Publications

May 2018
Case

Environmental Platform LEEDership at USGBC

By: Michael W. Toffel, Timothy S. Simcoe and Aldo Sesia

By 2018, it was clear that U.S. Green Building Council (USGBC) had significantly contributed to the growth of green building and over its 25-year history had become a powerful brand in the construction sector with its Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Standards; Business Model; Leadership; Problems and Challenges; Construction Industry; Green Technology Industry

Summer 2019
Article

Breaking Even: Political Economy and Private Enterprise in the Norwegian Glass Industry, 1739-1803

By: Rolv Petter Amdam, Robert Fredona and Sophus A. Reinert

Using internal debates and surviving account books, this article traces the 18th-century history of the Norwegian glass industry, created to exploit Norway's immense natural resource wealth, and of the chartered company that would later become Norway's iconic... View Details

Keywords: Glass Industry; Natural Resources; Profitability; Political Economy; Cameralism; Liberalization; Patriotism; Profit; Natural Environment; Business History; Norway

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October 1992
Case

Pioneer Hi-Bred International: Developing An Environmental Statement and Strategy

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Carla Koppell

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Business Strategy

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August 1979 (Revised March 1984)
Case

Environmental Protection Agency: Emergency Pesticide Exemptions

By: David E. Bell

Keywords: Pollutants; Chemicals; United States

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February 2017 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Sarah Powers at Automated Precision Products

By: Jeffrey T. Polzer, Michael Norris, Julia Kelley and Kristina Tobio

In 2017, Sarah Powers, VP of Sales at an automation hardware firm, is trying to understand why some members of her sales team have been underperforming. She is tasked with analyzing her firm’s email and calendar data to try to find relationships between communications... View Details

Keywords: People Analytics; Sales Attainment; Communication Networks; Data; Human Resources; Business Processes; Sales; Communication; Analytics and Data Science; Analysis; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; United States

25 Feb 2020
News

3-Minute Briefing: Ellen Pao (MBA 1998)

made for me: This person had to have studied either computer science or electrical engineering and have a JD and an MBA. They had to have worked at a big software company and a successful startup. The kicker was they had to speak... View Details

Keywords: April White; photo by Eric Millette

14 Apr 2014
News

The Puzzle of Life

"I think the human race is beginning to unravel what life is," says Andrew Farquharson (MBA 1999). "I find that intellectually fascinating." His interest, and a desire to make a difference, led Farquharson to the life sciences industry,... View Details

Keywords: Hanna, Julia; crowdfunding; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance

Web

3 Lessons I Learned as a Social Enterprise Summer Fellow - MBA

Business & Environment Career Change Career and Professional Development Case Method Clubs Curriculum Digital Entrepreneurship FIELD Financial Aid Health Care Instagram Takeover JD/MBA Leadership Letters to Classmates MBA/MPP & MBA/MPA-ID... View Details

18 Mar 2020
News

Leading Change

by Margie Kelley Alumni Tackle Climate Change Policy in Washington In a joint effort to foster a meaningful conversation on the role of business in shaping climate policy, the HBS Business & Environment... View Details

April 1994 (Revised March 1995)
Case

China (C): Energy and the Environment

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Describes energy and environmental policy in China during the period 1980-1993. China has implemented ambitious plans for electrification and the substitution of fossil fuels (mostly coal) for biomass. The environmental consequences of these changes, at the local and... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Environmental Sustainability; Policy; Pollutants; Climate Change; Business and Government Relations; Globalization; Energy Industry; China

01 Mar 2023
News

Is AI OK?

data science (e.g., unbiased data and algorithms), better implementation (e.g., understanding the target audience and market conditions), and better policies (e.g., auditing algorithms to ensure they perform in an equitable manner). For... View Details

Keywords: Alexander Gelfand; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance

01 Dec 2017
News

@Soldiers Field

Pacific Lake Partners cofounder Jim Southern (MBA 1983). Some 2,400 alumni and guests gathered on campus in October for fall reunions, which included presentations on the science of happier spending, leadership lessons from the musical... View Details

June 2010 (Revised February 2013)
Background Note

The Precautionary Principle

By: Michael W. Toffel and Nazli Z. Uludere Aragon

This note describes the precautionary principle and its key tenets, highlights challenges associated with its use, and includes many examples of its application, primarily within the realm of regulating activities based on the risk of harm to human health and the... View Details

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Health Disorders; Business and Government Relations; Safety; Natural Environment; Pollutants; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Chemical Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry

Web

What’s it Like to be an HBS Partner? - MBA

Business & Environment Career Change Career and Professional Development Case Method Clubs Curriculum Digital Entrepreneurship FIELD Financial Aid Health Care Instagram Takeover JD/MBA Leadership Letters to Classmates MBA/MPP & MBA/MPA-ID... View Details

07 Aug 2015
Research & Ideas

Obama’s Clean Power Plan: Can Nuclear Power Beat the Global Threat of Coal?

This week, President Obama and the Environmental Protection Agency released the final version of the Clean Power Plan, a major set of rules and incentives aimed at reducing greenhouse gas emissions from America's power plants. The plan requires each state to meet a... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

March 2002
Case

2002 Global Coffee Summit: Searching for Solutions

By: Ray A. Goldberg and James M Beagle

Global coffee leaders gathered in 2002 to develop alternative market-based approaches that would ensure a sustainable supply of coffee and address the social and ecological issues confronted by a global depression in coffee prices. View Details

Keywords: Business Strategy; Social Issues; Natural Environment; Price; Food and Beverage Industry