Publications

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17 Oct 2016
HBS Case

Business Solutions That Help Cut Food Waste

As much as 40 percent of food grown in the United States for human consumption is wasted. Source: Eivaisla After decades of wasteful food practices, where perfectly good food is discarded even as poverty keeps many families hungry, solutions are starting to come... View Details

Keywords: by Dina Gerdeman; Food & Beverage

30 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Amager Bakke: A Look into the Future of Waste Incineration

Amager Bakke, a waste incinerator in Copenhagen, Denmark. The plant was built in 2016 by Amager Resource Center, a management company owned by the five municipalities the incinerator serves. The project... View Details

1982
Other Unpublished Work

Financing the Cleanup of Uncontrolled Hazardous Waste Sites

By: Dutch Leonard, Henry Lee and Susan Bender

Keywords: Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability; Finance

November 2015
Case

Rubicon Global

By: William A. Sahlman and Hunter Ashmore

The case describes Rubicon Global, a startup that aimed to disrupt the waste management industry. The company started with a bold idea: create a cloud-based, full-service waste management company providing low-cost, highly efficient, and environmentally friendly... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurial Finance; Rubicon; Rubicon Global; Waste Management; Startups; Disruptive Technology; Technological Innovation; Disruptive Innovation; Market Entry and Exit; Entrepreneurship; Wastes and Waste Processing; Business Startups; Corporate Finance; Service Industry

12 Sep 2024
Blog Post

Amager Bakke: I Like This Waste Incinerator in My Backyard!

power source. Amager Bakke is located within eyeshot of downtown Copenhagen, and despite being an industrial waste management and energy production site, serves as a community gathering point. With the... View Details

07 Jan 2021
News

Cross-Team Meetings Don’t Have to Be a Waste of Time

31 Mar 2002
Research & Ideas

You’re Wasting Your Employees! What You Can Do About It

Most managers today understand the strategic implications of the information-based, knowledge-driven, service-intensive economy. They know what the new game requires: speed, flexibility and continuous self-renewal. They even are... View Details

Keywords: by Christopher A. Bartlett & Sumantra Ghoshal

02 Aug 2024
HBS Case

How a Mission to Cut Food Waste Launched a Multimillion-Dollar Venture

On a hectic Friday in October 2016, Josh Domingues wondered if he had made a mistake quitting the security of a well-paying job managing contracts for professional hockey players to start a new venture selling nearly expired groceries at... View Details

Keywords: by Lane Lambert; Technology; Information Technology

October 2017
Supplement

Turnaround at Norsk Gjenvinning (B)

By: George Serafeim

The case describes the impact of Norsk Gjenvinning's (NG) transformation efforts on reducing corruption and non-compliance within the Norwegian waste management industry. View Details

Keywords: Change Leadership; Governance; Compliance; Waste Management; Environmental Impact; Social Responsibility; Industry Regulation; Regulatory Enforcement; Change Management; Crime and Corruption; Governance Compliance; Wastes and Waste Processing; Norway

October 2023 (Revised November 2023)
Case

Recycle & Re-Match: The Future of Soccer Turfs

By: George Serafeim, Lena Duchene and Carlota Moniz

By August 2023, Re-Match, an artificial turf waste-to-value company, had operations in Denmark and the Netherlands and had recycled over 160,000 tons of waste and plastic fiber. With recent capital injection from the VC firm Verdane and a dual revenue business model,... View Details

August 2015 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Turnaround at Norsk Gjenvinning (A)

By: George Serafeim

Erik Osmundsen, CEO of Norsk Gjenvinning (NG), had initiated a program to strenghten corporate governance, eliminate corruption and improve compliance, and as a result the company had experienced a turnover of almost half of its top 70 line managers and strained... View Details

2010
Simulation

Change Management Simulation: Power and Influence

By: Linda A. Hill and William Q. Judge

In this single-player simulation, students play one of two roles at a sunglass manufacturing firm and face the challenges associated with implementing an organization-wide environmental sustainability initiative. The initiative seeks to change raw material inputs in... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Power and Influence; Problems and Challenges; Environmental Sustainability; Production; Wastes and Waste Processing; Adoption

April 2024
Supplement

Recycle & Re-Match: The Future of Soccer Turfs

By: George Serafeim

September 2012
Background Note

Carbon Credits

By: Forest Reinhardt, Jost Hamschmidt and Mikell Hyman

Keywords: Carbon; Waste Management; Carbon Credits; Emission Reduction; Europe; Japan; Wastes and Waste Processing; Renewable Energy; Energy Industry; Green Technology Industry; Europe; Japan

Article

The Growing Strategic Importance of End-of-Life Product Management

By: Michael W. Toffel

Requiring manufacturers to manage the their products when they become waste is an innovative form of regulation, one that has been adopted by countries in Asia, Europe, and North America on a variety of products that range from vehicles to appliances to batteries.... View Details

Keywords: Product; Environmental Sustainability; Cost Management; Wastes and Waste Processing; Strategy; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Manufacturing Industry; Asia; Europe; North and Central America

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01 Jun 2023
News

Action Plan: Net Proceeds

says. “My heroes are the waste pickers, the brands and consumers making better choices, and the companies working on alternatives to petroleum-based plastics. I am simply a guide to help inform people so they can become the heroes of... View Details

Keywords: April White; recycling; corporate social responsibility; waste management; water; Waste Management and Remediation Services; Waste Management and Remediation Services

May 2011
Article

Effective Managers Say the Same Thing Twice (or More)

By: Tsedal Neeley and Paul Leonardi

How do effective managers get employees to act promptly? New research suggests that it's by making their requests at least twice. Though you may think redundancy is unnecessary and even a waste of time, a new study indicates that it helps your message cut through... View Details

Keywords: Interpersonal Communication; Employees; Management Style; Performance Improvement

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01 Jun 2006
News

Managing Family Assets

internal evaluation of your values, your resources — financial and human — and your ability to communicate with your family. How should people’s values influence the way they manage their money? If you have money and don’t have good... View Details

Keywords: Lewis I. Rice; Management; Management; Management

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