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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,285)
- People (2)
- News (280)
- Research (1,799)
- Events (5)
- Multimedia (7)
- Faculty Publications (1,335)
- November 2023 (Revised February 2025)
- Background Note
Corporate Climate Targets
By: Willy C. Shih, Michael W. Toffel and Kelsey Carter
Companies that are addressing climate change by mitigating their greenhouse gas emissions often set reduction targets. This note describes several types of widely used carbon reduction targets, including carbon neutral, science based, net zero, real zero, and carbon... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Sustainability; Environmental Strategy; Climate Risk; Target-setting; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Accountability; Policy; Measurement and Metrics; Strategic Planning; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact
Shih, Willy C., Michael W. Toffel, and Kelsey Carter. "Corporate Climate Targets." Harvard Business School Background Note 624-041, November 2023. (Revised February 2025.)
- 2014
- Working Paper
The Role of the Corporation in Society: An Alternative View and Opportunities for Future Research
By: George Serafeim
A long-standing ideology in business education has been that a corporation is run for the sole interest of its shareholders. I present an alternative view where increasing concentration of economic activity and power in the world's largest corporations, the Global... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Governance; Environment; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Sustainability; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainability Research; Sustainability Targets; Corporate Performance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact
Serafeim, George. "The Role of the Corporation in Society: An Alternative View and Opportunities for Future Research." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 14-110, May 2014.
- 22 Mar 2023
- Blog Post
Decarbonization and Sustainable Production: Immersive Field Course in Denmark and the Netherlands
graduated in 2016 and realized that oil and gas may not be the career I was looking for due to the industry’s adverse environmental impact. The world was starting to move on to cleaner and more sustainable... View Details
- 24 Apr 2014
- News
Showing business leaders the benefits of sustainable operations
Carter Roberts (MBA 1988), CEO of the World Wildlife Fund, talks about working with business leaders to see the benefits of sustainable operations and environmental sensitivity. (Published April 2014) View Details
- November 2017
- Case
Passion and Strategy: Novozymes' Embrace of the UN Sustainable Development Goals
By: Andy Zelleke and Emilie Billaud
This case explores the sustainability efforts at Novozymes, the world's largest and oldest producer of industrial enzymes. In 2015, the Danish company became the world’s first company known to have crafted a new corporate strategy based on the United Nations... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Governance; Transformation; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Mission and Purpose; Business and Shareholder Relations; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Business Strategy; Organizational Culture; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Biotechnology Industry; Europe; Denmark
Zelleke, Andy, and Emilie Billaud. "Passion and Strategy: Novozymes' Embrace of the UN Sustainable Development Goals." Harvard Business School Case 318-088, November 2017.
- July–August 2014
- Article
Sustainability in the Boardroom: Lessons from Nike's Playbook
By: Lynn S. Paine
One surprising role of Nike's corporate responsibility committee is to provide support for innovation. More and more companies recognize the importance of corporate responsibility to their long-term success—and yet the matter gets short shrift in most boardrooms,... View Details
Keywords: Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Globalized Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Sports Industry
Paine, Lynn S. "Sustainability in the Boardroom: Lessons from Nike's Playbook." Harvard Business Review 92, nos. 7/8 (July–August 2014): 87–94.
- 2006
- Chapter
Designing Sustainability at BMW Group: The Designworks/USA Experience
By: Kellie McElhaney, Michael W. Toffel and Natalie Hill
McElhaney, Kellie, Michael W. Toffel, and Natalie Hill. "Designing Sustainability at BMW Group: The Designworks/USA Experience." In Strategic Sustainability: The State of the Art in Corporate Environmental Management Systems, edited by J. Sarkis and R. Sroufe. Sheffield, U.K.: Greenleaf Publishing, 2006.
- 22 Nov 2022
- News
Alumni Summit Explores Leadership for a Sustainable Future
organizing committee. “Consumers, workers, government, and financial institutions are putting increasing pressure on companies to provide more sustainable products and services. We felt it would be interesting to share how leadership is... View Details
Keywords: Margie Kelley
- January 2002
- Article
Cognitive and Institutional Barriers to New Forms of Cooperation on Environmental Protection
By: A. J. Hoffman, H. Riley, J. G. Troast and M. H. Bazerman
Hoffman, A. J., H. Riley, J. G. Troast, and M. H. Bazerman. "Cognitive and Institutional Barriers to New Forms of Cooperation on Environmental Protection." American Behavioral Scientist 45, no. 5 (January 2002).
