a tree ignited the battery, the first responders were unable to open the extendable door handles to save the driver (Lopez, 2019). Findings of Tesla car

crashes and combustion suggests drivers were driving beyond tested parameters as drivers were recklessly driving over the speed limit and crashed (Lopez, 2019). However, there have been a few fires where the battery was undamaged such as the accident in Shanghai, China where the Tesla was parked in a parking garage untouched and unexpectedly combusted. Lithium-ion batteries are very volatile as an exterior cause and/or an interior defect could cause a battery to undergo thermal runaway igniting the battery and car (Lopez, 2019).

There are many ethical issues involving autonomous vehicles and how society is going to deal with them is still controversial. Moreover, as technology is evolving, global warming is also becoming more prominent today. Thus, this is a problem affecting beyond just University of Maryland (UMD) students but everyone who drives a car or owns a vehicle. This issue with autonomous vehicles has been documented by other scholars as there are journals and articles published from all over the world such as Singapore and the United Kingdom have been studying autonomous vehicles and their functions. In addition, there has been an increase in recycling motives from large automakers to recycling the lithium-ion batteries from electrical vehicles (BBC, 2021). This paper will build on these studies by tying these implications in context to the United States with in-depth literature reviews.

II.

Methodology A literature review is the best research method for this project as there are a lot of articles

and case studies done in regards to electric autonomous vehicles, sustainability, and safety. Thus, it would be most optimal to use other researchers’ findings to consolidate and deduce a solution from the findings. I started off using various articles from and published papers Trid databases

and google scholarly that were from 2016 to present, then used case studies to further justify it with subsections in the paper such as with the Dublin case study on rideshare.

With the limitations of funding and testing resources, it was best to stick with the literature review as paper resources are easily accessible as all my answers to my research were in various articles, papers, and case studies online. I used mainly quantitative data for the literature review to justify my findings and to get these findings I used various published papers’ data. I focused on comparing the number of people who can drive to the mode of transportation commonly used to the workforce which can be seen below in Figures 1 and 2: Figure 1 United States Transportation Demographics Population Size1

Licensed Drivers1

Vehicle Miles2

328 Million

229 Million

3,261,772 Million 33,244

1

FHWA, 2020 BTS, 2021 3 NHTSA, 2021 2

Figure 2 United States Transportation Modes (CSS, 2021)

Fatal Motor Vehicle Crashes3

Traffic crash fatalities3 36,096

Based on the state of current literature review research, the findings of my project contributed to the transportation field greatly as we now have statistics on how sustainability and safety are correlated to vehicles, specifically autonomous cars. I broke down the different sections that I focused on specifically for the literature review on what topics I am focusing on. I mainly focused on the sustainability and safety of autonomous vehicles, specifically recycling or reusing, saving resources, and safety and accuracy.

Some gaps in knowledge of autonomous vehicles will be filled as it is a growing technological field that is still evolving and new. Thus, addressed the problem of reliability of autonomous vehicles’ functions such as accident ratios versus human error and sustainability from pollution now.

III.

Literature Review With the increase of both partial and fully autonomous vehicles, there are safety concerns

due to the lack of trust in new technologies and laws covering autonomous vehicles. Some researchers considered that safety concerns may correlate with demographics rather than a malfunction of vehicle parts or systems. In the long run, autonomous vehicles are projected to

help reduce CO2 emissions along with decreasing fatalities from drunk driving accidents (Self Driving Coalition, 2020).

Sustainability in Cities Since combustion engine cars use gas, future autonomous vehicles would be electrically run due to how gas is contributing to greenhouse gasses on the planet. Such that to help mitigate pollution, a solution would be to use rideshares. Whether it is public transit or with friends, it is better than just driving alone. However, about 76% of the United States drive alone as their mode of transportation to work, while only 14% carpool and 9% do not drive to work (CSS, 2021).

One prior research on the sustainability of autonomous vehicles in future cities such as the options to share, own or use public transportation. This research dived into public preferences on self-driving vehicles based on socio-spatial and environmental impacts. The Dublin, Ireland autonomous vehicle (AV) trial demonstrated that autonomous vehicles can be used for passenger transport in one of its use cases towards their smart-city agenda. This research in Dublin helped officials conclude and look forward to seeing these vehicles in use in the future as a smart mobility solution for them. Thus, self-driving vehicles are seen as a potential proponent to urban sustainability that would not only decrease traffic but also pollution for Dublin, Ireland (Ransford 2021). The Dublin case study helps depict the potential sustainability implications of autonomous vehicles for benefits to a city which can apply to large cities here in the United States such as the District of Columbia metro area. Dublin and Washington D.C. are similar in size of inhabitants where Dublin has 1.36 million, while D.C. has .62 million; thus Dublin has .74 million more inhabitants and more population density than D.C. despite how D.C. is larger by area with about 68 mi2 and Dublin is about 46 mi2 (Versus, 2021).

With the increased advocacy in ride shares due to these green initiatives, vehicle emissions have been proven to decrease significantly which further means a decrease in smog from ground-level ozone (NSA, 2021). These effects can be showcased through the 2008 Summer Olympics in Beijing, China (NSA, 2021). Thus, not only does ridesharing help the environment but it also reduces traffic congestion and saves time and money from finding and paying for parking spots.

Sustainability in Recycling and Repurposing Another research has been conducted on electric car sustainability specifically in the aspects of its battery and recycling. With the increase in usage of cars and slow increase of electric vehicle sales over the years, the use of electric vehicles is to help sustainability with the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions from cars but also for the city as an initiative as a whole.

The increase of lithium-ion batteries is inevitable with the surge in electric cars, however, disposal or recycling of these batteries is a hassle. The batteries derive from cobalt and lithium which means countries have to depend on different main sourcing countries for these raw materials; For example, Chile (78%), the USA (8%), and Russia (4%) for lithium, while Russia (91%) and the Democratic Republic of Congo (7%) for cobalt (Livia et al., 2021). The different parts to creating a lithium-ion battery are complicated such that some components are low cost and high efficiency while others are more precise and may cause capacity loss due to high volumetric variations (Livia et al.,2021). A solution suggested was using recycled material as raw material to produce newer lithium-ion batteries for other electric vehicles to use. However, recycling these batteries is negligible today (Livia et al., 2021). In relation to my research, EV batteries are recyclable thus if more automotive companies with electric vehicles follow the practice, it would help sustainability greatly. In addition, with the batteries, there are always

some safety implications due to their volatility in certain scenarios where it would be good to explicitly clarify and accentuate to users to be super aware of.

There is also research on safety such as alluding to the previous study on the sustainability of batteries this review will add to it from a different perspective. Where it gauges how volatile batteries are based on the temperature and overall environment. The explosion of lithium-ion batteries is comparable to propane, hydrogen, and methane explosions. (Henriksen et al., 2019) How the batteries explode is comparable to these gas explosions signifying the risk factor of electric vehicles when they are not within the safe levels of heat and pressure. The risk factor of these explosions from batteries further suggests that ensuring a car does not overheat or over-exhaust the engine is key to preventing battery combustion.

Safety of Autonomous Vehicles With the increase of safety measures over the years, autonomous vehicles have been modified to be adaptable to various environments to decrease accidents occurring. According to Tesla’s autopilot feature statistics, in quarter 1 of 2021, Tesla registered​​“one accident for every 4.19 million miles driven,” (Tesla, 2021). A case study in Melbourne, Australia focused on comparing autonomous vehicles and human-driven vehicles when encountering intersections.

Since autonomous vehicles have a more precise grasp of desired speed distribution, they have a narrower range of 69 km/h to 71 km/h in comparison to human-driven vehicles of 65 km/h to 75 km/h (Morando et al., 2018). The narrower range indicates that autonomous vehicles have more control over their throttle while humans are more inconsistent with their speed distribution.

According to another study from Kalra and Paddock, their model found that autonomous cars reduced the crash rate by at least 50% of the number of crashes per million miles driven in comparison to overall human driving cars in all 3 severities of crashes (Hicks, 2018). How

self-driving cars decrease crashes by over 50% suggests that self-driving cars are more reliable than human drivers. Autonomous vehicles do not need to turn their head to check for blind spots when backing out of a parking space, thus, their sensors detect unseen vehicles (Consumer Reports Inc, 2014). Furthermore, the lane-departure warning system allows cars from drifting out of the lane through cameras and radar detecting lane markings (Consumer Reports Inc, 2014).

With this system, it helps prevent sleepy or distracted car accidents as some lane-departure warning systems also take corrective steering action to keep cars in the lane (Consumer Reports Inc, 2014).

Research Gaps Though there is still more research to be done, the sustainability and safety of autonomous vehicles have had a lot of research done over the past 4 years that justifies their existence and advancing technologies. Some other research that is needed is whether or not manufacturing plays a role in sustainability such as using recycled materials, however, would this impact the safety of the vehicle? The usage of recycled materials may be dangerous as these lithium-ion batteries can be repurposed as raw materials, but on the other hand, repurposing these batteries may not guarantee the utmost quality. Understanding how recycled and repurposed lithium-ion batteries would help gauge the full sustainability of electric autonomous vehicles from the day a vehicle starts coming together in pieces to when it is being used by humans.

IV.

Discussion and Conclusion This research consolidates all the individual case studies and studies done on autonomous

vehicles, reusing autonomous vehicle parts, and the safety of autonomous vehicles to gauge a safe alternative to saving the environment from greenhouse gas emissions while ensuring the

safety of passengers. This research gets people to realize that autonomous vehicles are an evolving technology where safety is only becoming more technologically advanced. Moreover, recycling recyclable materials address the problem of helping the environment and preventing waste, thus, repurposing it allows parts to be used again rather than go to waste.

