Environmental Policy - Publications - Faculty & Research

06 Jul 2010
Research & Ideas

Renewable Energy: Winds at Our Back?

When American energy entrepreneur Jim Gordon envisioned the first offshore wind farm lining the horizon a few miles off the coast of the eastern United States, he perhaps did not factor in blowback from almost every angle. Gordon's nearly 10-year battle to gain... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

05 Jun 2013
Op-Ed

Corporate Leaders Need to Step Up on Climate Change

Green initiatives are ubiquitous these days, implemented with zeal at companies like Dupont, IBM, Walmart, and Walt Disney. The programs being rolled out—lighting retrofits, zero-waste factories, and carpool incentives—save money and provide a green glow. Most large... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Toffel & Auden Schendler

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 toss in another: single-issue... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

15 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Funding the Design of Livable Cities

innovative design in the built environment. To create an environmentally sustainable built environment, design that focuses on maximizing natural resource efficiency, planning that fosters public health, business models that attract the... View Details

Keywords: by Lisa Chase; Construction; Real Estate; Energy; Utilities

19 Oct 2011
Research & Ideas

Designing Cities for a Sustainable Future

On a June day in Manhattan with temperatures heading into the 90s, a straphanger named Mike is taking his customary subway ride to work. People are grumbling about the heat, but hey, it's summer, it's supposed to be hot, and besides, "Whaddya gonna do?" New Yorkers... View Details

Keywords: by Garry Emmons; Construction; Real Estate

01 May 2020
In Practice

COVID-19’s Hard Lessons Might Prepare Business for Climate Change

impacting the planet. These tentative findings suggest that COVID-19 is making climate increasingly a top-of-mind issue. Now, it is up to corporations and policy makers to translate this attentional focus into actions and habits that... View Details

Keywords: by Danielle Kost

24 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

The Climate Needs Aggressive CEO Leadership

Corporations are facing great uncertainty. For the world to avoid the worst impacts of climate change, the United States eventually will have to put a price on carbon dioxide emissions, as has been done by Europe, parts of Canada, and California. To plan for the... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Toffel & Auden Schendler; Energy; Utilities

09 Sep 2013
Lessons from the Classroom

Teaching Climate Change to Skeptics

A few years ago, Joseph B. Lassiter traveled to San Francisco, Houston, and New York to hold discussions with Harvard alumni on the topic of business and the environment. Each time, he surveyed the audience about the touchy subject of climate change and how society... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel

19 Jan 2021
In Practice

Leadership Advice for Biden: Restore a Sense of Calm

the world into a multidimensional crisis. We are not only facing a health crisis, but economic and social crises, too, characterized by rising inequalities on top of an environmental crisis. A common root of these multiple crises can be... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman

08 Oct 2014
Research & Ideas

Who Is the Chief Sustainability Officer?

Since the start of the 2000s, a high-level corporate position has evolved that is still something of a mystery. As companies have engaged in more efforts around sustainability, environmental and otherwise, the "chief sustainability... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Manufacturing

April 1994 (Revised August 1994)
Case

Brazilian Foundation for Sustainable Development

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Keywords: Development Economics; Environmental Sustainability; Policy; Brazil

Citation

Find at Harvard

February 1980 (Revised November 1981)
Case

Work of a Regulatory Agency: The EPA and Toxic Substances

By: J. Ronald Fox and Lynne O. Cabot

Keywords: Government Administration; Environmental Sustainability; Policy; Public Administration Industry; United States

Citation

Find at Harvard

08 Apr 2011
Research & Ideas

Will the Japan Disaster Remake the Landscape for Green Energy in Asia?

—Robert Todd, HSBC "Following the tragic events in Japan, this has spurred many people to review their policies towards nuclear," said Robert Todd, director for renewable energy in the Resources and Energy Group at HSBC.... View Details

Keywords: by Dennis Fisher; Energy; Utilities

December 2006 (Revised October 2007)
Case

Embrapa

By: David E. Bell and Mary L. Shelman

Brazil's national agricultural research corporation, Embrapa, has developed an integrated crop and livestock production system that will allow farmers and ranchers to intensify production and improve profitability. Broad adoption of the technology would provide the... View Details

Keywords: Agribusiness; Policy; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Technology Adoption; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Brazil

Citation

Educators

Purchase

04 Sep 2001
Research & Ideas

Five Questions for Max Bazerman

overfishing, and global warming. Why hasn't the U.S. government been able to hammer out an environmental policy that will appease both environmentalists and industry? A: Parties in View Details

Keywords: Re: Max H. Bazerman

26 Feb 2014
Research & Ideas

How Grocery Bags Manipulate Your Mind

examine whether it was important that you made the decision to bring the bags as opposed to a store policy that requires it," says Karmarkar, noting that some stores obligate customers to bring their own bags; others charge customers... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Retail

24 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 24

and further development of the original cluster framework. The fourth part then explores the policy implications to be drawn from Porter's work on clusters. Porter develops recommendations on how to leverage clusters as a tool in economic... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

03 Dec 2018
Research & Ideas

How Companies Can Increase Market Rewards for Sustainability Efforts

all those efforts.” Serafeim advises companies to be clear when communicating details on how ESG policies are part of their everyday operations. Having a separate report that looks at ESG doesn’t cut it anymore, he says. “It’s a lot about... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

June 2022 (Revised January 2023)
Case

South Africa – a 'Just Energy Transition'

By: Richard Vietor

South Africa, like most other countries, is in the process of reducing its carbon emissions to comply with COP26 and, hopefully, reach net zero emissions by 2050. However, because South Africa relies almost wholly on coal (93%) for electricity, and on coal for... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Economic Development; Climate Change; Coal Mining; Emission Reduction; Environmental Regulation; Environmental Sustainability; Environmental Law; Labor and Management Relations; Labor Unions; Natural Resources; Energy Policy; Energy Sources; South Africa

Citation

Educators

Purchase

August 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Case

T.G.S. Transportation: Battery Electric or Hydrogen?

By: Willy C. Shih

Peter Schneider, the President of T.G.S. Transportation, Inc., faced a choice. His company operated drayage trucks that moved containerized cargo between the Ports of Los Angeles, Long Beach, and Oakland to customers across the State of California, with a focus on the... View Details