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- All HBS Web
(433)
- News (64)
- Research (336)
- Multimedia (1)
- Faculty Publications (242)
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- June 2013 (Revised January 2024)
- Case
Governance and Sustainability at Nike (A)
By: Lynn S. Paine, Nien-hê Hsieh and Lara Adamsons
Two members of Nike's executive team must decide what sustainability targets to propose to Nike's CEO and to the corporate responsibility committee of Nike's board of directors. Set in 2012, the case traces the evolution of Nike's approach to environmental and social... View Details
Keywords: Nike; Hannah Jones; Mark Parker; Phil Knight; Philip Knight; Eric Sprunk; Jill Ker Conway; Phyllis Wise; Don Blair; Sustainable Business And Innovation; SB＆I; Flyknit; DyeCoo; Footwear; Athletic Footwear; Apparel; Athletic Apparel; Sustainability; Greenpeace; Detox Campaign; Dirty Laundry; Water; Water Use; Water Pollution; Water Resources; Corporate Responsibility Committee; Judgment; Board Of Directors; Board Committees; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Footwear Industry; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Ethics; Fairness; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Alignment; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Judgments; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia; China; United States; Oregon; Portland
Paine, Lynn S., Nien-hê Hsieh, and Lara Adamsons. "Governance and Sustainability at Nike (A)." Harvard Business School Case 313-146, June 2013. (Revised January 2024.)
- March 1996
- Article
Does it Pay to be Green? An Empirical Examination of the Relationship Between Emission Reduction and Firm Performance
By: Stuart L. Hart and Gautam Ahuja
Evidence can be marshalled to support either the view that pollution abatement is a cost burden on firms and is detrimental to competitiveness, or that reducing emissions increases efficiency and saves money, giving firms a cost advantage. In an effort to resolve this... View Details
Keywords: Competitive Advantage; Performance Efficiency; Environmental Sustainability; Business Strategy
Hart, Stuart L., and Gautam Ahuja. "Does it Pay to be Green? An Empirical Examination of the Relationship Between Emission Reduction and Firm Performance." Business Strategy and the Environment 5, no. 1 (March 1996): 30–37.
- October 2023 (Revised May 2024)
- Case
JSW Steel: Balancing Growth While Decarbonizing
By: Vikram S Gandhi and Radhika Kak
Sajjan Jindal, Chairman & Managing Director of JSW Steel, India's largest steel producer by market capitalization, was facing a dilemma. Steel demand in India was expected to grow exponentially over the next decade. However, given its traditional reliance on carbon,... View Details
Keywords: Decisions; Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Growth and Development; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Pollutants; Pollution; Production; Steel Industry; India
Gandhi, Vikram S., and Radhika Kak. "JSW Steel: Balancing Growth While Decarbonizing." Harvard Business School Case 824-002, October 2023. (Revised May 2024.)
- June 2020
- Article
Air Pollution, State Anxiety, and Unethical Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review
By: J Lu, J. Lee, F. Gino and A. Galinsky
Lu, Lee, Gino, and Galinsky (2018) reported four studies demonstrating that air pollution predicted unethical behavior and that one mediating mechanism was state anxiety. In contrast, Heck and colleagues reported two null-effect studies on air pollution, trait... View Details
Lu, J., J. Lee, F. Gino, and A. Galinsky. "Air Pollution, State Anxiety, and Unethical Behavior: A Meta-Analytic Review." Psychological Science 31, no. 6 (June 2020): 748–755.
- winter 1985
- Article
The Nonpecuniary Costs of Automobile Emissions Standards
By: Timothy F. Bresnahan and Dennis Yao
An important component of the costs of automotive air-pollution control has been nonpecuniary: a decline in vehicle performance characteristics. This regulatory impact on what the auto industry calls "drivability" has never been quantified, although there is... View Details
Bresnahan, Timothy F., and Dennis Yao. "The Nonpecuniary Costs of Automobile Emissions Standards." RAND Journal of Economics 16, no. 4 (winter 1985): 437–455. ((reprinted in W. Harrington and V. McConnell (eds.) Controlling Automobile Air Pollution, 2007)
Harvard users click here for full text.)
- Article
How Well Do Social Ratings Actually Measure Corporate Social Responsibility?
By: Aaron K. Chatterji, David I. Levine and Michael W. Toffel
Ratings of corporations' environmental activities and capabilities influence billions of dollars of "socially responsible" investments as well as some consumers, activists, and potential employees. In one of the first studies to assess these ratings, we examine how... View Details
Keywords: Governance Compliance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance Effectiveness; Natural Environment; Pollutants
Chatterji, Aaron K., David I. Levine, and Michael W. Toffel. "How Well Do Social Ratings Actually Measure Corporate Social Responsibility?" Journal of Economics & Management Strategy 18, no. 1 (Spring 2009): 125–169.