With my findings, other researchers can do in-depth research on testing on manufacturing autonomous vehicles made of recycled materials and gauge the reliability of these vehicles.

Furthermore, this would gain more insight into the public opinions, such as how many people would trust these vehicles and opt to ride in vehicles composed of recycled materials, to understand consumers but also change the public image on vehicles made of recycling materials, if feedback is negative. On the other hand, my research is unable to tell people if the benefits of creating a vehicle made of recycled materials outweigh the costs. Thus, there would be more in-depth research done on recycling materials, car functions, safety, and implications.

With these findings, it would help our planet be more sustainable and resolve some safety concerns over autonomous vehicles. Creating autonomous vehicles and vehicles, in general, using repurposed and/or recycled materials would greatly cut waste and preserve resources.

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Hawkins, A. J. (2021, July 2). A Tesla Model S Plaid caught fire in Pennsylvania, briefly trapping the driver inside. The Verge. www.theverge.com/2021/7/2/22560662/tesla-model-s-plaid-fire-driver-battery-pennsylva nia.

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EXPLORING THE CURRENT VALUE OF ESG METRICS IN THE INVESTING COMMUNITY: A COMPREHENSIVE REVIEW By: Roshini Parameswaran

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Author Biography Roshini Parameswaran is a sophomore at the University of Maryland, pursuing a degree in finance. Her research interests include ESG metrics and sustainability. She is currently working with her Gemstone Honors team, ChargeX, to develop a universal charger and improved charging network for Electric Vehicles (EVs) to encourage higher EV use. She is also looking forward to continuing her work regarding ESG metrics this Fall with the Smith School.

Acknowledgments I would like to thank my mentor, Dr. Michael Gerst, for his guidance and technical knowledge throughout this process. I would also like to thank Ms. Joanna Ihm and Mr. Nima Farshchi for providing me with the opportunity to participate in the Research Impact Fellowship this summer. Finally, I would like to thank my parents, Mr. and Mrs. Parameswaran, for their unconditional support throughout my academic career. Without the support and encouragement of these individuals, this project would not have been possible.

Abstract Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) metrics are standards used to measure a company’s sustainability practices. These metrics and subsequent ratings have gained popularity in the investing community, especially among those who participate in socially responsible investing (SRI). Since ESG metrics are relatively new, there is still research to be done regarding their current value in the investing community. For this research, a literature review was conducted to fulfill the three primary goals: (1) determine how valuable ESG ratings are amongst the investing community by analyzing ESG ratings versus company market value, (2) identify if there is a correlation between a company’s ESG score and their environmental impact, and (3) highlight the shortcomings of ESG metrics in their current state. From the review, it was concluded that there is currently no definitive correlation between a company’s ESG rating and its market value. The amount of information about a company’s environmental impact in relation to ESG rating is also very minimal, but there is likely a positive correlation between the two variables. It is concluded that more research in the field is required to definitively understand these relationships outlined in research goals one and two.

I.

Introduction With an increased spotlight on sustainability and environmental consciousness, there

is an expectation for companies to announce and follow through with more sustainable practices. Environmental, Social, Governance (ESG) metrics are standards to which companies are held, with a primary focus on sustainability practices. Companies are given ESG ratings based on various criteria, indicating their compliance with various sustainability measures that are developed by ESG raters. These metrics and ratings are becoming an

increasingly relevant standard in the investing community, as sustainability and pro-environment values continually gain popularity in the socially responsible investing (SRI) sector (CFA Institute, 2021).

The use of ESG metrics as a standard amongst the investing community is a relatively new concept. The introduction of ESG metrics only occurred in the early 2000s, and their significance has only ramped up in recent years (Atkins, 2020). Since ESG metrics are still in the early stages of their debut, the amount of research done regarding the metrics and their relationship to companies’ performance and environmental impact is extremely limited.

However, the standards’ growing importance in the investing world provides a plethora of sources to gain a deeper understanding, including existing literature and articles.

There are three primary purposes of this study, all of which are fulfilled through a literature review of research conducted by experts in the field. The first purpose is to understand how valuable ESG ratings are for the investing community when developing portfolios, as there is currently no definitive relationship between a company’s ESG ratings and its market value. Understanding this relationship is crucial for those involved in SRI, as it would allow these investors to know if investing in companies coinciding with their personal values results in sacrificing profits. The second purpose of this study is to understand the correlation, if any, between company ratings and their environmental impact, as the environment is one of the three branches of ESG metrics. It is important to understand if a company's rating, which is an indication of their environment impacting behavior, actually correlates with their environmental influence because investors could potentially be sacrificing profits to invest in companies with higher ESG ratings. The third purpose is to analyze the shortcomings of ESG metrics and determine where improvements can be made to further

bolster their use in the investing community. Highlighting the shortcomings of ESG metrics and ratings can make investors more vigilant when using the metrics for portfolio development.

II.

Methodology And Procedure For this project, a literature review is conducted to gain a well-rounded understanding of

ESG standards in regards to both their relationship to a company’s financial success and environmental impact. Given the young age of these metrics, it is vital to understand how valuable ESG ratings can be for investors interested in utilizing this tool.

The data for this project is collected through peer-reviewed research papers regarding ESG metrics and sustainability goals. When selecting sources, including diverse research and perspectives is considered to maintain a non-biased research environment on behalf of the researcher. Research papers are found using reliable databases including Google Scholar anD UMD Libraries using combinations of keywords such as “ESG metrics,” “financial performance,” “investing,” “sustainability,” “sustainability goals,” and “validity.” For data collection, the researcher selects a research paper to study based on which of the three purposes is being studied. Once the paper has been selected, the researcher thoroughly reads through the paper. After the initial read-through, the researcher annotates portions of the paper that provide data, both qualitative and quantitative, regarding the validity, importance, or relevance of ESG metrics. The researcher then sorts the data into the database to determine which perspective it supports based on the organizational chart shown below in figure 2.1. The top organizational chart is for research purpose 1, which aims to determine if the correlation between a company's ESG rating and market value is positive, negative, or

neutral. The bottom chart regards research purpose 2, which is to determine if there exists a correlation between a company's ESG rating and their environmental impact. This spectrum categorizes information into three categories: correlation exists, no correlation exists, or there is not enough information to make a judgment. After determining the position that a paper supports, the researcher elaborates on the paper’s stance in the literature review.

The findings of this project are relevant to those in the investing community. The debut of ESG metrics only happened in the early 21st century, and these metrics have gained relevance in research years. Nowadays, investors prioritize sustainability and eco-friendly views amongst companies when making financial decisions. This is a result of a more environmentally

conscious society. These metrics have been established as a method to determine how well companies are able to follow various environmental, societal, and governance standards. Some investors now consider this score when making investment decisions. However, it is still important for researchers to understand how valid ESG metrics are in grading company behavior and practices. This study will help contribute to the field by summarizing existing research, while also generating leading questions for future work. The overarching goal is to further understand if ESG metrics are a good measurement for investors to use when making financial decisions. As a researcher, the goal is to find various sources that provide reliable information on the metrics. This includes research that both supports or denies the metrics’ validity and reliability.

III.

Literature Review The introduction of ESG metrics occurred in the early 2000s, and they only began

gaining traction in the 2010s as a standard in the investing community (Atkins, 2020) with the rise of practices such as socially responsible investing (SRI). Because these standards are relatively new, it is difficult for investors to navigate and invest knowledgeably due to “little guidance on how to incorporate ESG in portfolio choice” (Pederson et al., 2020). For investors, it is important to seek companies following ESG metrics to participate in “responsible investing” without sacrificing their returns. Reviewing existing literature has helped determine that there are three potential relationships between ESG ratings and a company’s market value: negative, neutral, and positive (Hassel and Semenova, 2013). Hassel and Semenova have found that there is research supporting all of these relationships, most of which averages out to there being a weak positive correlation between the rating and company market value. Having a deeper

understanding of the relationship between both variables is crucial when encouraging socially responsible investing (SRI), especially amongst investors who would like to make a profit doing so.

All potential relationships between ESG ratings and company market value- positive, negative, and neutral- were observed in the review of the literature. A positive correlation was found by researchers who observed how the pandemic has affected ESG performance and subsequent investing practices in Chinese CSI300 stocks, acknowledging that individuals are interested in ESG ratings because of “actively promoted...ethical investment practices” and “enhance[d] the performance of a managed portfolio” (Broadstock et al., 2019). They also mentioned that the significance of the standards has only taken off in recent years, as “early evidence on the benefits of ESG metrics was mixed”. Looking at the CSI300 stocks during the period of the COVID-19 crisis, the researchers found that short-term profitability of stocks with high ESG ratings was greater than those with low ESG ratings. Similar studies, done on the European market, during the pandemic suggest that there exist “negative and statistically significant coefficients on ESG Score when considering a firm’s idiosyncratic volatility as the dependent variable” (Engelhardt et al., 2021). This suggests that in the European market, higher ESG ratings suggest lower volatility in the asset, making it a safer investment. Though there is evidence of a positive correlation, there is also evidence suggesting both negative and neutral correlations between the two variables. Evidence has shown that in European markets, investors need to “sacrifice financial performance in order to construct certain socially responsible portfolios”, as many of the high-rated portfolios that were constructed significantly underperformed in several categories (Auer and Schumacher, 2016). This conclusion is contradictory to the research done by Engelhardt et al., both of whom studied the European

market. When compared to Europe, Auer and Schumacher suggest that investors in both the Asia-Pacific region and in the United States can invest ethically and be “consistent with their personal value systems and beliefs without sacrificing financial performance in comparison to the benchmark”. They found that there is “no significant financial advantage or disadvantage” when comparing ESG-based portfolios and benchmarks or typical portfolios based on both portfolios’ Sharpe ratios, supporting a neutral correlation between companies’ ESG rating and market value. In other regions, such as Latin America, similar results have been yielded. Latin American companies, multilatinas, with “the best ESG scores tend to be less profitable,” indicating a negative correlation between scores and company value (Duque-Grisales and Aguilera-Caracuel, 2019). Duque-Grisales and Aguilera-Caracuel speculate reasons for this correlation including incorrect implementations of initiative leading to stakeholder denial or sacrificing cash flow leading to poorer performance.

