Publications

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January 2020
Background Note

Climate Change in 2020: Implications for Business

By: Rebecca M. Henderson, Sophus A. Reinert and Mariana Oseguera

This note provides general information about climate change and its implications for business. Included is an overview of climate change science and a number of its impacts, including rising sea levels, changing weather patterns and extreme weather, pressure on water... View Details

06 Nov 2008
Working Paper Summaries

Extending Producer Responsibility: An Evaluation Framework for Product Take-Back Policies

Keywords: by Michael W. Toffel, Antoinette Stein & Katharine L. Lee; Chemical

June 2022
Teaching Note

Bespoken Spirits: Disrupting Distilling

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Daniel Fisher

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 721-419. On October 7, 2020, Bespoken Spirits publicly announced it had received $2.6 million of seed funding for its “sustainable maturation process,” a process that could produce award-winning whiskeys in just days rather than years... View Details

Keywords: B2B Vs. B2C; Technological Innovation; Business Startups; Cost Management; Business Model; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Service Industry

February 2010 (Revised June 2012)
Case

"Plugging In" the Consumer: The Adoption of Electrically Powered Vehicles in the U.S.

By: Elie Ofek and Polly Ribatt

How will U.S. consumers respond to the proliferation of alternative-fuel vehicles, such as cars powered partially or completely by electricity, in the coming decade? After a century in which fossil fuel-powered vehicles dominated the market, it appeared consumers would... View Details

Keywords: Energy Sources; Policy; Marketing; Demand and Consumers; Business and Government Relations; Natural Environment; Pollutants; Adoption; Auto Industry; United States

Article

Health as a Way of Doing Business

By: Howard Koh, Sara J. Singer and Amy C. Edmondson

For too long, the worlds of business and health have been mired in a checkered, sometimes contentious, history. Millions of deaths worldwide can be attributed to risk factors including tobacco use, alcohol and drug misuse, and suboptimal dietary intake linked to... View Details

Keywords: Health; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Public Opinion

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28 Apr 2021
Blog Post

Alumni Spotlight: Cissy Chen (MBA 2019)

values taught in this class within the firm. In these HBS courses and in the work you have pursued, you have gained perspective on ESG frameworks and their application to the markets in Asia. Can you provide an example of how you’ve applied ESG frameworks to evaluate... View Details

September 2009 (Revised December 2009)
Supplement

Genzyme Center (B)

By: Michael W. Toffel and Aldo Sesia

Genzyme Corporation is in the midst of planning its new corporate headquarters, which incorporates many innovative green building features. After learning that the building as planned would likely earn a LEED Silver rating, an intermediate score in the LEED green... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Standards; Cost vs Benefits; Biotechnology Industry; Construction Industry; Real Estate Industry; Green Technology Industry

May 2023 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Arcos Dorados: Decarbonizing McDonald’s in Latin America

By: George Serafeim, Michael W. Toffel, Jenyfeer Martinez Buitrago and Mariana Cal

This case describes the decarbonization strategy of Arcos Dorados—McDonald’s largest independent franchisee, operating in 20 countries and territories in Latin America and the Caribbean—and how the company measured its greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, including those... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Accounting; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Change Management; Forecasting and Prediction; Environmental Sustainability; Food; Growth Management; Supply Chain; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Green Technology Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Latin America; North and Central America; South America

2022
Article

Sea Level Rise and Pacific Small Island Developing States: Implications and Pathways

By: Srimayi Tenali

Sea level rise poses severe consequences for the economic stability, habitability, and existence of Pacific Small Island Developing States (SIDS). Recent legal developments have offered conflicting interpretations of the 1982 'UN Law of the Sea Convention', but under... View Details

Keywords: Natural Environment; Climate Change; Adaptation; Environmental Law; Oceania

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09 Aug 2016
Working Paper Summaries

