Publications

April 2025
Supplement

Pouring Oil on Troubled Waters: Vickers Oils and Resolving Family Conflict over Generations

By: Lauren Cohen, Octavian Graf Pilati and Sophia Pan

April 2025
Case

Pouring Oil on Troubled Waters: Vickers Oils and Resolving Family Conflict over Generations

By: Lauren Cohen, Octavian Graf Pilati and Sophia Pan

Will Vickers, a seventh-generation (G7) member of the Vickers Family, grappled with a pressing challenge: how to re-integrate family members into the firm to recover lost talent. His father, Peter Vickers, was the lone leader of the Vickers Oils – despite having... View Details

March 2025 (Revised March 2025)
Case

Good for the Seller, Good for the Buyer and Good for Society: Sampo-yoshi, Sustainability and Trust at ITOCHU

By: Sandra J. Sucher and Bethelehem Y Araya

In 2024, ITOCHU CEO Masahiro Okafuji was at a crossroads. As the thirteenth CEO since ITOCHU’s founding in 1858, he had fueled the company’s growth since 2011 by bringing ITOCHU’s founding philosophy of Sampo-yoshi (good for the seller, good for the buyer and... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Trust; Profit; Growth and Development Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Japan

2025
Working Paper

Methane Abatement Costs in the Oil and Gas Industry: Survey and Synthesis

By: Joseph E. Aldy, Forest Reinhardt and Robert N. Stavins

There is growing recognition of the relative importance of anthropogenic emissions of methane as a contributor to global climate change. An important source of such emissions in some countries, including the United States, is the oil and gas (O&G) sector. This points... View Details

Keywords: Emission Reduction; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Pollutants; Energy Industry

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February 2025
Case

Ingersoll Rand: Broadening Employee Ownership

By: Ethan Rouen and Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago

Set in 2024, this case examines how Ingersoll Rand—a global leader in air, liquid, and gas handling technologies—approached broadening employee ownership. The company granted restricted stock units (RSUs) to all employees on their one-year anniversary, reinforcing a... View Details

Keywords: Stock Shares; Employee Stock Ownership Plan; Retention; Employee Ownership; Mergers and Acquisitions; Organizational Culture; Expansion; Africa; Asia; Europe; Latin America; Middle East; North and Central America

September 2024 (Revised February 2025)
Case

Aramco: Navigating the Energy Transition

By: Tarun Khanna and Gizem Cihan Dincsoy

In March 2024, Amin Nasser, president, and CEO of the Saudi Arabian Oil Company (Aramco), had just delivered a speech about the future of energy at a global energy conference. The world was behind schedule in meeting long-term climate change goals. The global shift... View Details

Keywords: Energy Transmission; Oil ＆ Gas; Economic Diversification; Corporate Strategy; Leadership; Business Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Transition; Environmental Sustainability; Diversification; Energy Industry; Saudi Arabia

September 2024
Case

Topaz: Navigating Governance, Legacy, and Change

By: Christina R. Wing and Carla Larangeira

Since its founding in 2011, the Garza Sada brothers and their father positioned Topaz among leading family offices in Monterrey, Mexico, with several assets under management. Topaz aspired to have a transformative impact across multiple Mexican industries. An industry... View Details

Keywords: Business Conglomerates; Family Business; Governing and Advisory Boards; Managerial Roles; Management Succession; Family Ownership; Corporate Governance; Organizational Structure; Adoption; Financial Services Industry; Real Estate Industry; Education Industry; Energy Industry; Latin America; Mexico

July 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Shell’s Balancing Act: Resource Allocation and the Green Transition (Abridged)

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In mid-2023, amid pressure from climate change activists, shareholder activists, and confronting enormous uncertainty about the future demand for and price of fossil fuels, new Shell CEO Wael Sawan (Harvard MBA 2003) announced a change in strategy for the U.K. oil... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Renewables; Forecasting Demand; Strategy; Energy; Climate Change; Resource Allocation; Corporate Strategy; Investment Activism; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Energy Industry

June 2024
Simulation

Vehicle Lifecycle Emissions Calculator

By: Mike Toffel, Shirley Lu and George Serafeim

This Vehicle Lifecycle Emissions Calculator calculates the greenhouse gas emissions over the lifespan of internal combustion engine (ICEs) vehicles, battery electric vehicles (BEVs), and plug-in hybrid electric vehicles (PHEV), including those associated with their... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Environment; Carbon Accounting; Carbon; Carbon Abatement; Electric Vehicles; Automobiles; Environmental Accounting; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Strategy; Technological Innovation; Supply Chain; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Climate Change; Transportation; Transportation Industry; Auto Industry; Battery Industry

