Publications

July 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Background Note

District Heating: An Overview

By: Willy Shih and Michael W. Toffel

This note provides an overview of district heating: systems in which central plants generate heat that is conveyed by steam or water through a set of insulated pipes to send heat to residential and/or commercial buildings. It describes key elements of the system (heat... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Energy Efficiency; Energy Storage; Energy Transmission; Construction; Energy; Buildings and Facilities; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Climate Change; Operations; Energy Industry; Denmark; Europe; United States

04 Oct 2010
News

Citigroup Must Break Down Silos For New Service Aimed At Cities

16 Sep 2011
News

AIG Restores Name in TV Ad, Fulfilling CEO Call on Comeback

17 Dec 2021
Blog Post

Student Conference: Climate Symposium 2021

Save the date for the 2nd Annual Harvard Business School Climate Symposium on Sunday, November 6th, 2022! Visit the website for more information and registration. ---------- This year, the Energy & Environment Club, Food, Agriculture & View Details

27 Oct 2014
News

How Boston is rethinking its relationship with the sea

31 Oct 2019
Video

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala

Jaime Augusto Zobel de Ayala, Chair of the Philippines-based Ayala Group, with interests in real estate, public infrastructure, insurance, and banking, discusses how the government’s privatization program in... View Details

29 Apr 2010
News

Harvard Business School Holds 14th Annual Business Plan Contest

10 Jan 2017
Blog Post

From Product Development to Business School

I sat there silently screaming. Eyes flitting across the room at the faces sitting around the table gathered for a Brita leadership team meeting. They couldn’t possibly do it, I thought to myself, clutching my 3D-printed prototype like a wounded sparrow. I had spent... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Manufacturing; Consumer Products / Retail

22 Apr 2008
News

Why China Needs India's Transparency

18 Jan 2012
News

Harvard alums see U.S. lagging

March 2005 (Revised August 2007)
Case

Aguas Argentinas: Settling a Dispute

By: Louis T. Wells Jr. and Alexandra de Royere

The French-owned Aguas Argentinas faces a demand from the Argentine government that it renegotiate its concession to operate the Buenos Aires water and sewage services. The company must decide whether to continue with efforts to settle on a new contract or to exercise... View Details

Keywords: Foreign Direct Investment; Contracts; Infrastructure; Privatization; Business and Government Relations; Conflict and Resolution; Business Strategy; Utilities Industry; France; Buenos Aires

21 Oct 2019
News

Solving for Climate Change’s Impact on Urban Water: Flooding, Sea Rise, and Drought?

June 2011 (Revised December 2013)
Case

FIJI Water: Carbon Negative?

By: Francesca Gino, Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice

Seeking to go beyond global best practices in reducing environmental impacts, FIJI Water, a premium artesian bottled water company in the United States, launched a Carbon Negative campaign that would offset more greenhouse gas emissions than were released by the... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Footprint; Carbon Offsetting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Brands and Branding; Negotiation Tactics; Business and Government Relations; Corporate Strategy; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Fiji

January 1998 (Revised February 1998)
Case

Sideco Americana S.A. (A)

By: Lynn S. Paine and Harold F. Hogan Jr

This case focuses on a decision the Sideco management team faces when customers of its newly acquired and privatized water and sewer company neglect to pay its bills. Describes the effort to transform an old-style Argentine construction and engineering company into a... View Details

Keywords: Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Organizational Structure; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Transformation; Business or Company Management; Values and Beliefs; Argentina

Find at Harvard

Video

Happy Earth Day from HBS

April 2012 (Revised January 2013)
Case

The Great East Japan Earthquake (A)

By: Hirotaka Takeuchi and Victor Stone

At 2:46pm on March 11th, 2011, a 9.0M earthquake shook the Tohoku (Northeastern) region of Japan. The epicenter of the earthquake was in the coastal waters of Tohoku and reverberations from the quake triggered a tsunami that ravaged the coastal shores of Eastern Japan.... View Details

Keywords: Japan; Earthquake; Tohoku; Tsunami; Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power Facility; Natural Disasters; Japan

30 Aug 2016
First Look

August 30, 2016

the CFO role. Purchase this case: https://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cbmp/product/216079-PDF-ENG Harvard Business School Case 316-178 Olivia Lum: Wanting to Save the World This case considers the entrepreneurial career of Olivia Lum, who founded the Singaporean View Details

Keywords: Carmen Nobel

June 2003
Case

Peabody Simpson at the Crossroads

By: Rajiv Lal, Nitin Nohria and Leslie Freeman

Three managing directors at Peabody Simpson had just returned from a firm-wide recruiting event at Columbia University, which they had covered together, as all were alumni. They were commiserating about having to submit revised forecasts to their division heads by the... View Details

Keywords: Forecasting and Prediction; Capital Budgeting; Recruitment; Reports; Organizational Design