In addition to understanding the relationship between ESG values and company performance, this literature review also aims to understand the relationship between ESG ratings and company environmental impact, which is the second research goal. More broadly, the relationship between corporate social responsibility (CSR) and environmental impact will be observed, as increasing CSR can have positive impacts on ESG scores. Empirical evidence suggests that “firms with CSR committees are more effective in improving social conditions and supporting environmental performance initiatives” and companies with larger, more experienced committees are able to more effectively “improve the firm’s social welfare and mitigat[e] carbon footprints” (Saeed et al., 2021). Firms are typically able to increase ESG and CSR scores, specifically in the environmental branch, by participating in carbon footprint reducing practices regarding “production and consumption of electricity, heating and cooling,

building, travel and transport, and packaging” (Penz and Polsa, 2018). Changes in behavior in these departments, with the intent to decrease carbon footprints, are typically addressed to stakeholders including customers, employees, and suppliers. Penz and Polsa determined that companies intend to portray themselves as having a “generally environmentally friendly attitude”, as these values are attractive to SRI investors. Further understanding the specific relationship between ESG metrics and environmental impact requires more transparency on behalf of the companies being rated, as the environmental area of ESG metrics has the lowest information disclosure rate (Tamimi and Sebastianelli, 2017).

Though there is a rise in the popularity of ESG ratings and SRI, there are still shortcomings of the metrics that have been identified in the literature. One of the largest shortcomings in this sector is the lack of standardization amongst ESG ratings provided by various providers. Having no standard can be problematic when trying to study various companies since there are several inconsistencies amongst different raters (Kotsantonis and Serafeim, 2019). The researchers recommend that there be a baseline for ESG reporting, even if companies would like to customize their reports. In addition to the lack of standardization, Kotsantonis and Serafeim also found that the companies being rated have a “lack of transparency” which leads to “market-wide inconsistencies”, minimizing the value and reliability of ESG ratings. These differences in rating are not only due to the different companies providing ratings, but also the methodologies that these raters use, as they take “unique approach[es] based on [their] perspective” (Li and Polychronopoulos, 2020). Li and Polychronopoulos suggest that investors still use ESG ratings in developing their portfolio, but focus on the values the rating providers use in developing a company’s score. Other research also supports this recommendation, stating that investors should “determine the ESG constructs

that are material to their investment strategies and then match them with an ESG rating product that closely resembles those constructs” (Abhayawansa and Tyagi, 2021).

IV.

Discussion The overarching goal of the literature review is to fulfill the three purposes: to (1)

determine how valuable ESG ratings are amongst the investing community by analyzing ESG ratings versus company market value, (2) identify if there is a correlation between a company’s ESG score and their environmental impact, and (3) highlight the shortcomings of ESG metrics in their current state.

For this study, the first objective is to determine if the relationship between a company’s ESG rating and its market value is positive, negative, or neutral. Understanding this correlation is vital for the investing community since it would allow for SRI while understanding the financial outcome. The lack of consistency amongst different studies, especially when observing similar markets, indicates the need to conduct further research in order to definitively state a correlation. There is evidence supporting all three of the potential correlations: positive, negative, and neutral. This disparity in results makes it difficult for investors to utilize ESG ratings when building their portfolios, as they are not certain what the financial outcome will be.

It should be noted that the studies supporting a positive correlation between ratings and market value were conducted during the pandemic, which may have provided a unique market for research. Further studies, from various time periods and market conditions, would be necessary to definitively determine the relationship between ESG ratings and a company’s market value or financial performance.

The second objective of this study was to identify a potential correlation between a

company’s ESG ratings and its environmental impact. The existing literature shows that companies that have higher disclosure rates regarding company environmental practices have higher ESG scores. This is likely because companies that spend more resources on practicing good environmental behaviors would like to be acknowledged by their stakeholders in a positive manner. However, more research is needed to understand this relationship as well, since there is extremely limited research regarding ESG ratings and their correlation to environmental impact. The relationship between both variables can be better understood if there is more data to analyze, which would be a result of higher company transparency regarding environmental reports. The final purpose of this study was to identify the shortcomings of ESG ratings in their current state. The primary shortcoming of the metrics is the lack of standardization amongst various ESG raters. Because of this, there is a high amount of score variation, even for the same company on behalf of different raters. It should be noted that even in the various research papers used for this study, the different researchers used a variety of ESG raters including Refinitiv and Bloomberg. With the lack of standardization, it falls on the hands of the investors to research and understand each rater’s rubrics to understand which grading system best matches their personal values. Decreasing the variability in ESG ratings of companies can help investors develop their portfolios more efficiently, without having to spend additional time understanding how companies are being evaluated.

It should be acknowledged that there are limitations to the study which could have affected the results. With information being found to fulfill all purposes of the study, it should also be noted that there are limitations to this study. The primary limitation is the amount of time available for data collection. Since the data collection period was limited, only a minimal amount of research could be analyzed for this review. In the future, it will be important to

analyze more research to further understand the various relationships studied throughout this paper. This may help develop definitive correlations between variables. The depth of data is also affected due to the sole use of research articles written in English, potentially hiding a breadth of information published in other languages. To define the relationship between ESG ratings and a company’s market value, more research has to be done. Though there are mixed results, this might be a result of research being done in different time periods or different market conditions.

This further supports the notion that more research needs to be done to understand this relationship in the long run. A need for more research also applies to the relationship between ESG ratings and a company’s environmental impact. Without creating definitive correlations between these variables, it is difficult for investors to confidently practice SRI without fear of losing profits. Further research should focus on detailing these relationships through the study of various markets during different periods, to provide more valuable insights.

V.

Conclusion The three main purposes of this study included (1) understanding the relationship

between a company’s ESG rating and their market value, (2) determining if there is a relationship between a company’s ESG score and their environmental impact, and (3) identifying the current shortcomings of ESG metrics. When studying for purposes one and two, it is clear that more research should be done in a variety of markets during various conditions to provide definitive relationships between the variables. The correlation between ESG rating and market value is extremely variable, with various researchers finding evidence of positive, negative, and neutral correlations. The lack of agreement in the literature is likely due to several reasons including geographical region, time period, and industry observed. For example, a positive

correlation between ESG rating and company market value may be more common in some regions where sustainability has had more influence on company behaviors. Also, certain industries may have had more financial success during the pandemic while other industries suffered, which affects the correlation between the two variables. The only way to determine which of these correlations is most accurate requires a wider variety of research. Similarly, further analysis of ESG rating versus environmental impact requires higher transparency from companies in regards to materials such as environmental reports. Without this transparency in regards to a company’s behavior and environmental reports, it is difficult for more definitive conclusions to be made regarding a company’s environmental impact and how it relates to its ESG rating. Additionally, the biggest shortcomings of ESG metrics in their current state is the lack of standardization on behalf of various graders and the limit of knowledge due to a relatively recent gain of traction of the metrics. The necessity for investors to research grading methods used by different raters decreases the value of ESG ratings metrics. Developing a standardized system can make it easier for investors to consider ESG when creating and managing their portfolios.

Overall, more definitive conclusions for the first and second research goals mentioned can be achieved by conducting more research in a wide variety of market conditions, regions, and industries. At the moment, there simply is not enough research to definitively answer these questions, including the correlation between a company’s ESG metrics and market value or a company’s ESG metrics and environmental impact. Future work should also focus on determining if the lack of standardization is a potential reason for inconclusive results for research goal one, as various studies used ESG information from different raters.

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Atkins, B. (2020, June 8). Demystifying ESG: Its History & Current Status. Forbes. www.forbes.com/sites/betsyatkins/2020/06/08/demystifying-esgits-history--current-stat us/ ?sh=536d94642cdd.

Auer, B. R., & Schuhmacher, F. (2016). Do socially (ir)responsible investments pay? New evidence from international esg data. The Quarterly Review of Economics and Finance, 59, 51–62. doi.org/10.1016/j.qref.2015.07.002.

Broadstock, D., Chan, K., Cheng, L. T., & Wang, X. W. (2021). The Role of ESG Performance During Times of Financial Crisis: Evidence from COVID-19 in China. Finance Research Letters, 38. doi.org/10.2139/ssrn.3627439.

Duque-Grisales, E., & Aguilera-Caracuel, J. (2019). Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) Scores and Financial Performance of Multilatinas: Moderating Effects of Geographic International Diversification and Financial Slack. Journal of Business Ethics, 168(2), 315–334. doi.org/10.1007/s10551-019-04177-w.

Engelhardt, N., Ekkenga, J., & Posch, P. (2021). ESG Ratings and Stock Performance during the COVID-19 Crisis. Sustainability, 13(13), 7133. doi.org/10.3390/su13137133.