June 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Case

Climate Governance at Linde plc (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In July 2023, the Linde plc board of directors' sustainability committee convened in London to review the company's environmental performance, with a focus on decarbonization and clean energy. Linde was the world's largest industrial gas supplier, with a workforce of... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Compensation and Benefits; Innovation Strategy; Leading Change; Goals and Objectives; Business and Shareholder Relations; Chemical Industry; United States; Germany; Europe; North America; London

June 2024
Supplement

Climate Governance at Linde plc (B)

By: Lynn S. Paine, Suraj Srinivasan, Emilie Billaud and Vincent Dessain

In July 2023, the Linde plc board of directors' sustainability committee convened in London to review the company's environmental performance, with a focus on decarbonization and clean energy. Linde was the world's largest industrial gas supplier, with a workforce of... View Details

May 2024
Case

Shell's Balancing Act: Resource Allocation and the Green Transition

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In mid-2023, amid pressure from climate change activists, shareholder activists, and confronting enormous uncertainty about the future demand for and price of fossil fuels, new Shell CEO Wael Sawan (Harvard MBA 2003) announced a change in strategy for the U.K. oil... View Details

Keywords: Portfolio Analysis; Climate; Oil; Oil And Gas; Oil Companies; Renewables; Petroleum; Investor Demand; Investors; Corporate Strategy; Resource Allocation; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business and Shareholder Relations; Energy Industry; United Kingdom

April 2024
Article

Model-based Financial Regulations Impair the Transition to Net-zero Carbon Emissions

By: Matteo Gasparini, Matthew C. Ives, Ben Carr, Sophie Fry and Eric Beinhocker

Investments via the financial system are essential for fostering the green transition. However, the role of existing financial regulations in influencing investment decisions is understudied. Here we analyse data from the European Banking Authority to show that... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Energy Sources

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March 2024
Article

How Foes Become Allies: The Shifting Role of Business in Climate Politics

By: Irja Vormedal and Jonas Meckling

Firms often oppose costly public policy reforms—but under what conditions may they come to support such reforms? Previous scholarship has taken a predominantly static approach to the analysis of business positions. Here, we advance a dynamic theory of change in... View Details

Keywords: Policy; Environmental Regulation; Business and Government Relations

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February 2024 (Revised April 2024)
Case

CPP Investments—The Road to Zero

By: Vikram Gandhi and Radhika Kak

In February 2022, Canadian Pension Plan (CPP) Investments, the investment management organization that managed funds for the CPP, one of the biggest pension plans in the world, announced a net-zero commitment for its portfolio by 2050. Under its CEO, John Graham, it... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Asset Management; Investment Portfolio; Leading Change; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Services Industry; Canada; California

January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Generation Investment Management: Sustainable Investing in a Warming World

By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Michael Norris and David Allen

In September 2021, the sustainable investment firm Generation Investment Management (Generation) considered whether to add Schneider Electric to the focus list of companies in which it was prepared to invest. Dedicated to promoting a sustainable world through its... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Investing; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Governance; Private Equity; Public Equity; Financial Markets; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Institutional Investing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

January 2024
Case

Flashfood: The Magic of Commitment

By: Reza Satchu and Patrick Sanguineti

Josh Domingues had accomplished what countless young entrepreneurs long to achieve: founding a promising company that aspires to make the world a tangibly better place. Shocked to learn that international food waste cumulatively amounted to the world’s third largest... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneur; Founder; Startup; Business Model; Business Startups; Food; Applications and Software; Mission and Purpose; Environmental Sustainability; Canada

January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Pioneer Natural Resources: Enhancing the Capital Return Strategy with Variable Dividends

By: Benjamin C. Esty, Elisabeth Kempf and E. Scott Mayfield

In February 2021, Scott Sheffield, the CEO of Pioneer Natural Resources (an independent oil and gas company based in Texas), was considering the possibility of enhancing the firm’s capital return strategy by introducing a variable dividend tied to cash flows in... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Finance; Cash Flow; Financial Management; Financial Strategy; Value Creation; Decision Choices and Conditions; Investment Return; Profit; Policy; Business and Shareholder Relations; Energy Industry; United States; North America; Texas

December 2023
Case

Raízen: Helping to Decarbonize the World?

By: Gunnar Trumbull, Pedro Levindo, Daniel Tong and Rafaella Mazza

Raízen, the world’s largest sugar and ethanol producer, strived to find ways to expand the second-generation ethanol (E2G) market, which it pioneered. The company planned to invest R$24 billion (around $4.6 billion) in 20 production plants, with a total capacity to... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Factories, Labs, and Plants; Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Production; Expansion; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil; Europe; North America; United States; Argentina; Paraguay