Publications

March 1996 (Revised January 2002)
Case

Freeport Indonesia

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

In 1996, PT Freeport Indonesia, the mining subsidiary of Freeport McMoRan, had just completed an expansion of its copper and gold mine in the western half of New Guinea. The mine, which had dealt with numerous environmental and sociocultural problems over the past... View Details

Keywords: Trade; Mining; Environmental Sustainability; Business Strategy; Expansion; Social Issues; Mining Industry; Indonesia

2002
Chapter

Bridging the Gap: How Improved Information Can Help Companies Integrate Shareholder Value and Environmental Quality

By: Forest Reinhardt

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Shareholder Relations; Information; Environmental Sustainability

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17 Sep 2024
HBS Case

The Climate Targets Leaders Need to Know as Regulations Loom

Michael Toffel, the Senator John Heinz Professor of Environmental Management at Harvard Business School. Roughly 42 percent of Fortune 500 companies said they’d reached an environmental target or committed to reaching one by 2030, an 11... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

19 Aug 2002
Research & Ideas

Here Comes Internet2—Time to Shed Dot Vertigo

fallacious," Nolan charged. In a lively discussion with about fifty HBS alumni held during reunion weekend this summer, Nolan, who spent a year's sabbatical concentrating on Internet2, described the current state and potential of the beast. Though its View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace

October 2009 (Revised November 2016)
Case

Generation Health: A Pioneer in Genetics Benefit Management (A)

By: Robert F. Higgins, Jeffrey D. Marrazzo and Rachel Gordon

Generation Health, a pioneer in the new field of genetics benefit management and a newly formed company, faces many strategic issues. CEO Per Lofberg is in the midst of negotiating a partnership with a major pharmacy benefit management company. As part of these... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Entrepreneurship; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Growth and Development Strategy; Partners and Partnerships; Genetics; Health Industry; Insurance Industry

November 2019 (Revised June 2020)
Case

Indigo Agriculture: Harnessing Nature

By: Marco Iansiti, Michael W. Toffel and James Barnett

Indigo Agriculture used a digital-enabled research and development (R&D) process to launch its initial product, microbial coatings for agricultural seeds, which increase crop yields while reducing the need for fertilizers. In doing so, the company developed direct... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Sequestration; Operations; Supply Chain; Social Enterprise; Product Development; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Digital Platforms; Environmental Sustainability; Science-Based Business; Climate Change; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States; Massachusetts

26 Sep 2007
Sharpening Your Skills

Sharpening Your Skills: Negotiation

Sharpening Your Skills dives into the HBS Working Knowledge archives to bring together articles on ways to improve your business skills. Questions to be answered: How can I negotiate more skillfully and confidently? How can I negotiate in... View Details

February 2015 (Revised March 2016)
Case

China Shenhua Energy Company

By: Forest L. Reinhardt, G. A. Donovan and Keith Chi-ho Wong

A leading Chinese energy firm, active in coal mining and electric power generation, analyzes coal-to-liquids technology in light of energy security and environmental concerns. View Details

Keywords: Environment; China; CO2; Coal Mining; Electricity; Sustainability; Energy; Strategy; Business and Government Relations; Energy Generation; Energy Sources; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; China; Asia

07 Oct 2013
Research & Ideas

The Case for Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking

If you ask any given environmentalist to identify the biggest threat to the planet, you may expect to hear about man-made climate change, consumerism, or overpopulation. But if you ask Harvard Business School's Joseph B. Lassiter, he'll... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

Apr 2010
Conference Presentation

The Globalization of Corporate Environmental Transparency

By: Michael W. Toffel

Keywords: Globalization; Business Ventures; Natural Environment

16 Feb 2021
Research & Ideas

To Fight Climate Change, Should Green Investors Reconsider Big Oil?

from most so-called sustainable funds. But this stance eliminates some of the most prolific and influential producers of green innovation, including Exxon Mobil, BP, and Chevron, according to recent research by Harvard Business School... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Energy

14 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

New Agenda for Corporate Accountability Reporting

how it affects social value in society at large. That could soon start to change. Karthik Ramanna, an associate professor at Harvard Business School who studies the political economy of corporate accountability and financial reporting,... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Accounting; Energy; Utilities

June 1982 (Revised May 1995)
Case

Ellis Manufacturing Co.

By: Roy D. Shapiro

Ellis finds itself in a weakening competitive position largely due to the lack of rationalization in its plants. Driven by a strong traditionally decentralized sales organization, Ellis finds that all plants want control over all product lines. As a result, overall... View Details

Keywords: Factories, Labs, and Plants; Cost; Analytics and Data Science; Brands and Branding; Performance Capacity; Competitive Strategy; Construction Industry

13 Nov 2019
Working Paper Summaries

Shareholder Activism and Firms’ Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks

Keywords: by Caroline Flammer, Michael W. Toffel, and Kala Viswanathan

09 Aug 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Shareholder Activism on Sustainability Issues

Keywords: by Jody Grewal, George Serafeim, and Aaron Yoon

May 2002 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Yangcheng: AES in China

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

AES, an American electric power company with 141 plants worldwide, is just completing construction of a 2,100-MW plant in China--the largest ever. The project, a joint venture with five local companies, has several environmental, ownership, and operational issues as... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Joint Ventures; Foreign Direct Investment; Environmental Sustainability; Problems and Challenges; Energy Industry; China

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April 1999
Teaching Note

Managing Experimentation: Module Overview Note for Managing Product Development(Note for Instructor)

By: Stefan H. Thomke

Describes the conceptual foundations and pedagogy for a module on managing experimentation in the development of products and services. The module has been taught in the second-year elective MBA course Managing Product Development. The purpose of the module is to help... View Details

Keywords: Transition; Business or Company Management; Product Development; Personal Development and Career; Science; Technology Adoption

28 May 2012
Research & Ideas

A Pragmatic Alternative for Creating a Corporate Social Responsibility Strategy

majority of them are not doing it effectively," says V. Kasturi "Kash" Rangan, the Malcolm P. McNair Professor of Marketing at Harvard Business School. "If you look at the Fortune 100 companies, you'll find at least half of them could do... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

December 2019 (Revised January 2021)
Supplement

The Leveraged Buyout of TXU: (B) Energy Future Holdings

By: Trevor Fetter, Erik Snowberg and Rebecca M. Henderson

This case is designed to support a lively discussion about the relative merits of shareholder vs. stakeholder perspectives in the context of a company that provides a vital public service that has important environmental implications. The 2007 purchase of TXU, the... View Details

Keywords: Leveraged Buyouts; Transformation; Insolvency and Bankruptcy; Environmental Sustainability; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Energy Generation; Utilities Industry; Energy Industry; Texas