Publications

Article

Update on E-liability Accounting

By: Robert Kaplan, Karthik Ramanna and Piyush Jha

Since publication of the original E-liability carbon accounting paper (HBR, Nov 2021), we created the E-liability Institute to help companies, governments, and nonprofits implement the method. The Institute’s mission is to test and validate the method, and develop... View Details

Keywords: Decarbonization; Carbon Footprint; Supply Chain; Environmental Sustainability; Environmental Accounting

May 2023 (Revised June 2023)
Case

Harvard University and Urban Mining Industries: Decarbonizing the Supply Chain

By: Shirley Lu and Robert S. Kaplan

The case describes Harvard University’s consideration to decarbonize its supply chain by replacing cement with a low-carbon substitute called Pozzotive®. Developed and produced by Urban Mining Industries, Pozzotive® is a ground-glass material made with post-consumer... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Blockchain; Supply Chain; Green Technology; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability

2024
Working Paper

Principles and Content for Downstream Emissions Disclosures

By: Robert S. Kaplan and Karthik Ramanna

In a previous paper, we proposed the E-liability carbon accounting algorithm for companies to measure and subsequently reduce their own and their suppliers’ emissions. Some investors and stakeholders, however, want companies to also be accountable for downstream... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Disclosure; Carbon Footprint; Climate Change; Measurement and Metrics; Corporate Disclosure; Environmental Sustainability; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact

04 Aug 2023
Blog Post

Aaron Sabin (MS/MBA 2023): Engineering a Climate Change Solution by Cutting the Cost of Carbon Capture

there was any encouraging information in the report it was that the world has plenty of options for mitigating climate change. One that is increasingly attracting the attention of policymakers is direct air carbon capture—a technology... View Details

13 May 2021
Podcast

Investment Management for the Carbon Potential of Forests: David Brand, New Forests

David Brand is founder and CEO of New Forests, a business that manages forests for long-term returns for institutional investors. He has an unusual climate vision. Right now the forestry business, together with agriculture and land use, is responsible for about... View Details

October 2021
Article

Can European Electric Utilities Manage Asset Impairments Arising from Net Zero Targets?

By: Conor Hickey, John O'Brien, Ben Caldecott, Celine McInerney and Brian O' Gallachoir

This paper develops a framework to assess the ability of electric utilities to sustain the forced impairment of carbon emitting power plants and applies it to the European market. We present a new method to measure asset impairment, for both the company and the... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Environmental Regulation; Transition; Utilities Industry; Europe

07 Jun 2023
Podcast

Beyond Net Zero: How Seventh Generation Plans to Achieve Real Zero Carbon

In this first episode in a new series on companies setting and meeting net zero climate targets, Ashley Orgain, Chief Impact Officer at Seventh Generation, discusses why this home care products company decided to set a real zero climate goal instead of net zero, and... View Details

Rethinking Nuclear: Can We Change the World’s Cumulative Carbon Emissions Soon Enough?

Today’s existing nuclear power alternatives as well as renewables are currently forecast by the EIA and IEA to be losing the race with fossil fuels worldwide and are expected to continue do so for the forecast future. A suite of *new* nuclear power... View Details

October 2023
Case

Prime Coalition: Estimating Climate Impact

By: Natalia Rigol, Benjamin N. Roth, Brian Trelstad and Amram Migdal

A case on CRANE, a tool to help investors and green technology companies estimate the future climate impact of new technologies and products, called emissions reduction potential (ERP). The case includes material on CRANE’s methodology for estimating future carbon... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Environmental Accounting; Analysis; Climate Change; Green Technology; Innovation and Invention; Measurement and Metrics; Philanthropy and Charitable Giving; Risk and Uncertainty; Nonprofit Organizations; Social Enterprise

October 2022 (Revised June 2024)
Case

Driving Decarbonization at BMW

By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel

The case describes BMW’s electrification and decarbonization strategy, and how the company measured carbon emissions throughout the life cycle of its vehicles and used tools like carbon abatement cost curves to evaluate decarbonization opportunities. In mid-2022,... View Details

09 Apr 2025
Podcast

Carbon Credit Ratings and Market Integrity: A Conversation on the Calyx Global Case

In this bonus episode of Climate Rising, we share an episode from Harvard Business School’s Cold Call podcast, featuring HBS professor Mike Toffel and Duncan van Bergen, Co-Founder of Calyx Global. The discussion focuses on Mike’s recent HBS case study, Calyx Global:... View Details

26 Feb 2025
Podcast

Enhancing Integrity Standards in Carbon Markets: A Conversation with Amy Merrill of ICVCM

Amy Merrill, CEO of the Integrity Council for the Voluntary Carbon Market (ICVCM) joins host Mike Toffel in this fourth episode of the Climate Rising series on voluntary carbon markets. Amy has extensive experience in carbon markets, including leading negotiations on... View Details

2022
Chapter

Decarbonizing Academia's Flyout Culture

By: Nicholas Poggioli and Andrew J. Hoffman

Flight is technologically and culturally central to academic life. Academia's flyout culture is built on a set of shared beliefs and values about the importance of flying to being an academic. But flight also generates a large proportion of academia’s carbon emissions,... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Emissions; Air Transportation; Values and Beliefs; Environmental Sustainability; Higher Education; Education Industry

April 2024 (Revised October 2024)
Case

New Belgium Brewing and Climate Change

By: Michael W. Toffel, Kenneth P. Pucker and Michael Norris

In 2023, Colorado-based craft brewery New Belgium Brewing was considering how best to meet its emissions reduction targets. After decades of growth, the beermaker had grown to become one of the largest craft brewers in the U.S., and was purchased in 2019 by Japanese... View Details

Keywords: Beer; Carbon Accounting; Carbon Credits; Operation Management; Renewable Energy; Supply Chain; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Accounting; Food and Beverage Industry; United States; Colorado

29 Jun 2010
News

'We need a carbon tax' - Harvard professor urges Canadians not to follow the U.S. path

2008
Book

Climate Change: What's Your Business Strategy?

By: Andrew J. Hoffman and John G. Woody

Climate change is one of the most pressing challenges facing the world today. And increasingly, it's become a crucial business issue. How will you and your company respond?

In Climate Change: What's Your Business Strategy? Andrew Hoffman and John... View Details

Keywords: Carbon Footprint; Climate Change; Business Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Policy

Find at Harvard