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FOOD PACKAGING: IS SUSTAINABILITY PROFITABLE? By: Hannah Scott

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Author Biography Hannah Scott is a Center for Social Value Creation (CSVC) summer research impact fellow. Currently a rising junior at the University of Maryland, she is studying Accounting and Business Management. She is passionate about social business as she is also minoring in sustainability. Hannah is an Environment, Technology, and Economics scholar and Social Innovation Fellows alum. Waste is one of her main interests and this is what drove her to pursue this project on packaging trends.

Acknowledgments I would like to express my thanks to my supervisor Professor Philip Evers. Your support and guidance were invaluable to me throughout this process. The CSVC staff was also incredibly helpful and I am so appreciative of their work.

Abstract In order to comply with health and safety regulations, companies have to package their products accordingly. This results in a large amount of waste, a large problem facing our society.

To be more sustainable, food companies are changing their packaging in many different ways to either reduce, reuse, recycle, or do without materials altogether. Sustainability is always viewed as the best option, but if this was the case everyone would be doing it. There are different drawbacks to all changes. This study takes a deeper look at several different snack companies to see what changes are happening in the packaging industry and different drawbacks.

I.

Introduction Our global waste streams are a major problem facing our world today. In 2018 the United

States produced 292.4 million tons of municipal solid waste (MSW), or about 4.9 pounds per person per day (National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling, 2018). Globally we create 2.01 billion tonnes of MSW, and 33% of this is not disposed of sustainably (Kaza, Yao, Bhada-Tata, & Van Woerden, 2018). As our population continues to grow exponentially, this problem will only continue to grow. By 2050 it is expected that our waste will grow to 3.4 billion tonnes, an increase of 70% (Kaza, Yao, Bhada-Tata, & Van Woerden, 2018).

Landfilling MSW is currently the most common and widely accepted practice because it is the easiest and cheapest disposal method. This method is defined as the disposal, compression, and embankment fill of waste at appropriate sites” (Vaverkova, 2019). Today’s society can be defined as a “throwaway” culture. This is where it is common to have single-use items that are disposed of after they are no longer needed. Past civilizations would use all materials for as long

as possible and waste as little as possible. As we have grown more advanced it’s become a luxury to not have to reuse things. In the 1960s “obsolescence was not only accepted by the fashion-conscious young, often it was positively celebrated” (Whitely, 1987). Products have become designed to be old in a few years and need replacing. This cultural shift is how we have come to the global waste problem we face today. As a society, we are more aware of obsolescence and are trying to make a change, but it is still insufficient.

The affluence of the United States is apparent in the amount of waste produced, and in our disposal of it. For many years plastic “recyclables” were sold to China, 8.88 million tons of plastic. Instead of being recycled 70.6% were buried or mismanaged. Then in 2017 China passed the Prohibition of Foreign Garbage Imports: The Reform Plan on Solid Waste Management. This ban caused the global plastic trade flow to fall by 45.5%. This change in plastic waste disposal options forced countries to take a further look at sustainable methods to properly handle waste (Wen, Xie, Chen, & Doh Dinga, 2021).

The four major ways we look at handling waste include: reducing, reusing, recycling, and refusing. Reducing waste would be trying to use less material in different packaging. Reusing is where materials are used again rather than making something new. Recycling is where a material that has already been used is made into something new. Refusing is where the material isn’t used at all (Luu, 2020).

Packaging is a major component in creating and selling a product, especially in foodservice businesses. Packaging plays a role in a product’s shelf life, functionality, safety, and attractiveness to potential buyers (Valérie Guillard, 2018). Plastic is very convenient for individuals on the go, you can bring food and drink items that are packaged in single-use plastics and just toss the trash when finished.

II.

Literature Review Packaging makes up almost 50% of our global plastic waste. Packaging plastics is

important for the quality of products. They directly cover objects, bundle items for transportation, and storage and handling of items. Plastic is very cheap and lightweight, so for companies to use it in packaging it saves them money on material and transportation costs. “One study revealed that the replacement of glass bottles with plastic bottles for beverage packaging in airlines resulted in savings of over USD 1 million in fuel costs as a result of the weight loss” (Lindani Koketso Ncube 1, 2021). The production of plastics requires fossil fuels, a precious nonrenewable resource. As of 2019, 10% of our world’s oil was used for producing plastics, 4% alone used for single-use plastics (Lindani Koketso Ncube 1, 2021).

Food packaging waste accounts for 1/3 of all packaging waste, and out of this only 14% is collected for recycling and then 5% is recycled. Recycling food waste plastics is difficult due to the dyes and finishes applied for printing. Also, plastics contaminated with food residue cannot be recycled. The plastics that do get recycled after multiple cycles lose their physical and chemical properties, resulting in a lower quality. This recycled plastic costs around 60-70% of a brand-new material (Lindani Koketso Ncube 1, 2021).

Currently, plastic is still the consumer preference, but we must work to make a change.

Businesses need to start adopting new more sustainable materials and decrease their material usage overall. Sustainable change is better for the environment, but different drawbacks make this change challenging.

In the United States, the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) is responsible for regulating all food contact packaging, or food contact substances (FCS). The food contact notification process the FDA requires companies to provide notice before marketing a new FCS.

This is where all the regulations for packaging come from that companies must comply with (Marsh & Bugusu, 2007). Below are the common plastics used and their properties: Figure 1 Main Polymer Types and Properties (Vilcinskas, 2020)

Plastic is commonly used for companies as food contact packaging and industrial packaging. Food contact packaging refers to the material directly related to containing the product, for example, this would include the chip bag and the box containing chip bags. This packaging commonly uses polypropylene (PPL), low-density polystyrene (LDPE), and polyethylene (PET).

Industrial packaging is used to contain all the items with food contact packaging. This industrial packaging is not seen by customers and is used to protect, ship, and store items.

Material is purely meant to be highly functional. This packaging can be made of wood, steel, corrugated cardboard, and PPL (What is Industrial Packaging?, n.d.).

Sun Chips Case Study: In January of 2010, Frito-Lay released a fully biodegradable bag for the Sun chips snack line. This was a great step for our environment and the future of packaging, but it ended up being pulled due to several factors (Datamonitor, 2011).

Around the time of the release surveys were done that showed 76% of Americans “said that protecting the environment was very important to them” (Datamonitor, 2011). In addition to this, “Majorities of consumers perceive that ‘reduced packaging’ and ‘recyclable/compostable’ claims would lead to a favorable perception of a grocery product” (Datamonitor, 2011).

Despite the clear desire for sustainable packaging from consumers, there is a gap between consumer desires and their actual behaviors. The new material used was more rigid than traditional plastic consumers were comfortable with, so the new bag was significantly noisier.

Originally Frito-Lay was applauded, but then received negative backlash with a drop in sales by 11% during the year of the release. Sun chips dropped the new bag and returned to their traditional material (Datamonitor, 2011).

This case is important as it shows a sustainable change that failed. This project aims to take a look at successful sustainable changes, and what must occur to see these shifts in the packaging industry (Datamonitor, 2011).

III.

Methodology This research project focuses on single-use food contact packaging in the snack industry.

Waste is a growing problem, and packaging is a major contributor. We aimed to take a deeper look at major snack companies and learn what packaging material they currently use, why they

use it, and what needs to happen to make a switch to sustainable material profitable. I also have looked at companies that have made the switch and learned from their work.

This project focuses on qualitative data and consists mostly of key insights from different companies. This is why I chose to conduct my research using a mix of interviews, and secondary research. Interviews were conducted with participating companies to get a deeper insight into the working process of picking the material that will be used to sell their product.

Then to fill in any gaps and collect consumer preference data secondary research was conducted using existing data. Following the collection of information, I compiled the qualitative data into a condensed reading where the key insights can be easily extracted.

This research will help other companies related to snack packaging to further develop their change. Many companies have sustainable development goals for themselves to reach by 2025. Our packaging insights will benefit different groups looking to lower their environmental impact to reach their goals. The participating companies were selected after researching major snack companies in the North East United States. All groups that were selected were reached out for a potential interview/conversation about packaging.

Some limitations in this research process were time, this had to be conducted within a short time period and not all companies were able to coordinate with our schedule. Company cooperation was also a challenge. It was difficult to get in contact with different representatives making it difficult to gather information. These interviews were time-consuming, and I had to assume that my interviewees were knowledgeable on the subjects discussed.

I am anticipating that the majority of the companies will use PPL or PET. These materials are cheap and act as a moisture barrier to keep the snack in perfect form until it reaches its consumer. However, this material is not easily recyclable and does not biodegrade. I hypothesize

that companies take into account price, quality, functionality, safety, weight and transportation costs, and consumer preference when making packaging decisions for their brand. Biodegradable packaging may be too expensive right now and still hasn’t been designed to be as functional as PPL or PET plastics.

These findings are important to society because understanding why companies make specific packaging decisions will help us make the changes necessary to incentivize and make sustainable packaging the new normal.

IV.

Results

Company 1: Produce Wholesaler, Prepackaged items The first company that I spoke with works as a produce wholesaler while also making some prepackaged items mainly used in restaurants for meal preparation.

Packaging among wholesale items consists of industrial packaging including boxes and buckets. In this business-to-business transaction reusing items is possible, but it would have to be a true closed-loop to prevent any contamination that may conflict with food safety. A closed-loop system is where materials are recycled to be used again for the same thing. In this example, the material used to send products to one company would be used again for this same purpose.

Reusing items could save the company money on packaging and lower their environmental impact. On the other hand, money would need to be spent to get the packaging back and to get the materials in a state ready for use.

