Publications

09 Apr 2020
Research & Ideas

How Social Entrepreneurs Can Increase Their Investment Impact

companies, that's too simple because it ignores the cost on the firms you’re supporting,” says Roth, author of the new working paper Impact Investing: A Theory of Financing... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

01 Mar 2014
News

The Solution to the Global Food Crisis Just Might Come from Nigeria

Eventually there's an alternative economy of people who trust each other." The Village Promoter program, spearheaded by Masha, grew this way, eventually reaching about 58,000 small farmers. Overall, Notore's View Details

Keywords: Francis Storrs; John H. Davis; Michael Halse; Crop Production; Crop Production; Crop Production; Crop Production; Crop Production; Crop Production

21 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Grundfos: Innovation & Inspiration for Sustainable Product Design

center of the organization—compliance and regulatory affairs—and turned it into a driver of growth. Grundfos pumps inside a wind turbine. Image source: Nikhil Shah. Grundfos, like many View Details

Web

Industrial Production & Materials - Business & Environment

principles not only yields environmental and social benefits, but could also generate a net economic benefit of 1.8 trillion by 2030 for Europe. [42] Challenge Linear View Details

2022
Working Paper

An Anatomy of Performance Monitoring

By: Achyuta Adhvaryu, Anant Nyshadham and Jorge Tamayo

Performance monitoring is a mainstay management tool in most organizations. Yet we still know little about whether—and why—better monitoring yields better performance in practice. To shed light on these questions, we study the introduction of a performance monitoring... View Details

Keywords: Performance Monitoring; Worker Skills; Skill Depreciation; Managerial Inattention; On-the-job Training; Productivity; Multitasking; Quick Serve Restaurants; Performance Evaluation; Employees; Competency and Skills; Training; Performance Productivity; Management; Information Technology; Food and Beverage Industry; Puerto Rico

Read Now

24 May 2016
News

Build a Culture of Health

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

Read Now

April 2023 (Revised September 2023)
Case

Apple's iPhone Revolution: Pioneering the Circular Economy

By: George Serafeim

When asked to identify an example of a circular economy business model that has generated billions in revenues for a company, ChatGPT, the famous chatbot that in 2022 rocked the world with its ability to perform a variety of tasks, immediately identified and... View Details

Keywords: Iphone; Smartphone; Waste Management; Recycling; Innovation; Product Upgrade; Product Life Cycle; Sustainability; Climate Impact; Digital; Business Model Innovation; Climate Change; Information Technology; Business Model; Electronics Industry; Information Technology Industry

2023
Working Paper

Toward Decision-Useful Carbon Information

By: Gunther Glenk

Companies are increasingly viewed as crucial drivers for timely decarbonization. Current accounting practices for greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, however, often leave corporate carbon disclosures and abatement obscured. Here I introduce a taxonomy for assuring the... View Details

SSRN

Read Now

21 Nov 2023
Op-Ed

The Beauty Industry: Products for a Healthy Glow or a Compact for Harm?

In my recently published book Deeply Responsible Business, I write about business leaders since the 19th century who have acted responsibly, often by putting the welfare of their communities above the idea of maximizing profits. I make a sharp distinction between... View Details

Keywords: by Geoffrey Jones; Beauty & Cosmetics

04 Feb 2025
HBS Seminar

Anocha Aribarg, University of Michigan

18 Apr 2023
Research & Ideas

What Happens When Banks Ditch Coal: The Impact Is 'More Than Anyone Thought'

Consumers who are eager to mitigate climate change can take many actions, such as reducing the number of airline flights they take or installing solar panels on their homes. But the planet is in a race against time, and individual action alone won’t help most countries... View Details

Keywords: by Barbara DeLollis; Financial Services; Mining

01 Mar 2007
News

The Plight of the Global Poor

its leavings. Every night on the outskirts of Manila, thousands of people lie down to sleep amid acres of rotting food and industrial detritus in... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; bottom of the pyramid (BOP); Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools; Educational Services; Social Assistance; Health, Social Assistance

01 Sep 2020
News

Good Odds

put the figure at 37 million before the pandemic and some researchers suggest it could rise to 54 million before 2020 is out. And yet 133 billion pounds of food go to waste every year, according to the USDA.... View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; food industry; Food Manufacturing; Food Manufacturing

21 Sep 2012
Working Paper Summaries

Public Procurement and the Private Supply of Green Buildings

Keywords: by Timothy Simcoe & Michael W. Toffel

17 Jun 2021
News

Investing in a Post-COVID World; Exploring the Pandemic’s Impact on Gender Equity

to dwell on failures?—but a highly successful one.” Mary Ann Byrnes (MBA 1984), CEO of Alto Impact Consulting in California, came away inspired. “This was a group of speakers... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

December 2010 (Revised March 2013)
Case

Asian Agri and the Future of Palm Oil

By: David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred

For Asian Agri and other Indonesian palm oil producers, the future promised rising demand from fast-growing Asian populations, but also intensifying criticism from environmental groups. With the highest yield and lowest production cost of any edible oil, palm oil... View Details

Keywords: Plant-Based Agribusiness; Social Marketing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business Strategy; Supply Chain Management; Natural Environment; Marketing Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Indonesia; Malaysia

December 2022
Technical Note

Risks and Opportunities from the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy: A Business Analysis Framework

By: George Serafeim

The transition to a low carbon economy introduces many risks and opportunities for businesses. Risks emerge from regulatory actions, such as carbon taxes and cap and trade systems, technological innovation that develop alternatives for customers making existing... View Details

Keywords: Risk Assessment; Opportunities; Environmental Sustainability; Carbon Footprint; Risk Management; Competitive Dynamics; Business Analysis; Climate Change; Accounting; Finance; Valuation; Business and Shareholder Relations; Technological Innovation; Transition; Product Positioning; Renewable Energy; Analysis