Publications

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September–October 2017
Article

Why Do We Undervalue Competent Management?: Neither Great Leadership Nor Brilliant Strategy Matters Without Operational Excellence

By: Raffaella Sadun, Nicholas Bloom and John Van Reenen

A recurring message in business education is that you can’t compete on the basis of management processes because they’re easily copied. Operational effectiveness is table stakes in the competitive universe, it is often assumed, and thus cannot serve as a sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Management; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Practices and Processes; Performance Effectiveness

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2003
Article

Developing a Management Systems Approach to Sustainability at BMW Group

By: Michael W. Toffel, Natalie Hill and Kellie McElhaney

This article describes how Designworks/USA, a subsidiary of BMW Group, developed a Sustainability Management System (SMS) by integrating the management of environmental, social, and traditional business issues. After several months of deploying the SMS throughout its... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Management Systems; Standards; Operations; Auto Industry

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March 2007 (Revised April 2007)
Case

McDonald's Corporation: Managing a Sustainable Supply Chain

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Jessica Droste Yagan

McDonald's seeks to learn from a successful response to Greenpeace's Amazon deforestation campaign in order to make its supply chain more socially and environmentally responsible. View Details

Keywords: Food; Supply Chain Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Management Systems; Food and Beverage Industry

03 Nov 2022
Blog Post

Introducing the Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series

Introducing the Creating Emerging Markets Sustainability Series Cover image features Prof. Geoffrey Jones (left) and Prof. Tarun Khanna (right). The Business and Environment Initiative is excited to bring our readers the View Details

15 May 2013
News

Sustainability in Financial Services Is Not About Being Green

01 Dec 2017
News

The Business Case (Or Not) for Sustainability

Image by John Ritter Is there a business case to be made for companies to act in environmentally friendly ways? Rebecca Henderson: If one can imagine that all business in the entire world was run by one person, it’d be pretty straightforward to make a business case for... View Details

2003
Article

BMW Group's Sustainability Management System: Preliminary Results, Ongoing Challenges, and the UN Global Compact

By: Michael W. Toffel, Natalie Hill and Kellie McElhaney

This article describes preliminary results and ongoing challenges faced by Designworks/USA, an industrial design subsidiary of BMW Group, in its sustainability management efforts since it implemented the world's first certified Sustainability Management System (SMS).... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Management Systems; Standards; Social Issues; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Outcome or Result; Auto Industry

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22 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Decarbonization and Sustainable Production: Immersive Field Course in Denmark and the Netherlands

As I packed my bag to return to Boston after an exciting 2 weeks in Denmark and the Netherlands, I could not help but reflect on my experience there. I traveled to Europe to participate in the Immersive Field Course on Decarbonization and View Details

23 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Arla Foods: How Sustainable Can A Dairy Company Be?

them the credibility and the know-how to encourage similar shifts among their suppliers. At the end of their value chain, Arla also considered how their operational sustainability initiatives earned them the... View Details

May 2007 (Revised December 2009)
Case

Cradle-to-Cradle Design at Herman Miller: Moving Toward Environmental Sustainability

By: Deishin Lee and Lionel Bony

Herman Miller decided to implement the cradle-to-cradle (C2C) design protocol during the design of its mid-level office chair, Mirra. The C2C protocol was a set of environmentally friendly product development guidelines. View Details

Keywords: Product Design; Production; Supply Chain Management; Business Processes; Environmental Sustainability

21 Mar 2023
Blog Post

Grundfos: Innovation & Inspiration for Sustainable Product Design

different companies we visited and the challenges they collectively face to meet planetary needs for decarbonization. Grundfos operations and climate targets Day three of the trip transported us from a focus on renewable energy and power... View Details

March 2005
Case

Windhoek Nature Reserve: Financing a Sustainable Conservation Model in Namibia

In 2003, a Namibian entrepreneur was deciding how to finance and manage the risks of an ecotourism, nature reserve, venture project. Explores the challenges facing an entrepreneur operating in an emerging market with imperfect local financial and legal institutions. View Details

Keywords: Emerging Markets; Entrepreneurship

August 2024
Case

Quickmart: Sustaining Growth in a Challenging Economic Environment

By: Ramon Casadesus-Masanell and Kuria Kamau

In July 2023, Peter Kang’iri, the Chief Executive Officer (CEO) of Quickmart, Kenya’s second-largest retail chain, sat in his Nairobi office reviewing the company’s first half financial results before the weekly executive committee (EXCO) meeting. The company was in... View Details

Keywords: Distribution; Supply Chain; Logistics; Business Strategy; Expansion; Business Earnings; Growth and Development Strategy; Strategic Planning; Retail Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Africa; Kenya; Nairobi

June 2020
Article

Real-time Data from Mobile Platforms to Evaluate Sustainable Transportation Infrastructure

By: Omar Isaac Asensio, Kevin Alvarez, Arielle Dror, Emerson Wenzel, Catharina Hollauer and Sooji Ha

By displacing gasoline and diesel fuels, electric cars and fleets reduce emissions from the transportation sector, thus offering important public health benefits. However, public confidence in the reliability of charging infrastructure remains a fundamental barrier to... View Details

Keywords: Environmental Sustainability; Transportation; Infrastructure; Behavior; AI and Machine Learning; Demand and Consumers

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November 2021 (Revised May 2022)
Case

QuantumScape's Mission to Revolutionize Energy Storage for a Sustainable Future

By: William A. Sahlman, Allison M. Ciechanover and Jeff Huizinga

QuantumScape CEO Jagdeep Singh juggles the many activities required to lead the next-generation battery pioneer. Founded in 2010, QuantumScape’s mission was to develop new “solid-state” car batteries that would improve upon traditional lithium-ion batteries in key... View Details

Keywords: Batteries; Electric Vehicles; SPACs; Innovation and Management; Technological Innovation; Science-Based Business; Environmental Sustainability; Auto Industry; Energy Industry; California; San Jose

August 2019
Case

Simón Cohen at Henco: Sustaining 'High Performance, Happy People'

By: Francesca Gino, Jeff Steiner, Arianna Camacho and Paul Green

Simón Cohen—Founder of Henco Logistics—transformed a small Mexican logistics company into a major player within the industry. Cohen credits the firm’s focus on employee happiness as the key ingredient to its success, an approach he developed following a personal... View Details

Keywords: Work/life Balance; Growth Strategy; Corporate Culture; Motivation; Values; Authentic Leadership Development; Leadership; Personal Development and Career; Motivation and Incentives; Values and Beliefs; Service Operations; Organizational Culture; Growth and Development Strategy; Service Industry

23 Sep 2021
News

Confronting Sustainability in Business; Pro-Bono Consulting for Black-Owned Companies

Clubs News Clubs News Alumni in Japan Launch Virtual Series on Business and Sustainability The HBS Club of Japan (HBSCJ) launched a new and comprehensive virtual speaker series in September to help the business community confront the... View Details

Keywords: Margie Kelley

March 2013
Teaching Note

Nestlé: Agricultural Material Sourcing Within the Concept of Creating Shared Value (CSV) (TN)

By: Ray A. Goldberg and Matthew Preble

In December 2012, Hans Jöhr, Nestlé's head of corporate agriculture, was preparing to meet with the company's board of directors to discuss its vision for the future related to sustainable agriculture. Nestlé's continued success depended on its ability to access the... View Details

Keywords: Sustainability; Sustainability Management; Agribusiness; Environmental Sustainability; Food; Nutrition; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry