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- All HBS Web
(2,087)
- People (1)
- News (307)
- Research (1,419)
- Events (3)
- Multimedia (3)
- Faculty Publications (871)
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- Fall 2020
- Article
Climate in the Boardroom: Struggling to Reconcile Business as Usual and the End of the World as We Know It
How does one witness to businesspeople about climate change? Climate change is a problem for the collective and the long term, whereas business often requires a ruthless focus on the individual and the quarter. Climate change is an ethical catastrophe whose solution... View Details
Keywords: Sustainable Business; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability
Henderson, Rebecca. "Climate in the Boardroom: Struggling to Reconcile Business as Usual & the End of the World as We Know It." Special Issue on Witnessing Climate Change. Daedalus 149, no. 4 (Fall 2020): 118–124.
- 2011
- Article
Regulatory Uncertainty and Corporate Responses to Environmental Protection in China
By: Christopher Marquis, Jianjun Zhang and Yanhua Zhou
We develop a framework to analyze the closing gap between regulation and enforcement of environmental protection in China and present a number of resulting implications for doing business there. We identify three major dimensions that characterize change in regulatory... View Details
Keywords: Framework; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Law Enforcement; Growth and Development Strategy; Emerging Markets; Business Ventures; Alignment; Risk and Uncertainty; Natural Environment; Motivation and Incentives; Management Practices and Processes; Competitive Strategy; China
Marquis, Christopher, Jianjun Zhang, and Yanhua Zhou. "Regulatory Uncertainty and Corporate Responses to Environmental Protection in China." California Management Review 54, no. 1 (Fall 2011): 39–63.
- 2019
- Working Paper
Improving Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: The Role of Institutional Environments and Monitoring Program Design
By: Jodi L. Short, Michael W. Toffel and Andrea R. Hugill
Activism seeking to improve labor conditions in global supply chains has led transnational corporations to adopt codes of conduct and monitor suppliers for compliance, but it is unclear whether these formal organizational structures raise labor standards. Drawing on... View Details
Keywords: Monitoring; Supplier Relationship; Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Sustainable Operations; Sustainable Supply Chains; NGO; Globalization; Corporate Accountability; Operations; Supply Chain; Supply Chain Management; Labor; Working Conditions; Business Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Evaluation; Safety; Risk and Uncertainty; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Electronics Industry; China; Indonesia; India; Bangladesh
Short, Jodi L., Michael W. Toffel, and Andrea R. Hugill. "Improving Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: The Role of Institutional Environments and Monitoring Program Design." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 17-001, July 2016. (Revised September 2019. Formerly titled "Code Contingencies: Designing Monitoring Regimes to Promote Improvement in Supply Chain Working Conditions" and "Beyond Symbolic Responses to Private Politics.")
- November 2010
- Supplement
Esquel Group: Building a Sustainable Partnership with Cotton Farmers in Xinjiang (B)
By: James K. Sebenius and Jason Cheng Qian
Details and evaluates results in Esquel's 2002 initiative to negotiate long-term partnerships with often-exploited farmers in Xinjiang (western China) to procure a superior cotton variety. View Details
Keywords: Contracts; Agreements and Arrangements; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Outcome or Result; Leasing; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Partners and Partnerships; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Hong Kong; Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu
Sebenius, James K., and Jason Cheng Qian. "Esquel Group: Building a Sustainable Partnership with Cotton Farmers in Xinjiang (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 911-032, November 2010.
- September–October 2020
- Article
Social-Impact Efforts That Create Real Value
By: George Serafeim
Until the mid-2010s few investors paid attention to environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data—information about companies’ carbon footprints, labor policies, board makeup, and so forth. Today the data is widely used by investors. How can organizations create... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainability Management; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG Disclosure; ESG Disclosure Metrics; ESG Ratings; ESG Reporting; Social Impact; Impact Measurement; Social Innovation; Purpose; Corporate Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility; Strategy; Social Enterprise; Society; Accounting; Investment; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Corporate Strategy; Mission and Purpose; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Services Industry; Chemical Industry; Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; North America; Europe; Japan; Australia
Serafeim, George. "Social-Impact Efforts That Create Real Value." Harvard Business Review 98, no. 5 (September–October 2020): 38–48.