For the pre-packed items packaging consists of plastic clamshells, plastic bags, boxes, film, etc. The material used varies based on the item being packaged. An important thing to keep

in mind is the needed oxygen transfer rate of each item being packed. Plastic bags can let gas out and keep excess gas from entering the bag to optimize the shelf life of items.

This company’s main focus regarding packaging is functionality, safety, and compliance with regulations. Price is also a major factor along with compatibility with current machinery and employees. End-user customers do have an impact, but it must be a large customer to make a difference.

Company 2: Major Snack and Beverage Company This company is one of the leading producers in the snack and beverage industry. They have in the past and continue to pilot different sustainable alternatives to traditional packaging.

Currently, packaging consists of plastic film bags, aluminum cans, and plastic bottles. A biodegradable bag was piloted for a specific snap line, but the material was not similar to the plastic bag consumers are familiar with. Even though research has shown customers want their favorite brands to be more sustainable, this company faced a loss in sales and ended up pulling the new packaging and returning to the traditional plastic film bags. This shows that consumer habits are very important regarding packaging and dictate what happens. To make packaging changes, it must align with social norms, or we must work to change our habits.

We discussed recycled materials, and due to the lack of high-quality recycled PET plastic, it is cheaper to use virgin plastic rather than recycled materials. In order for recycled plastic to be feasible for companies to use, our recycling system must improve. One possible solution would be closed-loop recycling where the company would take back materials from customers and use them again. The problem with this is it is expensive and challenging for this to be implemented and many companies do not want to be in the recycling business.

After previous failed launches, more research was done to release new material. The newest compostable bag has a PHA component that allows the material to break down faster and helps the nutrients absorb into the soil. This new material can be very valuable for a sustainable future, and because of this, it is precompetitive. This means that different snack groups are working together to share this technology rather than save it just for themselves. It is understood that we need to create a more sustainable system for packaging and sharing materials and chemicals that leads to the greater good for society as a whole. Price, regulations, safety, etc. all play a role, but due to this company’s size and power, these factors are not the major influence.

Customers are the main component that dictates packaging changes.

Company 3: Regional Snack Company This company works in producing a variety of different snack foods. Packaging consists of rigid PET plastic barrels, corrugated boxes, and polypropylene or polystyrene film bags. The film bags are commonly used amongst different snack groups for a variety of snacks. These bags are made up of usually around 3-4 different layers all with different purposes. One contains the graphic, one seals the bag, a layer binds the material, and a layer seals oxygen within the bag.

These different layers are all made of different materials, and this makes them currently non recyclable.

Figure 1 Regional Snack Co. Representative

In order to recycle these bags, packaging engineers must design one material that is capable of functioning as needed to protect and preserve the items. Closed-loop recycling was discussed, but once again this is challenging and expensive to do within stores.

Biobased PLA packaging was one possible solution discussed, but it does have some flaws. This material acts identical to PET plastic and does not contain fossil fuels. This means adding this material into our current plastic streams may contaminate it. When in a recycling plant, electronic sorting devices are used, and due to PLA and PET looking identical they can be mistaken for each other which leads to contaminated recyclables. This material also must be broken down in an industrial composting facility, and even then it does not fully break down but instead becomes smaller and smaller which may lead to contamination from micro pieces.

During my interview, the representative discussed that in their opinion biobased equivalents are one of the best options for sustainable change. This packaging would be made of a biomaterial, such as sugar cane. This is identical to an oil-based counterpart. Because they are identical, recycling them together has no drawbacks. The problem with this option is it is the

most expensive and uses more energy to chemically recycle, causing increased emissions and a larger carbon footprint.

This company’s main focus regarding sustainability and packaging is saving money.

Changes that have been made mostly consist of using less material while still being functional.

For example, the PET barrels were changed to have different swirls and indents in the design.

This takes weight and plastic out of the material while still supporting the structure. This has taken over a million pounds of plastic out of their packaging.

Figure 2 Regional Snack Co. Representative

A similar thing has been done with the corrugated cardboard boxes. They used to be very thick, but after using less material the box still is functional but much cheaper and more sustainable. Large customers are major drivers for change. This company is of decent size, but major customers have more power and can demand change to meet sustainability goals. Because

of this, the snack company is working on coming up with feasible solutions to decrease their impact.

Company 4: Compostable Packaging Company I had the opportunity to speak to a representative from the opposite side of the spectrum regarding packaging. This company is a global producer and developer of flexible compostable material. This material has been around for a while now, but since it is very different from plastic, different changes have been made to develop something customers are comfortable with.

As we have seen with the Sun Chips study, being sustainable is not enough. It must also be similar to customers.

Recently the market for compostables has grown. This can be traced back to 2018 when certain countries stopped buying foreign plastics. Governments were forced to handle waste management differently and people began to care more about the lifecycle of packaging. In certain countries, plastic taxes have been implemented and other incentives to make alternative packaging desirable. All of these factors have made many changes to compostable material.

Some challenges in this industry are the price differences, and especially in the food industry products are very sensitive to price increases. Even with different incentives, compostable is more expensive. These factors are a challenge for businesses to overcome when working with this company.

Another challenge is the infrastructure needed for compostables to be beneficial. This particular type of compostable packaging must be taken to an industrial composting facility.

Therefore, if the country using this material doesn’t have these facilities it will not break down and will persist in the environment. Countries should also incentivize the use of natural compost from these facilities in soil rejuvenation.

V.

Conclusion This study’s findings have found that packaging is rapidly changing. Companies are

working to find ways to reduce, reuse, recycle, and change material altogether to be more sustainable and be profitable simultaneously. The changes that are occurring will only grow as we become more advanced with new options. This study was limited by the short time constraint and the assumption that all interview participants were honest and fully knowledgeable. This could affect the work, should anything be inaccurate.

Findings from this study will add to existing literature regarding food industry packaging.

Sustainability is a complicated issue, where certain changes can seem better or worse at the same time. This is a problem we are finding in many different areas. Recycling materials seems like a solution to waste, but on the other hand, the time, money, and energy required to do this may exceed the environmental benefits. For certain materials, recycling requires a large amount of energy and leads to a larger carbon footprint. Most people want to make sustainable change, but change is expensive and not always clearly more sustainable which is holding some back.

Key takeaways from this study are the importance of reducing materials used, infrastructure changes, and consumer preference. Reducing materials has resulted in sustainable change for companies while also successfully saving them money. Infrastructure is an important part of our society, and we need developments in the recycling and industrial composting facilities to become better at handling waste. Lastly, consumer preference has shown to be a major influence on packaging. Even if the material is more sustainable, consumers must be comfortable with the change or it will fail. We have seen through different examples where the material was too dissimilar to what people were used to using and rejecting it. The packaging

world is working quickly to come up with sustainable changes that are profitable for businesses and we will see shifts occurring soon through the next decade.

Works Cited Datamonitor. (2011). Frito-Lay SunChips Case Study: When Sustainable Packaging Conflicts with Consumers’ Sensory Needs. Datamonitor.

Kaza, S., Yao, L. C., Bhada-Tata, P., & Van Woerden, F. (2018). What a Waste 2.0 : A Global Snapshot of Solid Waste Management to 2050. Washington, D.C: World Bank.

Lindani Koketso Ncube 1, *. ,. (2021). An Overview of Plastic Waste Generation and Management in Food Packaging Industries. Basel, Switzerland: MDPI. Marsh, K., & Bugusu, B. (2007). Food Packaging—Roles, Materials, and Environmental Issues.

Journal of Food Science.

National Overview: Facts and Figures on Materials, Wastes and Recycling. (2018). Retrieved from epa.gov: www.epa.gov/facts-and-figures-about-materials-waste-and-recycling/national-overview-f acts-and-figures-materials.

Valérie Guillard, 1. S.-C. (2018). The Next Generation of Sustainable Food Packaging to Preserve Our Environment in a Circular Economy Context. Frontiers in Nutrition.

Vaverkova, M. D. (2019). Landfill Impacts on the Environment- Review. Waste Management and Environmental Remediation.

Vilcinskas, K. (2020, August). Sustainable packaging solutions to curb plastic pollution.

Retrieved from Prescouter.com: www.prescouter.com/2020/08/sustainable-packaging-solutions-to-curb-plastic-pollution/.

Wen, Z., Xie, Y., Chen, M., & Doh Dinga, C. (2021). China’s plastic import ban increases prospects of environmental impact mitigation of plastic waste trade flow worldwide.

Nature Communications.

What is Industrial Packaging? (n.d.). Retrieved from boxaroundtheworld: boxaroundtheworld.com/what-is-industrial-packaging/.

Whitely, N. (1987). Toward a Throw Away Culture. Consumerism, 'Style Obsolescence' and Cultural Theory in the 1950s and 1960s. The Oxford Art Journal, 3.

A NEW AGE OF CRYPTOCURRENCY PUMP-AND-DUMP By: Ronit Tuladhar

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Author Biography Ronit Tuladhar is a rising junior studying finance and information systems at the University of Maryland, Robert H. Smith School of Business. Ronit’s research interests include the equity market, financial literacy, and the development of technology within the financial sector. These interests served as catalysts for his research. Additionally, Ronit has found recent interest in start-ups after having the opportunity to provide consulting services to a local startup, Dockshare. On-campus, Ronit is involved and holds leadership positions within Ascend as well as the Collegiate Financial Management Association (CFMA).