- Article
Managing Climate Change: Lessons from the U.S. Navy
By: Forest Reinhardt and Michael W. Toffel
The U.S. Navy operates on the front lines of climate change. It manages tens of billions of dollars in assets on every continent and on every ocean, which take many years to design and build and then have decades of useful life. This means that it needs to understand... View Details
Keywords: Climate Change; Environment; Military; Disaster Relief; Refugees; Environmental Impact; Environmental Strategy; Sustainability; Energy; Energy Conservation; Energy Sources; Energy Generation; Globalization; Innovation and Invention; Leadership; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Risk and Uncertainty; Supply Chain; Operations; Logistics; Infrastructure; Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Service Industry
Reinhardt, Forest, and Michael W. Toffel. "Managing Climate Change: Lessons from the U.S. Navy." Harvard Business Review 95, no. 4 (July–August 2017): 102–111.
- 23 Mar 2023
- Blog Post
Arla Foods: How Sustainable Can A Dairy Company Be?
of emissions on a farm-by-farm basis. Arla has developed a sustainability incentive model to incorporate the carbon footprint of each farmer’s milk production as a factor in their compensation. By allocating points across a variety of... View Details
- 21 Mar 2023
- Blog Post
Grundfos: Innovation & Inspiration for Sustainable Product Design
In January 2023, Professors Willy Shih and Mike Toffel led more than 40 HBS MBA students on site visits to witness the energy transition and innovative sustainable production activities throughout Denmark and the Netherlands, in their new... View Details
- Article
Making 'Green Giants': Environment Sustainability in the German Chemical Industry, 1950s–1980s
By: Geoffrey Jones and Christina Lubinski
This article examines the evolution of corporate environmentalism in the West German chemical industry between the 1950s and the 1980s. It focuses on two companies, Bayer and Henkel, that have been identified as "green giants," and traces the evolution of their... View Details
Keywords: Business History; Green Business; Regional Strategy; Pollution; Henkel; Bayer; Globalization; History; Chemical Industry; Germany; United States
Jones, Geoffrey, and Christina Lubinski. "Making 'Green Giants': Environment Sustainability in the German Chemical Industry, 1950s–1980s." Business History 56, no. 4 (July 2014): 623–649.
- September 2014
- Article
The New Heretics: Hybrid Organizations and the Challenges they Present to Corporate Sustainability
By: Nardia Haigh and Andrew J. Hoffman
Corporate sustainability has become mainstream; reaching into all areas of business management. Yet despite this progress, large-scale social and ecological issues continue to worsen. In this article, we examine how corporate sustainability has been enacted as a... View Details
Keywords: Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Mission and Purpose
Haigh, Nardia, and Andrew J. Hoffman. "The New Heretics: Hybrid Organizations and the Challenges they Present to Corporate Sustainability." Organization & Environment 27, no. 3 (September 2014): 223–241.
- 17 Oct 2022
- Blog Post
6 Things to Know About Sustainability at HBS
Sustainability is a core value at HBS, and we endeavor to build a healthier, more sustainable, and inclusive community. We know that environmental sustainability is of growing... View Details
- 01 Dec 2018
- News
Sustaining Business And Society For The Long Term
B-corp on a mission to further people’s passion for baking through environmentally sound practices. “Sustainability is so much bigger than just climate change. It’s about sustaining societies and even... View Details
- November 2023 (Revised August 2024)
- Background Note
Life Cycle Assessment: An Overview
By: Willy C. Shih, Michael W. Toffel and Kelsey Carter
Life cycle assessment (LCA) is a holistic approach to quantifying the environmental impacts—including resources consumed and wastes produced—associated with the entire life cycle of a product, from the production or extraction of the raw materials used in its creation,... View Details
Keywords: Life-cycle; Environmental Performance; Design; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Measurement and Metrics; Standards; Accounting; Environmental Accounting
Shih, Willy C., Michael W. Toffel, and Kelsey Carter. "Life Cycle Assessment: An Overview." Harvard Business School Background Note 624-052, November 2023. (Revised August 2024.)
- 2018
- Working Paper
Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America During Globalization Waves
By: Geoffrey Jones
This working paper examines the impact of modern business enterprise on the natural environment of Latin America during the globalization waves between the 19th century and the present day. It argues that although global capitalism created much wealth for the region,... View Details
Keywords: Globalization; Natural Environment; Outcome or Result; Business History; Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Tourism Industry; Latin America
Jones, Geoffrey. "Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America During Globalization Waves." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-009, August 2018.
- December 2012
- Article
What Drives Corporate Social Performance? The Role of Nation-level Institutions
By: Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim
Based on Whitley's "National Business Systems" (NBS) institutional framework (Whitley 1997, 1999), we theorize about and empirically investigate the impact of nation-level institutions on firms' corporate social performance (CSP). Using a sample of firms from 42... View Details
Keywords: Environment; Environmental Performance; Corporate Social Responsibility; Sustainability; Institutions; Institutional Theory; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Governance
Ioannou, Ioannis, and George Serafeim. "What Drives Corporate Social Performance? The Role of Nation-level Institutions." Journal of International Business Studies 43, no. 9 (December 2012): 834–864.