Shareholder Activism on Sustainability Issues

Keywords: by Jody Grewal, George Serafeim, and Aaron Yoon

23 Oct 2018
First Look

New Research and Ideas, October 23, 2018

resource constraints (potentially affecting unfairness concerns) can impact outcomes under the plan. Publisher's link: https://www.hbs.edu/faculty/Pages/item.aspx?num=55144 Summer 2018 Antitrust Chronicle An Introduction to the... View Details

Keywords: Dina Gerdeman

2020
Case

The Ellen MacArthur Foundation: Accelerating a Circular Economy for Plastic Packaging

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Plastic has become essential to global day-to-day activities, yet it is also causing extreme environmental degradation. Many leaders in the plastics industry are starting to question its sustainability. This case presents insights into the future of the plastic... View Details

Keywords: Plastic Waste; Environmental Sustainability; Cooperation; Supply Chain Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Consumer Products Industry

20 Apr 2020
Book

Why COVID-19 Raises the Stakes for Healthy Buildings

(Environmental Insights) COVID-19 Business Impact Center (Harvard Business School) Read COVID-19 coverage from Working Knowledge Many elite companies already use their building’s efficiency or grandeur to send a signal to customers and... View Details

Keywords: by Kristen Senz; Real Estate; Health

September 2009 (Revised December 2009)
Supplement

Genzyme Center (C)

By: Michael W. Toffel and Aldo Sesia

Genzyme Corporation is in the midst of planning its new corporate headquarters, which incorporates many innovative green building features. After learning that the building as planned would likely earn a LEED Silver rating, an intermediate score in the LEED green... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Standards; Cost vs Benefits; Biotechnology Industry; Construction Industry; Real Estate Industry; Green Technology Industry

Research Summary

Overview

In the light of multiple corporate debacles, financial crises and environmental disasters across the globe, the need for corporate goals to transition from simply maximizing shareholder wealth to optimizing stakeholder welfare is being echoed in various quarters. Dr.... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Responsibility; Stakeholder Management; Social Enterprise; Inclusive Growth; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; India

December 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Nestle: Sustainable Agriculture Initiative

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Swiss food giant Nestle attempts to improve the performance of its suppliers of agricultural commodities to raise quality, lower costs, and contribute to sustainable development. Its initiatives focus first on coffee, cocoa, and milk. Nestle managers assert that the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Business and Community Relations; Corporate Strategy; Agribusiness; Supply Chain Management; Marketing Strategy; Value Creation; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

December 15, 2023
Article

What Every Leader Needs to Know About Carbon Credits

By: Varsha Ramesh Walsh and Michael W. Toffel

Many companies have begun to look into credits to offset their emissions as a way to support their net zero goals as their target years get closer and closer. As it stands, the carbon credit market is too small to bear the brunt of reducing companies’ impacts on the... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Credits; Climate; Accounting; Carbon Offsetting; Carbon Abatement; Carbon Emissions; Carbon Footprint; Climate Change; Environmental Accounting; Environmental Regulation

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2016
Working Paper

Entrepreneurs and the Co-Creation of Ecotourism in Costa Rica

By: Geoffrey Jones and Andrew Spadafora

Between the 1970s and the 2000s, Costa Rica became established as the world’s leading ecotourism destination. This working paper suggests that although Costa Rica benefited from biodiversity and a pleasant climate, the country’s preeminence in ecotourism requires more... View Details

Keywords: Tourism; Latin America; Business History; Sustainable Strategy; Sustainability; Nonprofit; Entrepreneurs; Environment; Entrepreneurship; History; Environmental Sustainability; Tourism Industry; Costa Rica

SSRN

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December 2010 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Asian Agri and the Future of Palm Oil

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

For Asian Agri and other Indonesian palm oil producers, the future promised rising demand from fast-growing Asian populations, but also intensifying criticism from environmental groups. With the highest yield and lowest production cost of any edible oil, palm oil... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Social Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Natural Environment; Marketing Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Indonesia; Malaysia