- 17 Jul 2014
- Panel Discussion
Monitoring the Monitors: How Social Factors Influence Supply Chain Auditors
By: Jodi L. Short and Michael W. Toffel
Keywords: CSR; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility; Outsourced Production; Outsourcing; Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Auditing; Audit Quality; Gender; Conflicts Of Interest; Bias; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Electronics Industry; Manufacturing Industry; China; India; Pakistan; Bangladesh; Mexico; Brazil; Viet Nam; Indonesia; Philippines; Sri Lanka; Taiwan; South Korea
Short, Jodi L., and Michael W. Toffel. "Monitoring the Monitors: How Social Factors Influence Supply Chain Auditors." Elevate Limited Webinar, July 17, 2014. (Webinar coordinated by Elevate Limited.)
- Article
Sustainability, Business, and Health
By: George Serafeim, Amanda M. Rischbieth and Howard K. Koh
The coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic has demonstrated that response demands involvement from every sector of society. As a major example, some businesses have stepped up in ways previously unimaginable. Garment companies have repurposed production to face... View Details
Keywords: COVID; COVID-19; Sustainability; Health And Wellness; Corporate Social Responsibility; Health Pandemics; Health; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Accountability; Health Care and Treatment
Serafeim, George, Amanda M. Rischbieth, and Howard K. Koh. "Sustainability, Business, and Health." JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association 324, no. 2 (July 14, 2020): 147–148.
- 18 Oct 2011
- Working Paper Summaries
Historical Trajectories and Corporate Competences in Wind Energy
- March 22, 2016
- Article
The Globalization of Corporate Environmental Disclosure: Accountability or Greenwashing?
By: Christopher Marquis, Michael W. Toffel and Yanhua Zhou
This article is a layman summary of "Scrutiny, Norms, and Selective Disclosure: A Global Study of Greenwashing," published in Organization Science 27, no. 2 (March–April 2016): 483–504. View Details
Keywords: Reporting; Environmental Performance; Civil Society; Corporate Disclosure; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Civil Society or Community; Environmental Sustainability
Marquis, Christopher, Michael W. Toffel, and Yanhua Zhou. "The Globalization of Corporate Environmental Disclosure: Accountability or Greenwashing?" Work In Progress (American Sociological Association blog) (March 22, 2016). (Reprinted as Environmental disclosure: corporate accountability or greenwashing?” LSE Business Review, June 9, 2016.)
- March 2025
- Article
Limited Accountability and Awareness of Corporate Emissions Target Outcomes
By: Xiaoyan Jiang, Shawn Kim and Shirley Lu
Firms are increasingly announcing targets to reduce their carbon emissions, but it is unclear whether firms are held accountable for these targets. Here we examine emissions targets that ended in 2020 to investigate the final target outcomes, the transparency of target... View Details
Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Goals and Objectives; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Accountability; Environmental Sustainability; Public Opinion
Jiang, Xiaoyan, Shawn Kim, and Shirley Lu. "Limited Accountability and Awareness of Corporate Emissions Target Outcomes." Nature Climate Change 15, no. 3 (March 2025): 279–286.
- 01 Oct 2008
- Working Paper Summaries
Responding to Public and Private Politics: Corporate Disclosure of Climate Change Strategies
Keywords: by Erin M. Reid & Michael W. Toffel
- 03 Feb 2018
- Op-Ed
How to Heed BlackRock's Call for Corporate Social Responsibility
Larry Fink recently created a shockwave. As cofounder, chairman, and CEO of BlackRock, one of the world’s largest global asset management firms, in an open letter to CEOs he caught the attention of financial markets and beyond by insisting on the importance of... View Details
Keywords: by Julie Battilana
- November 2010
- Case
Esquel Group: Building a Sustainable Partnership with Cotton Farmers in Xinjiang (A)
By: James K. Sebenius and Jason Cheng Qian
Esquel Group, leading manufacturer of quality shirts, sought to negotiate long-term partnerships with often-exploited farmers in Xinjiang (western China) to procure a superior cotton variety. Seeking to secure a large supply of specialty cotton in an ethical and... View Details
Keywords: Contracts; Agreements and Arrangements; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Leasing; Business and Community Relations; Business and Government Relations; Partners and Partnerships; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Hong Kong; Xinjiang Uygur Zizhiqu
Sebenius, James K., and Jason Cheng Qian. "Esquel Group: Building a Sustainable Partnership with Cotton Farmers in Xinjiang (A)." Harvard Business School Case 911-031, November 2010.
