Publications

04 Sep 2020
Blog Post

Advice from a Career Switcher: The Value of Informational Conversations with Alumni

In the fall of 2019, Adam entered HBS in the MS/MBA: Engineering Sciences Program ready to test a career hypothesis. “I wanted to understand why we have climate change and what... View Details

17 Feb 2015
News

The First Five Years: Diogo Castro Freire (MBA 2012)

science and the consequences of inaction. I realized we were making miniscule progress toward solving it. We still are. I realized that even the smartest people I knew were misinformed about what climate... View Details

Keywords: Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries; Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries; Motion Picture and Sound Recording Industries

July 2024 (Revised December 2024)
Background Note

District Heating: An Overview

By: Willy Shih and Michael W. Toffel

This note provides an overview of district heating: systems in which central plants generate heat that is conveyed by steam or water through a set of insulated pipes to send heat to residential and/or commercial buildings. It describes key elements of the system (heat... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Energy Efficiency; Energy Storage; Energy Transmission; Construction; Energy; Buildings and Facilities; Governing Rules, Regulations, and Reforms; Climate Change; Operations; Energy Industry; Denmark; Europe; United States

30 Nov 2021
Blog Post

Searching for Professional Passion Through My VC Summer Internship

storage to climate risk modeling. My summer experience demonstrated just how fulfilling working for a socially driven company could be, igniting the same passion in me that I had seen in my peers. As I look ahead, I’ve come to see View Details

01 Dec 2008
News

Green Talk at HBS

Nyquist reported that such emissions could be cut by a third through greater efficiencies. He also noted, however, that meeting the lowered emission goals set for 2050 by the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate View Details

Keywords: Oil and Gas Extraction; Oil and Gas Extraction; Oil and Gas Extraction; Oil and Gas Extraction; Oil and Gas Extraction; Oil and Gas Extraction

25 Jul 2011
Research & Ideas

How Disruptive Innovation is Remaking the University

universities. In this excerpt, they discuss the idea of a university's DNA. In the absence of a disruptive new technology, the combination of prestige and loyal support from donors and legislators has... View Details

Keywords: by Clayton M. Christensen & Henry J. Eyring; Education

2013
Chapter

Assessing Potential Carbon Revenues from Reduced Forest Cover Loss in Liberia

By: Jessica Donovan, Keith Lawrence, Christopher Neyor, Eduard Niesten and Eric Werker

We conducted an analysis that explores the merits of a low-carbon development strategy for Liberia. This chapter describes both our cost-benefit analysis initiative and a plausible policy process for Liberia. We proposed a simple approach that models the costs and... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Revenue; Liberia; Deforestation; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Liberia

June 2024
Article

Economics of Enhanced Methane Oxidation Relative to Carbon Dioxide Removal

By: Conor Hickey and Myles Allen

Mitigating short-term global warming is imperative, and a key strategy involves reducing atmospheric methane (CH4) due to its high radiative forcing and short lifespan. This objective can be achieved through methods such as oxidising methane at its source or... View Details

Keywords: Greenhouse Gas Mitigation; Climate Change; Environmental Regulation; Pollutants; Research; Measurement and Metrics

Read Now

March 2024 (Revised September 2024)
Case

Vineyard Wind Starts Spinning: Overcoming Onshore Challenges to Offshore Wind

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jacob A. Small

To activate the first wind turbines in the ocean off Martha’s Vineyard eventually supplying clean energy to 400,000 households, Vineyard Wind’s leaders had to navigate the permitting process, numerous delays, and objections from stakeholders in three communities:... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Renewable Energy; Joint Ventures; Green Technology; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Massachusetts; Martha's Vineyard; New Bedford; New England

June 2010 (Revised June 2011)
Case

U.S. Department of Energy & Recovery Act Funding: Bridging the "Valley of Death"

By: Michael J. Roberts, Joseph B. Lassiter III and Ramana Nanda

The case focuses on the U.S. Department of Energy (DOE) and the $38 billion of stimulus funding the DOE received to encourage clean tech. They focus on "bridging the valley of death" (i.e., helping young, innovative companies finance technically risky and very capital... View Details

Keywords: Entrepreneurship; Financing and Loans; Government and Politics; Innovation and Invention; Programs; Business and Government Relations; Climate Change; Energy Industry; Green Technology Industry

05 Jan 2022
News

Untapped Potential

India, and Bangladesh alone under threat from rising sea levels by 2100, “water is the medium through which climate change is really going to be experienced,” Ferguson says.... View Details

13 Apr 2015
Research & Ideas

3 Ways Firms Can Profit From Environmental Investments

In the course of her work, Rebecca Henderson meets business executives who don't address the threat of climate change because they don't believe that it exists. Her recommendation: They should consider... View Details

Keywords: by Carmen Nobel; Energy; Utilities

15 May 2020
News

New Menu

the next 10 years deploying everything I've learned—the mistakes I've made, the experiences I've had—on making this world a better place." For Ive, that meant turning all his business know-how toward addressing climate View Details

January 2024
Case

Net Zero Insurance Alliance: An Alliance in Crisis

By: Peter Tufano and Karina Val

The Net Zero Insurance Alliance (NZIA), a UN-convened alliance of major global insurers, was formed in 2021, but by 2023 had lost over 60% of its members. While NZIA had enjoyed a rapid and productive start by setting standards for the industry and sharing best... View Details

Keywords: Climate Change; Insurance; Standards; Alliances; Business and Government Relations; Cooperation; Insurance Industry

2022
Book

Democratize Work: The Case for Reorganizing the Economy

By: Isabelle Ferreras, Julie Battilana and Dominique Méda

What happens to a society—and a planet—when capitalism outgrows democracy? The tensions between democracy and capitalism are longstanding, and they have been laid bare by the social effects of COVID-19. The narrative of “essential workers” has provided thin cover for... View Details

Keywords: Democratic Capitalism; Essential Workers; Sustainability; Equality and Inequality; Climate Change; Social Issues

Find at Harvard

21 Oct 2020
News

Cold Calculations

Courtesy Steve Payne Courtesy Steve Payne The Arctic ice pack is melting. For more than a decade, Steve Payne (MBA 1985), chair of the board of the Arctic Ice Project, has patiently explained the problem to anyone willing to listen: The disappearing ice is a harbinger... View Details

Keywords: April White

August 2024
Case

Iogen: Decarbonizing Hard-to-Abate Sectors

By: George Serafeim, Charlotte Foody and John Mulliken

Brian Foody, CEO of Iogen Corporation, was an early leader in advanced biofuels, developing a range of technologies to transform agricultural waste into transportation fuel. With $100 million in revenue and 350 patents across various biofuel technologies, Iogen was... View Details

Keywords: Technology; Biofuel; Market Attractiveness; Decarbonization; Technological Innovation; Climate Change; Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Transformation; Market Entry and Exit; Strategy; Energy Industry; United States; United Kingdom