Publications
Publications
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- All HBS Web
(2,592)
- Faculty Publications (823)
- May 2015
- Teaching Note
Aviva Investors
By: George Serafeim
Keywords: Responsibility; Responsibilities To Society; Sustainability; Sustainability Reporting; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Sustainability; Activist Investors; Investment Management; Investment Strategy; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Integrated Corporate Reporting; Environmental Sustainability; Investment Activism
- April 14, 2015
- Article
The Type of Socially Responsible Investments That Make Firms More Profitable
By: George Serafeim
- 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
- March 2015
- Case
Unilever: Combatting Global Food Waste
By: David F. Drake, Janice H. Hammond and Matthew G. Preble
The global consumer goods company Unilever was on pace to hit a number of aggressive targets by 2020 as part of the Unilever Sustainable Living Project, including a goal to halve the waste associated with the disposal of its products. Unilever's chief supply chain... View Details
Keywords: Food Waste; Sustainable Business And Innovation; Sustainable Supply Chains; Sustainable Operations; Organization Alignment; Environmental Sustainability; Operations; Supply Chain Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Food; Agribusiness; Strategy; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Forest Products Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Retail Industry; North and Central America; Europe; Asia; Africa; Latin America; India
- February 2015
- Case
CLP: Powering Asia
By: George Serafeim, Rebecca Henderson and Dawn Lau
Richard Lancaster, taking over from Andrew Brandler, was the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of CLP Holdings Ltd., one of the leading power companies in Asia, with operations in China, Southeast Asia, Taiwan, Australia, and India, and an energy portfolio spanning coal,... View Details
- 2014
- Working Paper
Making the Business Case for Environmental Sustainability
Can a business case be made for acting sustainably? This is a difficult question to answer precisely, largely because there is no generally accepted definition of the term "sustainability". Is it acting sustainably to protect the human rights of the firm's workforce?... View Details
- February 2015 (Revised June 2016)
- Case
Solar Geoengineering
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Stephanie Puzio
On December 8th 2013, as Dr. David Keith was leaving the set of the Colbert Show, he couldn't help but replay the interview over and over in his mind. Did he actually get his point of view on solar geoengineering across or had he just added to the stereotype that he... View Details
- February 2015 (Revised December 2016)
- Case
Poseidon Carlsbad: Desalination and the San Diego County Water Authority
By: John Macomber
Extreme drought conditions in California have significant impacts on the ability of the San Diego County Water Authority to provide adequate water for current users. Water shortfalls also could curtail the economic development of one of the fastest growing regions in... View Details
- February 2015 (Revised March 2016)
- Case
China Shenhua Energy Company
By: Forest L. Reinhardt, G. A. Donovan and Keith Chi-ho Wong
A leading Chinese energy firm, active in coal mining and electric power generation, analyzes coal-to-liquids technology in light of energy security and environmental concerns. View Details
- 2015
- Chapter
Staying the Same While Changing: Organizational Identity in the Face of Environmental Challenges
By: Mary Ann Glynn, Christi Lockwood and Ryan Raffaelli
We explore the role of organizational identity in the adoption of new sustainability practices, focusing on how identity functions as a driver of (or sometimes a drag on) adoption. Drawing on illustrations from the U.S. hotel industry, we examine how sustainability... View Details
- 2015
- Chapter
The Role of Multiplier Firms and Megaprojects in Leading Change for Sustainability
In both the private and public sectors, organizations around the world face increasingly pressing questions about how to stimulate and manage change for long-term environmental, social, and economic sustainability. The purpose of this chapter is to highlight the roles... View Details
- January 2015 (Revised September 2017)
- Case
Omar Selim: Building a Values-Based Asset Management Firm (A)
By: George Serafeim, Rebecca Henderson and Shannon Gombos
The sustainable investing market was a recent phenomenon in the first decade of the 21st century. However, an increasing number of investors began to integrated Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG) issues in investment decisions. At Barclays Capital, Omar Selim... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; ESG; Social Business; Entrepreneurs; Scaling; Emerging Market Entrepreneurship; Not For Profit; Entrepreneurial Finance; Mentoring; Business Networks; Hybrid Nonprofit Funding; Investing; Investment Management; Asset Management; Values and Beliefs; Religion; Personal Development and Career; Business Startups; Social Enterprise; Social Entrepreneurship; Financial Services Industry; Europe; Germany; United Kingdom
- January 2015 (Revised August 2015)
- Background Note
Climate Change: An Unfolding Story
By: Joseph B. Lassiter III, Sid Misra and Stephanie Puzio
In some parts of the world, the impacts of climate change will prove to be relatively manageable, particularly for the rich. In some parts of the world, these will not, particularly for the poor. The only certainty is that humanity's collective actions will force every... View Details
- January 2015
- Case
Chevron Under Fire
By: George Serafeim, Rebecca Henderson and Christine Snively
Oil giant, Chevron, faced numerous challenges on environmental, social and governance (ESG) grounds in the first decade of the 21st century, including some major lawsuits and actions by NGOs. The case describes those challenges and raises questions about what is the... View Details
- December 2014
- Supplement
Aspen Skiing Company Video Supplement
Having begun improving the environmental performance of its own operations, Aspen Skiing Company is considering "greening" its supply chain and lobbying for greenhouse gas regulations. A world renowned ski resort vulnerable to global climate change, Aspen's activities... View Details
- November 2014
- Article
Government Green Procurement Spillovers: Evidence from Municipal Building Policies in California
By: Timothy Simcoe and Michael W. Toffel
We study how government green procurement policies influence private-sector demand for similar products. Specifically, we measure the impact of municipal policies requiring governments to construct green buildings on private-sector adoption of the U.S. Green Building... View Details
- November 2014
- Article
The Impact of Corporate Sustainability on Organizational Processes and Performance
By: Robert G. Eccles, Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim
We investigate the effect of corporate sustainability on organizational processes and performance. Using a matched sample of 180 U.S. companies, we find that corporations that voluntarily adopted sustainability policies by 1993—termed as High Sustainability... View Details
Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Sustainability Research; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainability Targets; Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Accountability; Reporting; Corporate Governance; Investor Clientele; Investor Communication; Stock Market; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Performance; United States
- October 2014 (Revised December 2015)
- Background Note
China's Environmental Challenge
By: William C. Kirby, Nora Bynum, Erica M. Zendell and Brittany Crow
China faces enormous environmental challenges. This background note looks at the historical, economic and political origins of the environmental crisis that faces the world's fastest-growing economy. View Details
- September 2014 (Revised November 2017)
- Case
Sustainability at IKEA Group
By: V. Kasturi Rangan, Michael W. Toffel, Vincent Dessain and Jerome Lenhardt
By 2014, IKEA Group was the largest home furnishing company, with EUR28.5 billion of sales, and planned to reach EUR50 billion by 2020, mainly from emerging markets. At the same time, IKEA Group had adopted in 2012 a new sustainability strategy that focused the... View Details
- 2016
- Working Paper
Signaling without Certification: The Critical Role of Civil Society Scrutiny
By: Susan A. Kayser, John W. Maxwell and Michael W. Toffel
In response to stakeholders' growing concerns, companies are joining voluntary environmental programs to signal their superior environmental management capabilities. In contrast to the literature's focus on certification programs that require a third-party audit, we... View Details
Keywords: United Nations; Labor Standards; Supplier Relationship; Procurement; Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Quality And Safety; Risk; Globalization; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Working Conditions; Supply Chain Management; Supply Chain; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Quality; Risk and Uncertainty; Safety; Reputation