Acknowledgments I would like to take the opportunity to thank my program mentor, David Kirsch, for his constant support and guidance throughout this entire process. I would also like to thank Joanna Ihm, Nima Farshchi, the entire CSVC team, and all the guest speakers for going above and beyond for the founding RIF class.

Abstract With the sudden rise in the popularity of cryptocurrency, coupled with a lack of regulation within the cryptocurrency market, many shady schemes have found a market to operate and thrive in. Amongst these schemes is the age-old pump-and-dump, a scam that has been a part of the equity market for many years. My research will aim to highlight pump-and-dumps within the cryptocurrency sphere. But more specifically, investigate a recent development of the involvement of social media influencers in P&D schemes. Influencers are utilizing their massive following to promote various altcoins. However, many of these altcoins become subject to pump-and-dumps, leading hundreds or thousands of impressionable fans with damaging losses. Utilizing a multiple case study method, this research will investigate the process behind influencer-backed cryptocurrency projects that end up being pumped-and-dumped, as well as the impact that influencers have on these projects.

I.

Introduction In today’s society, credit cards and cash are king, and coupled with a global pandemic, it

was hard to picture a world where cryptocurrency would surge the way it has over the past couple of years. Nonetheless, cryptocurrency's global popularity is growing at an unfathomable rate, with popular coins like Bitcoin (BTC) and Ethereum(ETH)being up 500+% (Jabotinsky and Sarel, 2021) and providing investors with returns few would have predicted.

As with anything that shows potential to make money, scammers have now flocked to the cryptocurrency market. And with legal regulations unable to keep up with the sudden evolution of the crypto market, it has become increasingly easier for scammers to exploit the obscure

nature of the crypto industry. Fake exchanges, Ponzi schemes, and pump-and-dump schemes are amongst the more popular schemes within the crypto space (Xia et al., 2020). This study will focus on pump-and-dump schemes and their scalability through the usage of social media influencers.

To anyone in the crypto industry or familiar with the industry, the age-old pump-and-dump scheme certainly isn’t something new. There have been numerous studies on this topic within the cryptocurrency market ranging from the anatomy of a P&D (Xu and Livshits, 2019), methods of detection for P&D scheme (Victor and Hageeman, 2019), the role of social media in P&D’s (Nghiem et al., 2020), etc. However, these schemes have grown in scale simultaneously, with cryptocurrencies rise over the past two years. And with this rise, we’ve seen a new development with P&D schemes. Social media Influencers have now taken to their massive online platforms to promote alt. coins and their respective Telegram or Discord groups in the hopes of enough traction to raise the price of said alt. coin. And as this study will uncover, many of these coins end up being a part of the typical P&D event. But the scale of these events is anything but typical, with hundreds of thousands of unknowing and impressionable fans being left out of pocket and the influencers being the ones to get out early and profit from their initial investment. This paper will follow and analyze this recent development of crypto P&D schemes, something that prior literature in this space has yet to do.

II.

Literature Review Observation case study methods are one of the main ways that prior research has been

done on this topic. A researcher(s) will examine and analyze a pump-and-dump event by joining

an active pump-and-dump group either through Discord or Telegram. Researchers at the Information Sciences Institute at USC were able to illustrate the progression of a typical pump-and-dump scheme by joining and observing a Telegram channel, Mega Pump Group.

From there the researchers were able to gather data on how a pump-and-dump event is orchestrated by observing a single pump-and-dump event that took place on September 5th, 2019 targeting the coin DATA (Nghiem et al., 2020). Additionally, they observed and reported any other interactions within the group, such as admins of the group providing positive assessments of past events to entice group members (Nghiem et al., 2020). We’ve also seen literature on pump-and-dumps utilize longitudinal studies to collect data for pump-and-dump events. Zu and Livshits (2019) were the pioneers of using the longitudinal study method for this topic, after having analyzed a data set of 412 pump-and-dump events spanning from June 17th, 2018 to February 26th, 2019.

The longitudinal study is a method that can yield a lot of data on pump-and-dumps due to the sheer volume of pump-and-dumps that occur every day. It’s estimated there to be an aggregate trading volume of ~6 million USD a month per 100 groups (Xu and Livshits, 2019).

However, I believe that the case study observation method is one that I want to replicate for my study as well. There has not been enough of these large-scale “influencer” pump-and-dump events for me to be able to create a dataset large enough for a longitudinal study. Therefore, I think a case study method is the best option to go about illustrating how these operations are now taking place on a much larger scale than they previously were. I can illustrate my problem through a real-world example, which can help the reader understand the underlying problem.

And with the majority of cases of these influencer pump-and-dump events occurring very

recently, it gives an opportunity to provide modern-day real-world context to highlight a problem that has now seeped into pop culture and is affecting hundreds of thousands of impressionable people worldwide.

III.

Methodology

Comparative Case Study Following my literature review of cryptocurrency pump-and-dumps, it’s clear that a case study method is a popular method amongst researchers (Nghiem et al., 2020). And in my case, I want to be able to demonstrate how this new trend of influencer altcoins is differentiating itself from the classic crypto P&D that takes place every day. The best way to go about showing this distinction between the two is to conduct a comparative case study that analyzes both events and pits them against each other.

With this case study, I plan to research highly popular altcoins that have been backed by social media influencers and have served as a front for pump-and-dump schemes. I will gather data from various cryptocurrency tracker sites that will provide me with the charts, trading volume, market cap, and other important indicators vital to analyzing whether a coin should warrant any investment. Additionally, I will gather any marketing or mention of these respective coins by social media influencers on platforms such as Twitter, YouTube, etc. From there, I will move on to gathering data on typical cryptocurrency P&D. The process for this will differ, as I will resort to data from prior case studies done on typical pump-and-dump groups and events.

The reason for this is that the current case studies done on cryptocurrency P&D groups are very

extensive and allow for a comprehensive overview of the anatomy of a P&D event and its respective group.

From there, I will then be able to stack up the events against one another. I will compare the scale of both events. This includes both their social media scale and the coin itself. The goal is to uncover definitive data highlighting the disparity in the scale of the typical pump and dump compared to that of an influencer-backed pump and dump. For many that join the typical P&D-specific group, there is at least a surface-level understanding of what cryptocurrency is, given the obscurity of many of these groups. However, with influencers now taking advantage of their large platforms to market these coins, there is now the issue of herds of impressionable fans flocking to these Telegram groups all while having no knowledge about cryptocurrency and quickly getting caught up in the scam. I hope my research serves as a crutch in aiding to uncover yet another dangerous trend that is taking place in the realm of cryptocurrency.

One of the limitations with researching altcoins is that it’s difficult to conduct a price analysis on these coins due to them being so new. Being able to fully analyze the quality of an investment takes months and years of data, and a majority of these coins have a very limited life span. The activity surrounding the coin tends to drastically fall off during and following the dump for these coins. Telegram groups lose active users, social media influencers delete tweets, low trading volume, etc. and because of this, it’s hard to fully grasp the complete process of these events, as they occur so quickly and disappear just as quickly.

Case Study (2nd option)

With how versatile case studies can be, I felt as though I could also utilize the case study method differently to answer another unique set of proposed research questions. These questions revolve around specifically the altcoins themselves and are more geared towards studying the involvement of the influencer. For example, what is drawing influencers to the realm of cryptocurrency? What does the process of getting an influencer to back a coin entail? What is going on behind the scenes? What tactics are influencers using to market these coins on their platform?. There’s a lot that goes into being able to successfully run a “rug pull” on such a large scale. And I think rather than comparing these events to the average pump and dump, it’d be interesting to conduct an in-depth analysis of these events as they aren’t as well documented nor discussed within the current literature and media.

To be able to accomplish this, I need to gather and examine the charts for selected influencer-backed altcoins. From there it’s possible to document important metrics such as price high and low, 24hr volume high/low, etc. during their respective launches and the days following the launch. The next step was to investigate the influencers and their involvement with their respective coins. To do so I went through each influencers’ Twitter account and documented any tweet that mentioned their altcoin. However, I ran into an issue with influencers deleting tweets associated with these altcoins. Because of this, I wasn’t able to gather as many posts as I could, but some have surfaced that were captured before they were deleted. Utilizing both the important data and metrics from the selected altcoins as well findings from social media platforms of the coin’s respective influencer(s), I’m able to depict the leverage that an influencer can have on the volatility of altcoins through their social media channels.,

IV.

Results & Discussion

Influencer Backed Coins and Respective Influencers 1.

SaveTheKids ($KIDS), https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iLHdygxkLW a. Faze Kay (6.13M - YouTube, 891K - Twitter) b. Faze Nikan (1.41M - YouTube, 635.2K - Twitter) c. Faze Teeqo (2.76M - YouTube, 1.4M - Twitter) d. Faze Jarvis (4.86M - YouTube, 725.1K - Twitter) e. Ricegum (10.3M - YouTube, 2.7M - Twitter) f.

Sommer Ray (1.87M - YouTube, 1.2M - Twitter

Figure 1 SaveTheKids Price Chart

2. Milf Token ($MILF) a. Adin Ross ( 2.4M YouTube, 846.1K - Twitter) Figure 2 Milf Token Price Chart

Figure 3 Tweet via influencer backing MILF Token

Figure 4 MILF Token 24 Hour Volume Highs Related to Backings and Promotions

3.

BankSocial (BSocial) a. Faze Banks ( 5.27M - YouTube, 2.8M - Twitter)

Figure 5 BankSocial Price Chart

Figure 6 Tweet via influencer backing BankSocial

Looking at the MILF Token 24hr chart on the 23rd, 24th, and 25th volume is very stagnant around 1-3million, however on the 26th, popular influencer Adin Ross promotes the token on his Twitch Livestream, from there volume of the coin increases by 534%, the following day it still stays relatively high because of an Adin Ross tweet giving away 10,000 MILF Token.

