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2014
Working Paper

The Role of the Corporation in Society: An Alternative View and Opportunities for Future Research

By: George Serafeim

A long-standing ideology in business education has been that a corporation is run for the sole interest of its shareholders. I present an alternative view where increasing concentration of economic activity and power in the world's largest corporations, the Global... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility; Corporate Governance; Environment; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Sustainability; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainability Research; Sustainability Targets; Corporate Performance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

November 2023 (Revised February 2025)
Background Note

Corporate Climate Targets

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

Companies that are addressing climate change by mitigating their greenhouse gas emissions often set reduction targets. This note describes several types of widely used carbon reduction targets, including carbon neutral, science based, net zero, real zero, and carbon... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Sustainability; Environmental Strategy; Climate Risk; Target-setting; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Accountability; Policy; Measurement and Metrics; Strategic Planning; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

March 2017 (Revised June 2019)
Case

CEO Activism (A)

By: Michael W. Toffel, Aaron K. Chatterji and Julia Kelley

This case introduces CEO activism, a phenomenon in which business leaders engage in political or social issues that do not relate directly to their companies. The case uses several examples to describe why business leaders are engaging in CEO activism and the potential... View Details

February 2017 (Revised June 2017)
Case

ExxonMobil: Business as Usual? (A)

By: George Serafeim, Shiva Rajgopal and David Freiberg

Climate change was becoming an important societal and business issue as more governments were introducing climate change related regulations and investors became increasibly worried about stranded assets within oil and gas firms. In September 2016, the U.S. Securities... View Details

Keywords: Oil ＆ Gas; Oil Prices; Oil Companies; Asset Impairment; Predictive Analytics; Sustainability; Environmental Impact; Innovation; Disclosure; Accounting; Valuation; Climate Change; Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Reporting; Energy Industry

November 2017 (Revised April 2019)
Case

Summa Equity: Building Purpose-Driven Organizations

By: George Serafeim

In 2015, Reynir Indahl left top Nordic private equity firm Altor Equity Partners to found Summa Equity (Summa). After long contemplation following the financial crisis, Indahl was convinced the financial system was producing negative externalities and that the current... View Details

February 2013 (Revised December 2015)
Case

Groom Energy Solutions: Selling Efficiency

By: Michael W. Toffel, Kira R. Fabrizio and Stephanie van Sice

Groom Energy Solutions helps organizations reduce their energy use and costs through the implementation of energy efficiency measures, which create long-term financial and environmental benefits. With early success serving customers in the cold storage and industrial... View Details

Keywords: Groom Energy Solutions; Jon Guerster; Salem, MA; Energy Management; Energy Efficiency Paradox; Sustainability Management; Manufacturing; Cold Storage; Commercial Real Estate; Enterprise Smart Grid; Carbon Accounting; LED Lighting; Sustainability Research; Entrepreneurship; Environmental Entrepreneurship; Energy Entrepreneurship; Energy Services; Electricity; Startup; Expansion; Growth; Sustainability; Business Startups; Forecasting and Prediction; Energy Conservation; Revenue; Geographic Location; Human Resources; Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Market Entry and Exit; Operations; Service Delivery; Strategic Planning; Science; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Society; Social Issues; Technology Adoption; Energy Industry; Green Technology Industry; Technology Industry; Utilities Industry; United States; Boston

22 Apr 2013
Research & Ideas

Earth Day: Recent Research on Sustainability

about real estate, urbanization, sustainability, and infrastructure. LEED-ing by ExampleWhen a local government decides to pursue environmentally aware construction policies for its own buildings, the private sector follows suit,... View Details

Article

Assessing the Impact of CEO Activism

By: Aaron K Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel

CEO activism refers to corporate leaders speaking out on social and environmental policy issues not directly related to their company’s core business. Distinct from nonmarket strategy and traditional corporate social responsibility, the recent wave of CEO activism... View Details

Keywords: Business And Society; Leadership; Policy; Ethics; Values and Beliefs; Governance; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Public Opinion

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January 2020
Case

SK Group: Social Progress Credits

By: George Serafeim, Ethan Rouen and David Freiberg

SK Group was one of the largest companies South Korea. A family-run conglomerate consisting of around 120 subsidiaries and employing more than 100,000, SK was tightly knit into the fabric of Korean society. SK viewed their future success as contingent upon the strength... View Details

January 2002
Case

Noranda Inc.: Mining, Smelting, and Sustainability?

