Publications

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March 2014
Technical Note

Sustainability of Competitive Advantage

By: Eric Van den Steen

This note introduces a framework for analyzing the sustainability of competitive advantage. (While it applies more broadly, it was developed as a component of the PVA framework.) View Details

Keywords: Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Monopoly

11 Feb 2022
Video

Introduction to Sustainable Investing

March 2003 (Revised July 2004)
Case

Sustainable Development at Shell (A)

Describes the complex and challenging process by which social and environmental concerns are integrated into the existing strategy of a large, multinational firm. Details the circumstances leading up to a large-scale effort to transform Shell's strategy to take into... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Growth and Development Strategy; Energy Industry

May–June 2025
Article

Sustainability as a Business-Model Transformation

By: Ivanka Visnjic, Felipe Monteiro and Michael L. Tushman

Many global companies have made public commitments to sustainability targets. Fulfilling these commitments will require firms to transform their business models and organizational architectures. A few pioneers are leading the way, demonstrating that companies can make... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Business Model

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December 2004 (Revised May 2005)
Case

Nestle: Sustainable Agriculture Initiative

By: Forest L. Reinhardt

Swiss food giant Nestle attempts to improve the performance of its suppliers of agricultural commodities to raise quality, lower costs, and contribute to sustainable development. Its initiatives focus first on coffee, cocoa, and milk. Nestle managers assert that the... View Details

Keywords: Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Social Issues; Business and Community Relations; Corporate Strategy; Agribusiness; Supply Chain Management; Marketing Strategy; Value Creation; Food and Beverage Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

14 Dec 2011
News

A Manifesto for Sustainable Capitalism

05 Sep 2013
News

Women and Sustainable Investing

March 2015
Case

Sustainable Palm Oil and Self-Regulation

By: Rebecca Henderson and Amram Migdal

This case is designed to be used with HBS Note: Industry Self-Regulation: Sustaining the Commons in the 21st Century, HBS No. 315-074. View Details

Keywords: Governance Compliance

Article

Sustainability in Financial Services Is Not About Being Green

By: Robert G. Eccles and George Serafeim

Keywords: Sustainability; Financial Services; Banks; Insurance Companies; Risk; Risk Management; Insurance; Accounting; Banks and Banking; Financial Services Industry

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December 2021
Case

Bunge: Building a Sustainable Future?

By: Forest Reinhardt, David E. Bell, Pedro Levindo and Ruth Costas

Bunge, one of the world’s leading agribusiness traders and processors, strives to comply with its commitment to having a deforestation-free value chain by 2025 while it considers potential new business growth areas. After a complex turnaround, which involved one of the... View Details

Keywords: Deforestation; Value Chain; Agribusiness; Values and Beliefs; Growth and Development Strategy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Financial Strategy; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry

March 2003 (Revised July 2004)
Case

Sustainable Development at Shell (B)

The case describes the complex and challenging process by which social and environmental concerns are integrated into the existing strategy of a large, multinational firm. This case focuses on a specific business within Shell Chemicals, the Close Looped Cleaning... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Growth and Development Strategy; Energy Industry

Research Summary

Sustainable Inner-City Economic Development

By: Michael E. Porter

Michael E. Porter is using the framework he developed in The Competitive Advantage of Nations to examine the economic development problems in distressed inner-city areas. He seeks to understand the potential of inner-city businesses, government policies, and... View Details

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