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- All HBS Web
(433)
- News (64)
- Research (336)
- Multimedia (1)
- Faculty Publications (242)
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- 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.
- 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.)
- 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.
- February 2011
- Supplement
Carbon Trading Simulation: Black Cement Inc.
By: Peter A. Coles
This simulation presents students the opportunity to experience firsthand the economics of carbon markets and permit trading. Each student has private role information about a company he or she manages. The student must make decisions about pollution-reducing... View Details
Keywords: Market Design; Pollutants; Investment; Price; Profit; Agreements and Arrangements; Decisions; Service Industry; Energy Industry
Coles, Peter A. "Carbon Trading Simulation: Black Cement Inc." Harvard Business School Supplement 911-053, February 2011.
- February 2011
- Supplement
Carbon Trading Simulation: Brown Cement Inc.
By: Peter A. Coles
This simulation presents students the opportunity to experience firsthand the economics of carbon markets and permit trading. Each student has private role information about a company he or she manages. The student must make decisions about pollution-reducing... View Details
Keywords: Decisions; Economics; Investment; Business or Company Management; Market Design; Pollutants
Coles, Peter A. "Carbon Trading Simulation: Brown Cement Inc." Harvard Business School Supplement 911-052, February 2011.
- February 2011
- Exercise
Carbon Trading Simulation: Green Cement Inc.
By: Peter A. Coles
This simulation presents students the opportunity to experience firsthand the economics of carbon markets and permit trading. Each student has private role information about a company he or she manages. The student must make decisions about pollution-reducing... View Details
Keywords: Ethics; Investment; Markets; Agreements and Arrangements; Production; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Government Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Pollutants
Coles, Peter A. "Carbon Trading Simulation: Green Cement Inc." Harvard Business School Exercise 911-051, February 2011.
- February 1992 (Revised April 1993)
- Case
Acid Rain: The Southern Co. (A)
The Southern Co., an electric utility, is planning its compliance with the 1990 amendments to the Clean Air Act. The Act established a system of tradeable permits for sulfur dioxide emissions. The company must decide whether to install pollution control equipment and... View Details
Keywords: Energy Generation; Business Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Cost vs Benefits; Financial Management; Strategic Planning; Investment Return; Government Legislation; Wastes and Waste Processing; Utilities Industry; Energy Industry; United States
Reinhardt, Forest L. "Acid Rain: The Southern Co. (A)." Harvard Business School Case 792-060, February 1992. (Revised April 1993.)
- 2018
- Working Paper
Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America During Globalization Waves
By: Geoffrey Jones
This working paper examines the impact of modern business enterprise on the natural environment of Latin America during the globalization waves between the 19th century and the present day. It argues that although global capitalism created much wealth for the region,... View Details
Keywords: Globalization; Natural Environment; Outcome or Result; Business History; Pollutants; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology Industry; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Tourism Industry; Latin America
Jones, Geoffrey. "Sustainability and Green Business in Latin America During Globalization Waves." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 19-009, August 2018.
- 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.
- 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
Bansal, Pratima, and Andrew J. Hoffman, eds. The Oxford Handbook of Business and the Natural Environment. Oxford University Press, 2012.
- 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.)
- 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.)
- 2017
- Working Paper
Business and Green Knowledge Production in Sweden 1960s–1980s
By: Ann-Kristin Bergquist and Kristina Söderholm
This working paper contributes to the burgeoning historical literature that has transformed our understanding about the relationship between big business and the environmental regulation. Previously, it was believed that corporate managers resisted the extra costs... View Details
Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Business and Government Relations; Research and Development; History; Sweden
Bergquist, Ann-Kristin, and Kristina Söderholm. "Business and Green Knowledge Production in Sweden 1960s–1980s." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 18-050, December 2017.
- 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.
- 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).
- 2022
- Chapter
Capitalism and the Environment
By: Geoffrey Jones
Capitalism drove the environmental decimation of the planet. The environment was seen as a free good, while the consequences of dirty industrial and agricultural processes were seen as external to the firm. Public policies largely allowed this to happen, as politicians... View Details
Keywords: History; Environment; Sustainability; Capitalism; Ethics; Business History; Environmental Sustainability; Green Technology; Pollution; Climate Change
Jones, Geoffrey. "Capitalism and the Environment." Chap. 8 in Evolutions of Capitalism: Historical Perspectives: 1200–2000, edited by Catherine Casson and Philipp Robinson Rössner, 187–211. Bristol, United Kingdom: Bristol University Press, 2022.
- 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.