- Research Summary
Green Industrial Strategy
By: Gunnar Trumbull
How do firms and governments work together to support and accelerate corporate decarbonization? As firms increasingly integrate climate responses into their corporate strategies, governments must design policies that support and defend those efforts. Successfully... View Details
- 2019
- Working Paper
Intelligent Design of Inclusive Growth Strategies
By: Robert S. Kaplan, George Serafeim and Eduardo Tugendhat
Improving corporate engagement with society, as advocated in the Business Roundtable’s 2019 statement, should not be viewed as a zero-sum proposition where attention to new stakeholders detracts from delivering shareholder value. Corporate programs for sustainable and... View Details
Keywords: Inclusion; Sustainability; Performance Measures; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Strategy; Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations
Kaplan, Robert S., George Serafeim, and Eduardo Tugendhat. "Intelligent Design of Inclusive Growth Strategies." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-050, October 2019.
- June 12, 2019
- Article
Business as Usual Will Not Save the Planet
By: Mark R. Kramer, Rishi Agarwal and Aditi Srivinas
The United Nations’ 17 sustainable development goals (SDGs) were explicitly designed to engage the private sector in addressing the world’s most pressing challenges. Four years into the UN’s 15-year timeline, the question is whether companies are advancing serious... View Details
Keywords: Sustainable Development; Environmental Sustainability; Goals and Objectives; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Planning
Kramer, Mark R., Rishi Agarwal, and Aditi Srivinas. "Business as Usual Will Not Save the Planet." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (June 12, 2019).
- August 2020
- Article
Improving Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: The Role of Institutional Environments and Monitoring Program Design
By: Jodi L. Short, Michael W. Toffel and Andrea R. Hugill
Activism seeking to improve labor conditions in global supply chains has led many transnational corporations to adopt codes of conduct and monitor suppliers for compliance. Drawing on thousands of audits conducted by a major social auditor, we identify structural... View Details
Keywords: Monitoring; Supplier Relationship; Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Sustainable Operations; Sustainable Supply Chains; NGO; Operations; Supply Chain Management; Governance Compliance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Global Range; Working Conditions
Short, Jodi L., Michael W. Toffel, and Andrea R. Hugill. "Improving Working Conditions in Global Supply Chains: The Role of Institutional Environments and Monitoring Program Design." ILR Review 73, no. 4 (August 2020): 873–912.
- 06 Nov 2012
- Op-Ed
Stop Talking About the Weather and Do Something: Three Ways to Finance Sustainable Cities
The wrath of Hurricane Sandy has illuminated a fundamental question: How do we ensure that our cities are resilient in the face of inevitable future disasters? A destroyed city is not a sustainable city. I'm making the case that it's time... View Details
- 2011
- Module Note
Social and Environmental Responsibility: Case Study of Hindustan Unilever Ltd.
By: Shashank Shah and Shashank Shah
Keywords: Social Responsibility Of Business; Corporate Social Responsibility; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Consumer Products Industry; India; United Kingdom
Shah, Shashank. "Social and Environmental Responsibility: Case Study of Hindustan Unilever Ltd." India: Sage Publications Module Note, 2011.
- March 2017 (Revised June 2019)
- Case
CEO Activism (A)
By: Michael W. Toffel, Aaron K. Chatterji and Julia Kelley
This case introduces CEO activism, a phenomenon in which business leaders engage in political or social issues that do not relate directly to their companies. The case uses several examples to describe why business leaders are engaging in CEO activism and the potential... View Details
Keywords: Leadership & Corporate Accountability; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Environment; Climate Change; Gender Equality; Communication Strategy; Moral Sensibility; Values and Beliefs; Leadership; Law; Rights; Risk Management; Media; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Religion; Expansion; Strategy; Social Issues; Consumer Products Industry; Electronics Industry; Technology Industry; United States; Indiana; North Carolina
Toffel, Michael W., Aaron K. Chatterji, and Julia Kelley. "CEO Activism (A)." Harvard Business School Case 617-001, March 2017. (Revised June 2019.)