Publications

February 2017 (Revised June 2017)
Supplement

ExxonMobil: Business as Usual? (B)

By: George Serafeim, Shiva Rajgopal and David Freiberg

The case presents ExxonMobil's response to growing pressure to disclose how climate change will impact their business. This includes multiple asset impairments and losing a proxy vote to shareholders to increase climate change related reporting. Supplements the (B)... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Oil Prices; Oil Companies; Asset Impairment; Predictive Analytics; Sustainability; Environmental Impact; Innovation; Disclosure; Accounting; Valuation; Energy Sources; Ethics; Corporate Disclosure; Governance Compliance; Climate Change; Financial Reporting; Energy Industry; United States

May 2002 (Revised August 2006)
Case

Yangcheng: AES in China

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

AES, an American electric power company with 141 plants worldwide, is just completing construction of a 2,100-MW plant in China--the largest ever. The project, a joint venture with five local companies, has several environmental, ownership, and operational issues as... View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Joint Ventures; Foreign Direct Investment; Environmental Sustainability; Problems and Challenges; Energy Industry; China

2011
Other Unpublished Work

From Farms to Fuel Tanks: Collective Actors and New-Venture Innovation in the U.S. Biodiesel Fuel Sector

By: Shon R. Hiatt

Little is known about the influence of collective actors on innovative technological recombinations by new ventures. Using data from U.S. biodiesel producers, I examine how the efforts of multiple collective actors (farm associations) to promote varying types of... View Details

Keywords: Alliances; Agribusiness; Energy Sources; Innovation and Invention; Biotechnology Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Biotechnology Industry; United States

24 Sep 2014
Op-Ed

Tackling Climate Change Will Cost Less Than We Think

change? Harvard Business School faculty share their thoughts. Most importantly, there are good reasons to think that the world will surprise us , and that once we put our mind to addressing climate change the costs will be significantly lower. Building an View Details

Keywords: by Rebecca Henderson; Energy; Energy

13 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

3 Ways Firms Can Profit From Environmental Investments

In the course of her work, Rebecca Henderson meets business executives who don't address the threat of climate change because they don't believe that it exists. Her recommendation: They should consider investments in environmental sustainability anyway, assuming that... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

1988
Book

Innovation and Competition: The Global Management of Petrochemical Products

By: Robert B. Stobaugh

Keywords: Non-Renewable Energy; Globalized Markets and Industries; Energy Industry; Energy Industry

July 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Shell’s Balancing Act: Resource Allocation and the Green Transition (Abridged)

By: David Collis and Haisley Wert

In mid-2023, amid pressure from climate change activists, shareholder activists, and confronting enormous uncertainty about the future demand for and price of fossil fuels, new Shell CEO Wael Sawan (Harvard MBA 2003) announced a change in strategy for the U.K. oil... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Renewables; Forecasting Demand; Strategy; Energy; Climate Change; Resource Allocation; Corporate Strategy; Investment Activism; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Organizational Culture; Energy Industry

Book Review

Review of Power Loss: The Origins of Deregulation and Restructuring in the American Electric Utility System, by Richard F. Hirsh

By: Willis Emmons

Keywords: Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Energy; Energy Industry; Energy Industry

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

Keywords: Carbon Tax; Oil And Gas; Environment; Drilling; Governance; Business or Company Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Corporate Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Sources; Mining Industry; Mining Industry

June 13, 2021
Guest Column

Big Oil Gets Clean and the World Stays Dirty: Public Pressure on Fossil Fuel Companies Can Only Do So Much

By: John Mulliken

Keywords: Climate Change; Business and Shareholder Relations; Public Opinion; Investment Activism; Energy Industry

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15 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

Funding the Design of Livable Cities

Compounding the challenge of supporting this population shift, governments from developing to industrialized countries are limited in their capacity and political will to devise solutions to accommodate expanding urban populations.... View Details

Keywords: by Lisa Chase; Energy; Energy; Energy; Energy

1998
Chapter

Foreign Firms in the Chinese Power Sector: Economic and Environmental Impacts

By: F. L. Reinhardt, Fiona Murray and Richard Vietor

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Developing Countries and Economies; Energy Industry; China

October 2018 (Revised October 2019)
Case

Rio Tinto vs. the Securities and Exchange Commission

By: Aiyesha Dey, Krishna G. Palepu and Sarah Gulick

December 2018 (Revised May 2019)
Case

Darling Ingredients International

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

Led by CEO Randall Stuewe, Texas-based Darling Ingredients International was a rendering firm with $3.7 billion in 2017 revenues. Since 2003, Darling had transformed from U.S. focused into a global player in the processing of biological waste from meat and foodservice... View Details

19 Nov 2012
Research & Ideas

LEED-ing by Example

Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) standard. After local governments decided to pursue LEED certification for their own buildings, there was an uptick in the number of local architects, general contractors, and other... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Energy; Energy; Energy

January 2022 (Revised December 2022)
Case

TotalEnergies’ Investment in Hyzon Motors

By: Vikram S. Gandhi and David Lane

In November 2021, Girish Nadkarni, the head of TotalEnergies’ corporate venture capital arm (TEV) was considering whether, and on what terms, to exit an investment in Hyzon Motors, a start-up supplier of hydrogen-powered trucks. TEV had invested $4 million in Hyzon,... View Details

Keywords: Business Units; Communication Intention and Meaning; Renewable Energy; Venture Capital; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Design; Standards; Commercialization; Investment Portfolio; Market Transactions; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; Europe; New York (city, NY)

December 2023 (Revised November 2024)
Supplement

Decarbonizing Shipping at A.P. Møller-Maersk (B)

By: Willy Shih, Michael W. Toffel and Kelsey Carter

This is a (B) case supplement to 624-049 Decarbonizing Shipping at A.P. Møller-Maetsk View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Shipping; Biofuel; Ship Transportation; Energy Sources; Shipping Industry

January 2024
Case

U.S. Policy and Battery Supply Chains

By: Debora L. Spar, Julia Comeau and Amram Migdal

Keywords: Battery Industry; United States