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Show Results For
- All HBS Web
(2,678)
- People (2)
- News (266)
- Research (2,209)
- Events (4)
- Multimedia (1)
- Faculty Publications (1,761)
- 10 Jun 2015
- Research & Ideas
The Transparency Revolution in Corporate Reporting
companies encouraging and funding ESG innovation. Dow Chemical has enormous energy consumption in their operations, but they've managed to save more than $10 billion through efficiency programs and are moving the world toward the adoption... View Details
Keywords: Re: George Serafeim
- January 2021
- Case
Rio Tinto Aluminum: Can Purpose Lead to Profit?
By: David Fubini and Agastya Muthanna
This case describes the tradeoffs Rio Tinto faces as it considers investments to ensure environmentally friendly, sustainability produced aluminum with the potential risks of competitive pricing and profit loses. View Details
- October 2021
- Article
Shareholder Activism and Firms' Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks
By: Caroline Flammer, Michael W. Toffel and Kala Viswanathan
This paper examines whether—in the absence of mandated disclosure requirements—shareholder activism can elicit greater disclosure of firms’ exposure to climate change risks. We find that environmental shareholder activism increases the voluntary disclosure of climate... View Details
Keywords: Transparency; Reporting; Shareholder Engagement; Shareholder Activism; Climate Change; Risk and Uncertainty; Environmental Management; Investment Activism; Corporate Disclosure; Communication Strategy; Information Publishing; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Problems and Challenges; United States
Flammer, Caroline, Michael W. Toffel, and Kala Viswanathan. "Shareholder Activism and Firms' Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks." Strategic Management Journal 42, no. 10 (October 2021): 1850–1879. (Featured in Harvard Business Review.)
- July 2022
- Case
FIJI Water: Carbon Negative? (Abridged)
By: Michael W. Toffel, George Serafeim, Francesca Gino, Stephanie Van Sice and Tom Quinn
In the midst of increasing press scrutiny of the bottled water industry’s environmentally harmful practices, FIJI Water made a series of sustainability promises. The boldest of these was a pledge to go “carbon negative.” The company said that not only would they offset... View Details
Keywords: Carbon Footprint; Carbon Offsetting; Environmental Accounting; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Pollution; Cross-Cultural and Cross-Border Issues; Misleading and Fraudulent Advertising; Non-Governmental Organizations; Brands and Branding; Food and Beverage Industry; Fiji; United States
Toffel, Michael W., George Serafeim, Francesca Gino, Stephanie Van Sice, and Tom Quinn. "FIJI Water: Carbon Negative? (Abridged)." Harvard Business School Case 623-004, July 2022.
- November 1985
- Case
Riverside and DEC--General Information
A negotiation exercise between Riverside Lumber Co. and the Division of Environmental Conservation about reducing the effects of effluent discharge in a river. Students are assigned to a role and receive confidential information including a scoring system detailing the... View Details
Lax, David A. "Riverside and DEC--General Information." Harvard Business School Case 186-125, November 1985.
- March 1996 (Revised January 2002)
- Case
Freeport Indonesia
In 1996, PT Freeport Indonesia, the mining subsidiary of Freeport McMoRan, had just completed an expansion of its copper and gold mine in the western half of New Guinea. The mine, which had dealt with numerous environmental and sociocultural problems over the past... View Details
Keywords: Trade; Mining; Environmental Sustainability; Business Strategy; Expansion; Social Issues; Mining Industry; Indonesia
Vietor, Richard H.K. "Freeport Indonesia." Harvard Business School Case 796-124, March 1996. (Revised January 2002.)
- 2020
- Article
Research on Corporate Sustainability: Review and Directions for Future Research
By: Jody Grewal and George Serafeim
We review the literature on corporate sustainability and provide directions for future research. Our review focuses on three actions: measuring, managing and communicating corporate sustainability performance. Measurement is the least developed of the three and... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainability Management; Nonfinancial Disclosure; Nonfinancial Information; Nonfinancial Performance; Materiality; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG Disclosure; ESG Disclosure Metrics; ESG Ratings; ESG Reporting; Inequality; Corporate Social Responsibility; Accounting; Finance; Management; Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Diversity; Equality and Inequality; Corporate Disclosure; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact
Grewal, Jody, and George Serafeim. "Research on Corporate Sustainability: Review and Directions for Future Research." Foundations and Trends® in Accounting 14, no. 2 (2020): 73–127.
