Publications

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October 2023
Case

Driving Sustainability at AB InBev

By: Ethan Rouen and Antonio Manuel Oftelie

It was the height of the summer in 2022, and Michel Doukeris, the CEO of Anheuser-Busch InBev (AB InBev), and Peter Kraemer, the company’s Chief Supply Officer, gazed across the vast desert surrounding Zacatecas, Mexico. They were visiting their Grupo Modelo Brewery,... View Details

Keywords: Innovation; Transformation; Decisions; Environmental Sustainability; Leading Change; Growth Management; Business Model; Food and Beverage Industry; Mexico

08 May 2019
Blog Post

Top-Notch Talent Begets Top-Notch Talent

a variety of dynamic, in-demand work engagements). But many times, the greatest ideas arise out of opportunity. And often, the best businesses are created to address a market gap. In this case, it was both. Cheney had spent six years post HBS working in View Details

June 2012 (Revised February 2014)
Case

Low-Carbon, Indigenous Innovation in China

By: Richard H.K. Vietor

For the past seven years or so, the Chinese government has been powering ahead with industrial policies to promote low-carbon energy technologies—wind, solar, electric batteries and vehicles, nuclear power, and even carbon capture and sequestration. In 2009, the... View Details

Keywords: Energy; Renewables; Carbon; Environment; Industrial Policy; Competitiveness; Environmental Sustainability; Policy; Renewable Energy; Competition; Globalized Markets and Industries; Energy Industry; China

August 18, 2017
Other Article

How the U.S. Navy Is Responding to Climate Change

By: Forest Reinhardt and Michael W. Toffel

We talk about how a giant, global enterprise that operates and owns assets at sea level is fighting climate change—and adapting to it. We discuss what the private sector can learn from the U.S. Navy’s scientific and sober view of the world. We are also the authors of... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Leadership; Strategic Planning; Problems and Challenges; Operations; Logistics

06 Dec 2011
First Look

First Look: Dec. 6

strategy to educate the marketplace and pursue new distribution channels. Increased investor interest in environmental issues-and an ever growing number of corporate View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

13 Dec 2011
First Look

First Look: Dec. 13

Cases & Course MaterialsAQR's DELTA Strategy (A) Daniel B. Bergstresser, Lauren H. Cohen, Randolph B. Cohen, and Christopher J. MalloyHarvard Business School Case 212-038 In the summer of 2008, AQR Capital Management was considering... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

24 May 2011
First Look

First Look: May 24

The prizes encouraged competition and medals were particularly effective. The boost to innovation we observe can only be partly explained by the re-direction of existing inventive activity. Download the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/11-118.pdf The... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

01 Oct 2001
News

Q&A: Orin Smith

people-watching, and the general ambience, it was extremely attractive to customers. Also, a key aspect of our strategy is to be preemptive; we get there ahead of the competition, and if we're a little late, we accelerate our development.... View Details

Keywords: Hanna, Julia; Hospitality; Food and Beverage Stores; Retail Trade

28 May 2008
First Look

First Look: May 28, 2008

the paper: http://www.hbs.edu/research/pdf/08-096.pdf Shamed and Able: How Firms Respond to Being Rated (Revised May 2008) Authors:Aaron K. Chatterji and Michael W. Toffel Abstract We examine how firms respond to third-party ratings of their corporate View Details

Keywords: Martha Lagace

01 Apr 2001
News

Ed Tian: Boardroom Revolutionary

Shanghai municipal government, Netcom is putting up a stiff challenge to three other government-controlled telecom network operators. Tian, who holds a doctorate in environmental management from Texas Tech University, is bringing a new... View Details

Keywords: Alejandro Reyes; Telecommunications; Information

2020
Article

Research on Corporate Sustainability: Review and Directions for Future Research

By: Jody Grewal and George Serafeim

We review the literature on corporate sustainability and provide directions for future research. Our review focuses on three actions: measuring, managing and communicating corporate sustainability performance. Measurement is the least developed of the three and... View Details

01 Jun 1999
News

Short Takes

to ensure that environmental resources are replenished for future generations - as there are people discussing the issue. But with increased pressure on businesses to consider the costs of their actions to society and the environment... View Details

Keywords: Judith A. Ross

Web

Doing Business with China 2035: Navigating Uncertainty - Course Catalog

while still responding to ever-changing policy directions in Beijing, Washington, and Europe. Our course will examine case studies of firms that have faced these challenges and will equip students with strategies for managing geopolitical... View Details

September 2023
Case

FoodCloud: Tackling Food Insecurity and Climate Change in One Bite

By: Brian Trelstad and Emer Moloney

In 2013, Aoibheann O’Brien and Iseult Ward founded FoodCloud, a non-profit social enterprise that aimed to address food waste and food insecurity issues. Through its technology platform, Foodiverse, FoodCloud connected surplus food from retailers with community groups... View Details

Keywords: Nonprofit Organizations; Expansion; Technological Innovation; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Growth and Development Strategy; Green Technology Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Republic of Ireland; Europe

Web

BiGS Fellows | Institute for Business in Global Society

Associate Professor in the Departments of Sociology and Criminology and African American Studies, University of Iowa; Nonresident Fellow in Governance Studies at The Brookings Institution; Carr Center Fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School Examining ways to create... View Details

September 2010 (Revised November 2010)
Case

Ze-gen: Commercializing Clean Tech

By: Lynda M. Applegate, Kaitlyn Lyons and Scott Prozeller

The Ze-gen case covers the first five years in the life of a clean-tech start-up. Ze-gen had developed an innovative technology that converted solid waste into synthesis gas (called syngas). This technology was in testing at the company's pilot plant, built next to the... View Details

Keywords: Business Startups; Renewable Energy; Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Environmental Sustainability; Commercialization; Green Technology Industry; New Bedford

October 2019 (Revised November 2019)
Case

C16 Biosciences: Lab-Grown Palm Oil

By: Jeffrey J. Bussgang and Olivia Hull

Synthetic biology start-up C16 Biosciences wants to solve a big problem: replace palm oil, a major contributor to deforestation and climate change, with a lab-grown substitute. CEO Shara Ticku has ambitious plans to supply her lab-grown palm oil to food manufacturers,... View Details

Keywords: Science-Based Business; Environmental Sustainability; Social Entrepreneurship; Product Development; Product Positioning; Venture Capital; Strategy; Decision Making; Food and Beverage Industry; Consumer Products Industry

2025
Article

Educating Students and Professionals on the Business Implications of Climate Change

By: Michael W. Toffel

As climate change poses unprecedented challenges and opportunities, the private sector must play a pivotal role in both adaptation and mitigation efforts. This article discusses the new Harvard Business School Online course, Business and Climate Change, designed to... View Details

Keywords: Climate Impact; Online Courses; Online Education; Decarbonization; Mitigation Policies; Climate Risk; Climate Change; Risk Management; Science; Policy; Business Education; Adaptation

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October 2023 (Revised November 2023)
Teaching Note

The Miccosukee Tribe and the Battle to Save the Everglades: A Miami Climate Action Story

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jacob A. Small

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 324-002. "Miccosukee" explores the challenges of coordinating actions to solve a complex systems problem—from individuals, small organizations, and coalitions of multiple organizations. The case discusses the impact of climate change and... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Leading Change; Natural Environment; Florida; Everglades National Park