However, the day after the promotion, volume drops back down 90% and stays relatively flat from there.

The BankSocial 24hr chart follows a similar trend to that of MILF where we have the volume at around 8mill, then following a giveaway tweet by an influencer, FaZe Banks, there is a 69% increase in volume traded, then there is a drop of 30% and the curve flattens out, after the promotion. These findings suggest that influencers can have an immense impact on a crypto project as their marketing tactics attract large amounts of buyers.

It’s a common misconception that the price of the asset is what matters when dumping a coin, but in reality, volume is a much more important metric, this is because prior to the involvement of the influencer, the deployer or developers of the coin have the majority of the circulating supply, and in order to dump there needs to be more buyers. Social media influencers aren’t necessarily there to drive the price, so much as they are there to generate traffic and overall volume to aid in the manipulation of the market.

As prior research has provided a greater understanding of the structure of a cryptocurrency pump-and-dump, this research builds off of the typical scheme and suggests a recent development that has made its way to the mainstream. The current findings suggest altcoins that have been backed by social media influencers follow a pump-and-dump type movement as the price and volume action of these coins coincide with marketing ploys on social

media platforms by the respective influencer. However, given that digital assets have only recently entered the mainstream, there is a very small sample size to work with to demonstrate this relationship.

Looking at the social media statistics, the reach that these influencers have is immense, making the scale at which these schemes are taking place extremely large. Moving forward, it’s important to continue to shed light and strengthen the understanding of this issue by documenting the occurrence of these influencer projects and monitoring the price and volume action of the coins involved within these projects. I believe that the next step to elevate this research is by fitting this into a larger picture. This is a very niche topic that I believe can fit into larger trends that we’ve seen developed as of late. For example, we’ve seen pump and dumps rise with the national story that is GameStop stock, Reddit meme stocks, etc., could this be just an extension of this pump and dump movement?

Works Cited The anatomy of a cryptocurrency pump-and-dump scheme - USENIX. (n.d.). Retrieved December 29, 2021, from www.usenix.org/system/files/sec19-xu-jiahua_0.pdf Detecting cryptocurrency pump-and-dump frauds using market and social signals. (n.d.).

Retrieved December 29, 2021, from www.researchgate.net/publication/351988041_Detecting_Cryptocurrency_Pump-and-Du mp_Frauds_using_Market_and_Social_Signals Renholding. (2021, March 26). How the COVID-19 pandemic affected the cryptocurrency market. CLS Blue Sky Blog. Retrieved December 29, 2021, from clsbluesky.law.columbia.edu/2021/03/26/how-the-covid-19-pandemic-affected-the-crypto currency-market/ Sinclair, S. (2021, July 2). Esports organization FaZe Clan Drops 1 member, suspends 3 following alleged crypto scam. CoinDesk Latest Headlines RSS. Retrieved December 29, 2021, from www.coindesk.com/e-sports-organization-faze-clan-kay-nikan-teeqo-jarvis Track twitter analytics, future predictions, & twitter ... (n.d.). Retrieved December 29, 2021, from socialblade.com/twitter/ Track youtube analytics, future predictions ... . (n.d.). Retrieved December 29, 2021, from socialblade.com/youtube/ Xia, P., Wang, H., & Luo, X. (2020, November 1). Don't fish in troubled waters! characterizing coronavirus-themed cryptocurrency scams. arXiv.org. Retrieved December 29, 2021, from arxiv.org/abs/2007.13639

EXPLORING FACTORS THAT IMPACT GENDER INEQUALITY IN THE WORKPLACE AND THE STRATEGY AND METHOD USED TO SOLVE THEM By: Yanwei Wang

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Author Biography Yanwei Wang (Spenser) is a rising senior majoring in Public Policy at the University of Maryland and minoring in Leadership Studies and Technological Entrepreneurship. Her research interests include gender equality, feminism, entrepreneurship, and management science. First guided by the leadership studies program, Spenser found her enthusiasm in advocating gender equality, became fully committed to, and has been actively engaged in women’s rights empowerment throughout college. With an interest in advocacy to elevate for those under-represented, she was admitted to Rawlings Undergraduate Leadership Fellows Program and will explore cultural pluralism and advocate for human rights.

Acknowledgments I would like to express my most sincere and deepest gratitude to my mentor, Melissa Rocco, who guided and supported me in various ways throughout this project and who helped me discover my values and be clear with my commitments. I would also like to thank my family and friends who showed their support through the research period.

Abstract Gender inequality at the workplace fits into a larger social problem, which is gender inequality in general. Gender inequality at the workplace can represent a larger problem because it can be seen as a combination of most types of gender inequalities. In addition to exploring the factors that impact gender inequality in the workplace, this study also aims to better understand the complexity and nuance of human resource management efforts to address gender inequality in the workplace. The result provides the most commonly used methods, design factors that made up these methods, factors used to evaluate the effectiveness of these methods, and a reference provided by an experienced HR professional.

I.

Introduction Gender equality, as one of the united nation’s sustainable development goals, is not only

“a fundamental human right, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and sustainable world” (UN). The following data represent gender inequalities in general, yet they are also factors of gender inequalities at the workplace. That 60% of women aged 25 and older have at least some secondary education, compared with 67% of men showed that men and women have uneven access to education (UN), that only 6 countries in the world give women the same legal work rights as men and most economies give women only ¾ the rights of men indicates that there is a lack of employment equality between men and women (UN) and that over one billion women don’t have legal protection against domestic sexual violence or domestic economic violence indicates women don’t have enough legal protection, based on research from the World Bank (The world bank).

In addition to the factors mentioned above, many other factors impact gender inequality at the workplace such as the gender wage gap, which is the most direct indicator of gender inequality in the workplace; implicit biases planted deep in employers’ heads that have an influence on salary increase decisions and performance assessments; and societal mindsets regarding the value of men versus women, mindsets commonly ignored by people when considering factors of existing gender inequality, often contribute to pushbacks following times of major change even though progress can be made through laws(Human Rights Careers). Only by attempting to solve these factors, gender equality at the workplace can be possibly achieved.

An enormous amount of methods were applied at the workplace to solve some of the factors of gender inequalities at the workplace and countless women’s self-empowerment materials were shared in many forms to improve women’s resiliency and responsibilities. In this paper, I will be exploring methods that HR management professionals use to address factors that contribute to gender inequality in the workplace. Specific research questions I will use in this exploration include:

● What are the methods that HR professionals commonly use to address gender inequality in the workplace? ● What are the key design factors, theories, and approaches that make up these methods? ● Which methods do HR professionals perceive to be most effective, and why? ● What challenges do HR professionals face in their effort to address gender inequality in their workplace?

II.

Literature Review

Self-empowerment

Some studies approach gender inequalities in the workplace by attempting to empower women. These studies suggest that instead of waiting for the environment to be changed, women should take the initiative to take charge of gender inequality and to increase their responsibility and resiliency. A research study that evaluated successful coping strategies that women in leadership positions shared focused on how coping strategies designed to overcome impediments to be faced by women while seeking a leadership position helped yield positive changes for women, especially those in higher leadership positions, in academia (Fritsch, 2015).

The Importance of HR’s Role in the Addressing of the Problem Since HR professionals are “uniquely positioned to influence all aspects of the employee life cycle, from who gets hired to how workers are compensated and managed” (Buhler, 2017), and they are also the ones implementing managerial decisions, it is an efficient way for a company to tackle gender inequality through HR professionals.

The role of human resources management professionals in addressing gender inequality in the workplace is further supported by both Roh and Kim’s study in 2016 that examines whether workforce productivity is predicted by gender diversity with different levels of human resources management investment including pay, benefits, training, and communication on its employees, and the study of Madsen et al. in their study that examines strategies used to support the advancement of women in the workplace. Roh and Kim found that the more human resources management invest, employees have higher productivity, while the result of a survey, which asked the most helpful strategy taken to advance women, conducted by Madsen et al. shows that the HR process, which was seen as “pivotal opportunities to support the advancement of women”, was mentioned by 52.5% of survey participants, second only to developmental relationships (Madsen et a.l, 2020).

III.

Literature Review Methods that can be used by HR professionals when approaching gender inequalities

include but are not limited to the following listed: assessing personal and organizational attitudes, reviewing the hiring process, developing sponsorship opportunities for women, and measuring performance (Buhler, 2017). In addition to attitude assessment, according to a study taking the diversity and inclusion approach to address gender inequality in the workplace, employee training such as leadership workshops can improve employee mindsets on gender equity and implicit bias (Yen et al., 2019).

Based on the review of literature, two methods that are commonly used by HR management professionals include employee training and inclusive recruiting. A University of Washington study shows that their local and national leadership workshops prepared department leaders to be change agents, enriched faculties’ understanding of “faculty equity, diversity and inclusion challenges, and opportunities, particularly for female faculty” (Yen et al, 2019). In addition, Zawadzki et.al studied whether the use of an experiential learning tool designed to reduce reactance and promote self-efficacy can raise awareness of gender inequity.

Inclusive recruiting, which is included in the HR processes addressed by a study conducted by scholars from Utah Valley University, was defined as “Proactively include women candidates in all hiring and promotion opportunities and ensure gender balance on hiring committees” The study also suggests HR professionals monitoring wages for pay equity (Madsen et. al).