- 2021
- Working Paper
Shareholder Activism and Firms’ Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks
By: Caroline Flammer, Michael W. Toffel and Kala Viswanathan
This paper examines whether—in the absence of mandated disclosure requirements—shareholder activism can elicit greater disclosure of firms’ exposure to climate change risks. We find that environmental shareholder activism increases the voluntary disclosure of climate... View Details
Keywords: Shareholder Activism; Climate Risk; Corporate Accountability; Climate Change; Corporate Disclosure; Corporate Governance; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Shareholder Relations; Risk and Uncertainty; Natural Environment; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Services Industry; United States
Flammer, Caroline, Michael W. Toffel, and Kala Viswanathan. "Shareholder Activism and Firms' Voluntary Disclosure of Climate Change Risks." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 20-049, October 2019. (Revised March 2021.)
- March 2015 (Revised February 2017)
- Case
Shanghai: GDP Apostasy
By: George Serafeim
Balancing economic growth alongside environmental sustainability and social inclusion was becoming increasingly important in China. The case describes Shanghai's decision to abandon growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as its primary metric of measuring success.... View Details
Keywords: China; Gdp; Measurement; Measurement Problems; Accountability; Sustainability; Sustainable Development; Strategy Execution; Strategy; Balanced Scorecard; Strategy Map; Macroeconomics; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Accountability; Accounting; Environmental Sustainability; Development Economics; Corporate Governance; Shanghai
Serafeim, George, Rebecca Henderson, and David Freiberg. "Shanghai: GDP Apostasy." Harvard Business School Case 115-042, March 2015. (Revised February 2017.)
- May 2006 (Revised November 2006)
- Case
IKEA's Global Sourcing Challenge: Indian Rugs and Child Labor (A)
By: Christopher A. Bartlett, Vincent Marie Dessain and Anders Sjoman
Traces the history of IKEA's response to a TV report that its Indian carpet suppliers were using child labor. Describes IKEA's growth, including the importance of a sourcing strategy based on its close relationships with suppliers in developing countries. Details the... View Details
Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Moral Sensibility; Policy; Employment; Contracts; Supply Chain Management; Organizational Culture; Natural Environment; Non-Governmental Organizations; Social Issues
Bartlett, Christopher A., Vincent Marie Dessain, and Anders Sjoman. "IKEA's Global Sourcing Challenge: Indian Rugs and Child Labor (A)." Harvard Business School Case 906-414, May 2006. (Revised November 2006.)
- September 1993 (Revised October 1994)
- Case
Environment and International Trade
During the 1990s, environmental activists became interested in trade issues for the first time. Whereas GATT, the General Agreement on Tariffs and Trade, had previously been the province of trade specialists, a new poster popular among environmentalists depicted the... View Details
Keywords: Trade; Environmental Sustainability; Science-Based Business; Policy; Government and Politics; Agreements and Arrangements; Alliances; Globalization; International Relations; Conflict of Interests
Reinhardt, Forest L. "Environment and International Trade." Harvard Business School Case 794-018, September 1993. (Revised October 1994.)
- January 2025
- Case
Driving Efficiency and Sustainability at P&G China
By: Feng Zhu, Philip Kuai and Billy Chan
P&G China’s business had reached new heights thanks to the explosive growth of e-commerce in the country, but the rapidly increasing volume of shipments to customers had created operational and environmental challenges in terms of packaging waste, shipping damage, and... View Details
- March–April 2017
- Article
Advancing Conservation by Understanding and Influencing Human Behavior
By: Sheila M. Reddy, Jensen Montambault, Yuta J. Masuda, Ayelet Gneezy, Elizabeth Keenan, William Butler, Jonathan R. Fisher and Stanley T. Asah
Behavioral sciences can advance conservation by systematically identifying behavioral barriers to conservation and how to best overcome them. Behavioral sciences have informed policy in many other realms (e.g., health, savings), but they are a largely untapped resource... View Details
Keywords: Adaptive Management; Awareness; Behavioral Economics; Behavioral Science; Conservation Intervention; Conservation Planning; Decision-making; Incentives; Nudge; Management; Motivation and Incentives; Behavior; Marketing; Decision Making; Environmental Sustainability; Economics
Reddy, Sheila M., Jensen Montambault, Yuta J. Masuda, Ayelet Gneezy, Elizabeth Keenan, William Butler, Jonathan R. Fisher, and Stanley T. Asah. "Advancing Conservation by Understanding and Influencing Human Behavior." Conservation Letters 10, no. 2 (March–April 2017): 248–256. (doi:10.1111/conl.12252.)
