Publications

2025
Working Paper

Methane Abatement Costs in the Oil and Gas Industry: Survey and Synthesis

By: Joseph E. Aldy, Forest Reinhardt and Robert N. Stavins

There is growing recognition of the relative importance of anthropogenic emissions of methane as a contributor to global climate change. An important source of such emissions in some countries, including the United States, is the oil and gas (O&G) sector. This points... View Details

Keywords: Emission Reduction; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Pollutants; Energy Industry

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22 Feb 2022
Blog Post

Lessons Learned from My HBS Career Journey in Environmental Sustainability

Tesla, where I worked in manufacturing and design engineering. During my time there I learned about the power of an organization to develop technology and execute business strategy to bring positive change in the world. Coming off that experience, in my first semester... View Details

Keywords: Energy / Cleantech

01 Jun 2023
News

Batteries Included

modern container shipping, the ship is really a relatively small part of costs,” observes McCown. “Everything ship-related might only be 30 percent of the carrier’s total cost. The biggest cost is fuel.” Both economics and environmental regulations are driving the... View Details

Keywords: Catherine O’Neill Grace; Water Transportation; Transportation

06 Jan 2012
Op-Ed

Where Green Corporate Ratings Fail

News Corporation—a multinational media conglomerate that includes BSKYB, Dow Jones, Fox News, 20th Century Fox and Star, among other units—announced earlier this year that it has become climate neutral, meaning that its operations have no net impact on global climate... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Toffel & Auden Schendler; Information; Publishing

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; Energy Industry

August 2014 (Revised May 2016)
Case

Husk Power

By: Joseph B. Lassiter III and Sid Misra

In late 2013, Husk Power Systems found itself falling further and further behind plan. The founding CEO had decided to resign. His co-founder is faced with the decision of quitting his corporate job in the US to head to India and help form a new management team. Husk... View Details

October 2007 (Revised October 2009)
Case

Global Climate Change and BP

By: Forest L. Reinhardt and Mikell Hyman

Following the sudden resignation of Sir John Browne, Tony Hayward, BP CEO, must decide how global climate change management will figure into BP's corporate strategy. Climate change management was a major part of BP's strategy under Browne: In 1997 Browne broke from his... View Details

Keywords: Change Management; Climate Change; Corporate Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Management Teams; Environmental Sustainability; Government and Politics; Energy Sources; Global Strategy; Operations; Utilities Industry; Utilities Industry; United Kingdom

1976
Chapter

Costs and Capital Requirements for Transporting Alaskan Natural Gas

By: James K. Sebenius

Keywords: Cost; Non-Renewable Energy; Capital; Mining Industry; Mining Industry; Alaska

March 1995 (Revised December 1995)
Case

Dividend Policy at FPL Group, Inc. (A)

By: Benjamin C. Esty and Craig F Schreiber

A Wall Street analyst has just learned that FPL (the holding company for Florida's largest electric utility) may cut its dividend in several days despite a 47-year streak of consecutive dividend increases. In response to the deregulation of the electric utility... View Details

Keywords: Investment Return; Corporate Strategy; Policy; Competitive Strategy; Financial Strategy; Fluctuation; Energy Sources; Emerging Markets; Utilities Industry; Utilities Industry; Florida

April 2006 (Revised November 2021)
Case

Endesa Chile: Raising the Ralco Dam (A)

By: Kathleen L. McGinn, Paula J. Laschober and Dina Pradel

Endesa Chile, the largest electricity generation company in Chile, is building a major power plant on the Biobio River in Southern Chile. A historic conflict involving the indigenous people of the Biobio River, the Chilean government, and international conservation... View Details

Keywords: Buildings and Facilities; Energy Generation; Government and Politics; Negotiation; Business and Community Relations; Natural Environment; Conflict and Resolution; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Industry; Chile

01 Dec 2016
News

Ask the Expert: Energy’s Next Era

© d20/ZUMA © d20/ZUMA Governments across the globe are getting serious about weaning themselves off of fossil fuels. Denmark has pledged to be powered solely by renewable energy by 2050; Sweden pledged to reach the goal by 2040. Hawaii... View Details

Profile

Konstantin Chebotar

twenty-five percent of our GDP is from oil and gas." After obtaining his Bachelor’s degree from Moscow State University and Master’s degree from Imperial College London, Konstantin spent the next six years working in the oil and gas View Details

Keywords: Manufacturing/Energy

1995
Chapter

Investment in Pollution Compliance Options: The Case of Georgia Power

By: F. L. Reinhardt and M. Edleson

Keywords: Pollutants; Investment; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Energy Industry; Georgia (state, US)

June 2001
Case

NESWC (A)

By: Michael A. Wheeler

Documents attempts to restructure a public-private partnership between the operator of a $200 million trash-to-energy cogeneration plant and a consortium of two dozen Massachusetts municipalities. Describes the process that led to a one-sided agreement, as well as the... View Details

Keywords: Private Sector; Public Sector; Energy Generation; Corporate Governance; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Negotiation Deal; Negotiation Process; Partners and Partnerships; Wastes and Waste Processing; Energy Industry; Massachusetts

October 2018 (Revised August 2023)
Case

Safecast: Bootstrapping Human Capital to Big Data

By: Ethan Bernstein and Stephanie Marton

On March 11, 2011, at 2:46pm, a 9.1-on-the-Richter-scale, six-minute long earthquake unleashed a tsunami that ravaged the Tohoku region of Japan, damaging the Fukushima Daiichi Nuclear Power facility and releasing sufficient radioactive material into the air and ocean... View Details

January 1980 (Revised May 1980)
Supplement

General Electric vs. Westinghouse in Large Turbine Generators (B)

By: Michael E. Porter

Supplements the (A) case. Designed as an in-class handout. View Details

Keywords: Energy Generation; Industrial Products Industry