Based on the case study conducted by Flood, the intervention was applied to four stages of the recruiting process that aims to be inclusive; the four stages include “accessing a diverse

pipeline” stage, which includes interventions as articulating expectations to headhunters and offering higher benefits on successful female and ethnic minority candidates; “role descriptions and selection for interview” stage, which include interventions as altering the wording of role descriptions to make the roles equally appealing to diverse candidates; interview stage, which includes increasing the awareness of unconscious bias and ensuring diverse interviewing panels (Flood, 2017). In his case study, the fact that HR professionals were trained before taking approaches to address gender inequalities in the workplace is worth to be noted by leadership.

IV.

Methodology The method of research is a qualitative study using a narrative inquiry approach. This

chosen method is best for the project given the exploring purpose of the paper, a purpose that explores experiences of HR professionals and their knowledge and insights in doing work related to gender inequality in the workplace. The literature review provided a background of gender inequality in the workplace, and specifically brought in studies conducted and methods applied by scholars and researchers. The studying of cases from the literature review provided a common base for methods applied to the research.

The one-on-one interviews provided real-world experiences from HR professionals about their in-depth insights accumulated through their working experiences regarding their different approaches to gender inequality in the workplace and thus added narrowed perspectives to the research study on top of the commonly used methods in general exemplified in the literature review.

The study intended to interview five HR professionals with more than two years of human resources working experience from various industries was interviewed using a

semi-structured format, while the findings only included the interview with one participant given the research is still ongoing. Each participant was interviewed, with each interview lasting 60 to 90 minutes, interviews being conducted using video conferencing software, recorded for accuracy. Participants were asked to discuss methods used to address gender inequalities in the workplace, key design factors of the methods, how the methods were evaluated, the results of those evaluations, and challenges the participants faced when taking the approaches. To analyze the data gathered, the recordings and transcripts were reviewed, and then highlights from each participants' stories and common themes across participants were found.

While a small participant number may imply that findings are not generalizable, the finding from the interviews allows for a deeper understanding of the successes and challenges associated with HR management professionals’ important work. Based on the state of current research, the findings of the project will contribute to the diversity and inclusion work and thereby contribute to gender equality in the world; findings include most implemented factors that the design of approach was based on, most commonly used method, most effective method, most used evaluation factors and most addressed aspect of gender inequality in the workplace.

V.

Discussion

Employee Training The two studies that examine certain workshops’ effectiveness on employee training both approach the employee mindsets aspect of gender inequality in the workplace, namely the implicit bias towards women, or subtle sexism.

WAGES, which is an experiential learning method studied by Zawadzki et. al(2012), was built following Kolb’s highly influential model of experiential learning, a model proposes that

“ideas and beliefs are not fixed, but rather are dynamic and continually being reshaped and reformed based on new knowledge and experience” and designed for participants to reflect on past and learned experiences and thereby to apply their reflection to cases that they will likely to encounter in the workplace (Zawadzki et. al, 2012).

The features of experiential learning that WAGES used were evaluated to be most efficient by Zawadzki et al. Being consistent with the research which demonstrates the efficacy of “learner-centered” educational environments, WAGES followed incremental knowledge acquisition and made the most use of small teams setting, which can accelerate the learning process (Zawadzki et. al, 2012). The study tested its hypothesis on the effectiveness of WAGES, using whether participant knowledge of gender inequity level increased on three stages, which are before/during/after the workshop as one of the evaluating factors.

Unlike WAGES, which is used by employees in general, the ADVANCE leadership program at the University of Washington (UW) is designed for leadership in higher positions such as department chairs, making them agents of change by offering the skills, community, and information needed to be change agents (Yen et al, 2019). With a goal not only for chairs to gain an understanding of “the complexity of barriers to women’s success and advancement in STEM workplaces,” but also for chairs to process the essential knowledge and skills to remove these barriers, the quarterly-half day workshops help leaders to collaborate on issues that are “pertinent to working with faculty, staff, and students,” issues that are critical to leaders but traditionally not addressed by other training (Yen et al., 2019).

The UW ADVANCE program, adapted from national ADVANCE Institutional Transformation, considers the value of learning from peers a key lesson, so workshops are peer-led. Factors incorporated in the design of the program include self-reflection of the

presenter and a deeper understanding of the topic and the discussion and application of the topic presented in real-life cases. The workshop was evaluated by its ratings and whether former participants would use the tools and strategies that were presented in the workshop. The result showed that besides the good ratings, the goals of the workshop were achieved at the University of Washington (UW), and thus the workshop was deemed effective (Yen et al., 2019).

Both of the workshops follow a learn-reflect-apply pattern, followed by discussions among participants, aim for a long-term change in participants and the environment they are in, and yield favorable results.

Inclusive Recruiting HR management professionals take inclusive recruiting practices to approach the lack of employment equality aspect of gender inequality in the workplace. According to the study conducted by Madsen et al., the result of their survey indicated that the effort made by hr professionals to ensure inclusive recruiting include ensuring the list of candidates from which to fill open positions is diverse, ensure qualified women were among the finalists to be interviewed, ensure as many female candidates as male candidates for any option positions were interviewed, and ensure deadlines are extended for open positions until there were enough qualified female applicants (Madsen et al., 2020). These efforts were all considered effective when approaching gender inequality in the workplace given the survey question included participants’ attitudes towards the strategies.

HR Perspective The interview participant mentioned that the main works she has been doing to address gender inequality in the workplace during her years of HR management experiences include an assertive program of recruiting and encouraging women, a mentoring program, and a hiring

managers training program. The factors used to evaluate the works done are follow-up surveys and informal assessments, as well as changes in diversity statistics. She also mentioned that changing hiring managers’ mindsets is challenging; if she presents two women and two men for one position, a hiring manager would feel that these two women are just being put in here because of her gender and may not be as qualified, so changing these people’s mindsets is essential in HR management professionals’ work to make sure people who are hiring are aware of that women are equally qualified as men.

VI.

Conclusion Understanding the underlying detail of the effective strategies and methods used before is

essential given the decisive role that HR management professionals can play in addressing gender inequality in the workplace. This study has done that by providing methods used to approach gender inequity in the workplace, the design factors of successful workshops based on, factors used to evaluate the effectiveness of various methods, and HR’s perspective regarding the issue. Future research should gather information regarding HR professionals’ experiences, focus on obstacles that HR professionals have encountered, and explore the application of discussed strategies and methods under different contexts.

The finding will be an important contribution to the research field because they include information gathered from experienced HR professionals through in-depth interviews while connected to a review of peer-reviewed literature, and they thereby can be a valuable source for new HR professionals to assess before instigating their own approaches addressing gender inequalities in the workplace and for other experienced HR professionals to gain other perspectives from.

In sum, HR professionals commonly use workshops to complete training and use various strategies such as ensuring an equal number of qualified men and women are interviewed during their practice of inclusive recruitment. HR professionals tend to approach gender inequality in the workplace by the attempt to change employee mindsets and by altering the recruitment process. Employees’ approval, as well as their willingness to apply the knowledge they learn from the workshop, is considered evaluation factors for workshops, while the increased diversity level such as the increased number of females in leadership positions are used to evaluate the effectiveness of both workshops and inclusive recruitment. The fact that the experiences that one hr professional shared, although is not generalized, can match with the review of the literature indicates that the experience is not an extreme case and thereby can be used as a reference in human resources work.

Works Cited Buhler, M, Patricia. (2017). Viewpoint: HR Must Lead the Way to Gender Pay Equity. SHRM. www.shrm.org/hr-today/news/hr-magazine/0317/pages/hr-must-lead-the-way-to-gender-p ay-equity.aspx.

Flood, A. (2017). Winning the fight for female talent: How to gain the diversity edge through inclusive recruitment. www.pwc.com/gx/en/about/diversity/iwd/iwd-female-talent-report-web.pdf.

Fritsch, N.-S. (2015). At the leading edge – does gender still matter? A qualitative study of prevailing obstacles and successful coping strategies in academia. Current Sociology, 63(4), 547–565. doi-org.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/10.1177/0011392115576527.

Human Rights Careers (nd.), 10 Causes of Gender Inequality. HUMAN RIGHTS CAREERS. www.humanrightscareers.com/issues/causes-gender-inequality/.

Madsen SR, Townsend A, Scribner RT. Strategies That Male Allies Use to Advance Women in the Workplace. Journal of Men’s Studies. 2020;28(3):239-259. doi:10.1177/1060826519883239 Roh, H. and Kim, E. (2016). The business case for gender diversity: Examining the role

of

human resource management investments. Human Resource Management, 55, pp.

519– 534.

Yen, J., Riskin, E. A., Margherio, C., Spyridakis, J. H., Carrigan, C. M., & Ana, M.C. (2019). Promoting gender diversity in STEM faculty through leadership development: From local and national leadership workshops to the online LEAD-it-yourself! toolkit. Equality, Diversity and Inclusion: An International Journal, 38(3), 382-398. dx.doi.org/10.1108/EDI-09-2017-0181.

Zawadzki, M.J., Danube, C.L. & Shields, S.A. How to Talk about Gender Inequity in the Workplace: Using WAGES as an Experiential Learning Tool to Reduce Reactance and Promote Self-Efficacy. Sex Roles 67, 605–616 (2012). doi-org.proxy-um.researchport.umd.edu/10.1007/s11199-012-0181-z.

Robert H. Smith School of Business Center for Social Value Creation 3440 Van Munching Hall College Park, MD 20742 (301) 405-9454 csvc@umd.edu go.umd.edu/csvc

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