- 23 May 2011
- Op-Ed
Leading and Lagging Countries in Contributing to a Sustainable Society
Editor's note: Please see related story, Corporate Sustainability Reporting: It's Effective. To what extent companies contribute to a sustainable society is a question increasingly important, not only to the companies themselves, but also to investors, the countries... View Details
Keywords: by Robert G. Eccles & George Serafeim
- 2020
- Article
Public Sentiment and the Price of Corporate Sustainability
By: George Serafeim
Combining corporate sustainability performance scores based on environmental, social, and governance (ESG) data with big data measuring public sentiment about a company’s sustainability performance, I find that the valuation premium paid for companies with strong... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; ESG; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Investment Management; Investment Strategy; Big Data; Machine Learning; Environment; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Governance; Performance; Asset Pricing; Investment; Management; Strategy; Human Capital; Public Opinion; Value; Analytics and Data Science
Serafeim, George. "Public Sentiment and the Price of Corporate Sustainability." Financial Analysts Journal 76, no. 2 (2020): 26–46.
- August 2011 (Revised February 2012)
- Background Note
A Note on Water
By: Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson, George Serafeim and Sarah E. Farrell
This note provides background on the complex issues regarding the supply and consumption of water and how this natural resource is at increasing risk, resulting in significant economic, political and environmental issues. View Details
Keywords: Economics; Government and Politics; Demand and Consumers; Supply and Industry; Risk and Uncertainty; Natural Environment; Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability
Eccles, Robert G., Amy C. Edmondson, George Serafeim, and Sarah E. Farrell. "A Note on Water." Harvard Business School Background Note 412-050, August 2011. (Revised February 2012.)
- March 2020
- Article
Synergistic Value in Vertically Integrated Power-to-Gas Energy Systems
By: Gunther Glenk and Stefan Reichelstein
In vertically integrated energy systems, integration frequently entails operational gains that must be traded off against the requisite cost of capacity investments. In the context of the model analyzed in this study, the operational gains are subject to inherent... View Details
Keywords: Vertical Integration; Volatility; Capital Investment; Capacity Management; Renewable Energy; Green Hydrogen; Decarbonization; Carbon Emissions; Environment; Energy; Environmental Accounting; Environmental Management; Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Decision Making; Operations; Technological Innovation; Green Technology; Energy Industry; Utilities Industry; Consulting Industry; Green Technology Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Technology Industry; Steel Industry; Shipping Industry; Transportation Industry; Europe; North America; South America; Africa; Asia
Glenk, Gunther, and Stefan Reichelstein. "Synergistic Value in Vertically Integrated Power-to-Gas Energy Systems." Production and Operations Management 29, no. 3 (March 2020): 526–546.
- 11 Jan 2016
- Blog Post
Meet the Business and Environment Initiative
do you think the Business & Environment Initiative is an important part of the HBS ecosystem? Environmental issues are by nature general management issues, with implications for every aspect of the... View Details
- October 2023 (Revised November 2023)
- Case
Rheaply: Circularity For Every Business
By: Rembrand Koning and Alicia Dadlani
In March 2023, Garry Cooper, cofounder and CEO of Chicago-based Rheaply, needed to demonstrate that Rheaply’s expanded vision could translate into building cash flows and metrics needed to raise a Series B and turn the business into a model for financial and... View Details
Keywords: Business Startups; Social Entrepreneurship; Technological Innovation; Environmental Sustainability; Entrepreneurial Finance; Technology Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States; Illinois; Chicago
Koning, Rembrand, and Alicia Dadlani. "Rheaply: Circularity For Every Business." Harvard Business School Case 724-351, October 2023. (Revised November 2023.)
- August 2012 (Revised May 2013)
- Case
Milwaukee (A): Making of a World Water Hub
By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Matthew Bird
Starting in 2007 Milwaukee leaders from different areas (large established companies, civic organizations, public sector, academia, and entrepreneurs) negotiated a path for converting the region into a global water hub to address economic and environmental concerns.... View Details
Keywords: Change Management; Growth Management; Business or Company Management; Leading Change; Wisconsin
Kanter, Rosabeth Moss, and Matthew Bird. "Milwaukee (A): Making of a World Water Hub." Harvard Business School Case 313-057, August 2012. (Revised May 2013.)