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

Noranda is a $7 billion international mining and smelting company headquartered in Canada. It has been cited for its fine environmental record. This case explores the issue of sustainability--in this case, for a mining company. Over time, and under nongovernmental... View Details

Keywords: Cost vs Benefits; Mining; Cost Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Policy; Environmental Sustainability; Mining Industry

December 2016
Article

Impact Investing: A Brief History

By: Brian Trelstad

Over the last decade, impact investing has become an increasingly-discussed topic in the realms of both business and public policy. Impact investors are motived by a desire to advance social or environmental goals and an intuition that pursuing two goals at once -... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Investment; Ethics; Strategy

November 29, 2005
Comment

Transparency Needed in Berkeley Lab Nanotechnology

By: Michael W. Toffel

Argues that the Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory should be significantly more transparent about the health and environmental issues associated with its new nanotechnology facility. View Details

Keywords: Disclosure; Transparency; Nanotechnology; Precautionary Principle; Corporate Disclosure

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

October 16, 2019
Article

Where ESG Fails

By: Michael E. Porter, George Serafeim and Mark Kramer

We are entering a new stage of understanding of the linkage between investment performance and social impact. Previous approaches, such as socially responsible investing and environmental, social, and governance (ESG) screening, have obscured the opportunities for... View Details

Keywords: ESG; Sustainability; Environment; Social Impact; Impact Investing; ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; ESG Reporting; Shared Value; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Investment; Value; Strategy

July 2003 (Revised December 2004)
Case

Sustainable Conservation--Where Next?

Sustainable Conservation (SusCon) is an environmental nonprofit in San Francisco that works collaboratively with the private and public sectors to achieve positive environmental change. The organization forms partnerships with industry and government agencies to devise... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Cost vs Benefits; Expansion; Environmental Sustainability; San Francisco

June 2008 (Revised May 2017)
Case

Cook Composites and Polymers Co.

By: Deishin Lee, Michael W. Toffel and Rachel Gordon

This case describes how a company improves resource efficiency and process quality in its manufacturing process by developing a waste by-product into a new product. The case describes how CCP cleans production equipment between batches using styrene, which becomes a... View Details

Keywords: Innovation and Invention; Product Development; Business Processes; Performance Efficiency; Natural Environment; Wastes and Waste Processing; Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability; Chemical Industry; Manufacturing Industry

2022
Book

Purpose + Profit: How Business Can Lift Up the World

By: George Serafeim

The roadmap and best practices to reap the enormous value that can emerge when your business prioritizes social and environmental goals—such as climate change, diversity and inclusion, and sustainability—right alongside the pursuit of profit.

We not only... View Details

Keywords: ESG (Environmental, Social, Governance) Performance; Profitability; Business And Society; Organizations; Mission and Purpose; Goals and Objectives; Social Issues; Environmental Sustainability; Value Creation; Organizational Change and Adaptation

16 Oct 2007
First Look

First Look: October 16, 2007

that information disclosure is particularly likely to spur responses from firms whose legitimacy is threatened (and thus are shamed) and face lower-cost opportunities to respond (and thus are particularly able). Testing this by examining how firms respond when their... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

May 2011
Article

The Growing Power of Non-financial Reports

By: Ioannis Ioannou and George Serafeim

We are exploring the value of forcing corporations to issue sustainability reports, which provide information about corporate performance in terms of social, environmental and governance issues. In a breakthrough study they asked, what is the effect of mandatory... View Details

Keywords: Value; Reports; Performance; Management Practices and Processes; Globalization; Power and Influence; Natural Environment; Governance; Social Issues

2012
Book

The Oxford Handbook of Business and the Natural Environment

By: Pratima Bansal and Andrew J. Hoffman

Environmental issues now loom large on the social, political, and business agenda. Over the past four decades, "corporate environmentalism" has emerged and been constantly redefined, from regulatory compliance to more recent management conceptions such as pollution... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Business Strategy; Policy; Governance Compliance

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