- July 1992
- Case
Riverside and DEC: Riverside Lumber Confidential Instructions
By: Howard Raiffa and Thomas T. Weeks
A two-party, integrative, negotiation exercise involving several pre-specified issues to be resolved. Each party is given a pre-specified scoring system in monetary units. Side payments, within limits are possible. Face-to-face negotiations take place with no... View Details
Keywords: Natural Environment; Government and Politics; Pollutants; Negotiation Types; Negotiation Process; Forestry Industry
Raiffa, Howard, and Thomas T. Weeks. "Riverside and DEC: Riverside Lumber Confidential Instructions." Harvard Business School Case 893-001, July 1992.
- September 2023
- Background Note
Amager Bakke: Municipal Waste to Energy
By: Willy Shih, Michael W. Toffel and Kelsey Carter
This background note describes the Amager Bakke waste-to-energy (WtE) plant in Copenhagen, which merges traditional waste incineration with a combined heat and power (CHP) plant and air pollution control (scrubbing) technology, and had plans to add carbon dioxide (CO2)... View Details
Keywords: Decarbonization; Innovation; Innovation Focused Strategy; Environmental Operations; Circular; Waste Heat Recovery; Waste Management; Carbon Regulation; Buildings and Facilities; Energy Generation; Environmental Sustainability; Pollution; Climate Change; Wastes and Waste Processing; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Energy Industry; Denmark; Netherlands; Europe; European Union
Shih, Willy, Michael W. Toffel, and Kelsey Carter. "Amager Bakke: Municipal Waste to Energy." Harvard Business School Background Note 624-040, September 2023.
- June 1983
- Background Note
Note on the Paper Machinery Industry
Describes the major structural changes taking place in the paper industry in the 1970s: major oil and pulp price increases, pollution legislation, a shift in industry development from OECD countries to LDCs and NICs and the technological revolution in paper making.... View Details
Keywords: Engineering; Price; Global Strategy; Growth and Development; Industry Structures; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Pollutants; Competition; Pulp and Paper Industry
Bartlett, Christopher A. "Note on the Paper Machinery Industry." Harvard Business School Background Note 383-185, June 1983.
- September 2023
- Article
The Health Costs of Dirty Energy: Evidence from the Capacity Market in Colombia
By: Achyuta Adhvaryu, Theresa Molina, Anant Nyshadham, Jorge Tamayo and Nicholas Torres
The health effects of “dirty” (fossil fuel driven) energy production are difficult to measure accurately due to the endogeneity of fuel choice. We exploit an electricity policy in Colombia that generates a price-based trigger for the use of thermal energy sources.... View Details
Adhvaryu, Achyuta, Theresa Molina, Anant Nyshadham, Jorge Tamayo, and Nicholas Torres. "The Health Costs of Dirty Energy: Evidence from the Capacity Market in Colombia." Art. 103116. Journal of Development Economics 164 (September 2023).
- September–October 2022
- Article
Seeking Purity, Avoiding Pollution: Strategies for Moral Career Building
By: Erin Reid and Lakshmi Ramarajan
This study builds theory on how people construct moral careers. Analyzing interviews with 102 journalists, we show how people build moral careers by seeking jobs that allow them to fulfill both the institution’s moral obligations and their own material aims. We... View Details
Reid, Erin, and Lakshmi Ramarajan. "Seeking Purity, Avoiding Pollution: Strategies for Moral Career Building." Organization Science 33, no. 5 (September–October 2022): 1909–1937.
- Article
Health as a Way of Doing Business
By: Howard Koh, Sara J. Singer and Amy C. Edmondson
For too long, the worlds of business and health have been mired in a checkered, sometimes contentious, history. Millions of deaths worldwide can be attributed to risk factors including tobacco use, alcohol and drug misuse, and suboptimal dietary intake linked to... View Details
Koh, Howard, Sara J. Singer, and Amy C. Edmondson. "Health as a Way of Doing Business." JAMA, the Journal of the American Medical Association 321, no. 1 (January 1, 2019): 33–34.
- June 2013 (Revised September 2016)
- Supplement
Governance and Sustainability at Nike (B)
By: Lynn S. Paine, Nien-he Hsieh and Lara Adamsons
Two members of Nike's executive team must decide what sustainability targets to propose to Nike's CEO and to the corporate responsibility committee of Nike's board of directors. Set in 2012, the case traces the evolution of Nike's approach to environmental and social... View Details
Keywords: Nike; Hannah Jones; Mark Parker; Phil Knight; Philip Knight; Eric Sprunk; Jill Ker Conway; Phyllis Wise; Don Blair; Sustainable Business And Innovation; SB＆I; Flyknit; DyeCoo; Footwear; Athletic Footwear; Apparel; Athletic Apparel; Sustainability; Greenpeace; Detox Campaign; Dirty Laundry; Water; Water Use; Water Pollution; Water Resources; Corporate Responsibility Committee; Judgment; Board Of Directors; Board Committees; Environmental And Social Sustainability; Footwear Industry; Decision Choices and Conditions; Decisions; Ethics; Fairness; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Globalized Markets and Industries; Governance; Corporate Accountability; Corporate Governance; Innovation and Invention; Innovation and Management; Innovation Leadership; Innovation Strategy; Goals and Objectives; Management Practices and Processes; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Performance; Alignment; Supply Chain; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Judgments; Apparel and Accessories Industry; Asia; China; United States; Oregon; Portland
Paine, Lynn S., Nien-he Hsieh, and Lara Adamsons. "Governance and Sustainability at Nike (B)." Harvard Business School Supplement 313-147, June 2013. (Revised September 2016.)
- July 2014 (Revised November 2014)
- Module Note
Responsibilities to Society: The Capitalist's Contract
By: Karthik Ramanna
Societies face many pressing challenges with serious implications for business leaders. These include pollution and climate change, poverty and income inequality, obesity and public health, and corruption and regulatory capture. This note presents a way of analyzing... View Details
Ramanna, Karthik. "Responsibilities to Society: The Capitalist's Contract." Harvard Business School Module Note 115-012, July 2014. (Revised November 2014.)
- November 2008 (Revised March 2009)
- Case
South Pole Carbon Asset Management-Going for Gold?
By: Forest L. Reinhardt, Jost Hamschmidt and Mikell Hyman
In late 2008, Christoph Sutter, CEO of South Pole Carbon Asset Management, reflects on his firm's early success at originating carbon credits in developing nations and selling them to governments and firms that seek to offset their greenhouse gas emissions voluntarily... View Details
Keywords: Developing Countries and Economies; Non-Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Strategy
Reinhardt, Forest L., Jost Hamschmidt, and Mikell Hyman. "South Pole Carbon Asset Management-Going for Gold?" Harvard Business School Case 709-030, November 2008. (Revised March 2009.)
- September 2002 (Revised March 2006)
- Case
Environmental Power Corporation: Changing Manure Into Gold?
By: Ray A. Goldberg and Laure Mougeot Stroock
In 2002, Environmental Power Corp. (EPC), a small company developing renewable energy projects, was attempting to commercialize its "digester," a facility that extracted methane from manure, reduced manure's environmental impact, and generated electricity. The company... View Details
Keywords: Commercialization; Energy Generation; Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Investment; Projects; Wastes and Waste Processing; Corporate Finance; Business and Government Relations; Energy Industry
Goldberg, Ray A., and Laure Mougeot Stroock. "Environmental Power Corporation: Changing Manure Into Gold?" Harvard Business School Case 903-403, September 2002. (Revised March 2006.)
- 2025
- Chapter
Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America
By: Geoffrey Jones
This chapter argues that since the nineteenth century capitalism has created much wealth, but at the cost of massive ecological destruction, which has been particularly severe in Latin America. During the first global economy before 1929, considerable wealth was... View Details
Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Business History; Globalization; Economic Growth; Latin America
Jones, Geoffrey. "Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America." Chap. 8 in A Business History of Latin America, edited by Andrea Lluch, Martin Monsalve Zanatti, and Marcelo Bucheli, 159–174. New York, NY, United States: Routledge, 2025.
- July 2015
- Article
BYOB: How Bringing Your Own Shopping Bags Leads to Treating Yourself, and the Environment
By: Uma R. Karmarkar and Bryan Bollinger
As concerns about pollution and climate change have become more central in public discourse, shopping with reusable grocery bags has been strongly promoted as environmentally and socially conscious. In parallel, firms have joined policy makers in using a variety of... View Details
Keywords: Grocery Shopping; Reusable Bags; Licensing; Priming; Goals; Hedonic; Marketing Strategy; Consumer Behavior; Environmental Sustainability; Retail Industry
Karmarkar, Uma R., and Bryan Bollinger. "BYOB: How Bringing Your Own Shopping Bags Leads to Treating Yourself, and the Environment." Journal of Marketing 79, no. 4 (July 2015): 1–15.
- April 1994 (Revised March 1995)
- Case
China (C): Energy and the Environment
Describes energy and environmental policy in China during the period 1980-1993. China has implemented ambitious plans for electrification and the substitution of fossil fuels (mostly coal) for biomass. The environmental consequences of these changes, at the local and... View Details
Keywords: Energy Generation; Environmental Sustainability; Policy; Pollutants; Climate Change; Business and Government Relations; Globalization; Energy Industry; China
Vietor, Richard H.K. "China (C): Energy and the Environment." Harvard Business School Case 794-134, April 1994. (Revised March 1995.)
- 2022
- Article
Diffusing Management Practices within the Firm: The Role of Information Provision
By: Michael J. Lenox and Michael W. Toffel
Why are some firms more successful in adopting profitable environmental management practices than others? A key role of corporate managers is to encourage subsidiaries to adopt innovative practices. We examine the conditions under which corporate managers use... View Details
Keywords: Environmental Strategy; Information Provision; Environmental Management; Knowledge Dissemination
Lenox, Michael J., and Michael W. Toffel. "Diffusing Management Practices within the Firm: The Role of Information Provision." Art. 5911. Special Issue on Competitive Sustainability: The Intersection of Sustainability and Business Success. Sustainability 14, no. 10 (2022).