Publications

Jonas Meckling is Associate Professor of Energy and Environmental Policy at the University of California, Berkeley, and a Climate Fellow at Havard Business School. At Berkeley, he leads the Energy and Environment Policy Lab and... View Details

30 Jan 2024
Cold Call Podcast

Can Second-Generation Ethanol Production Help Decarbonize the World?

Keywords: Re: Gunnar Trumbull; Energy

September 2011 (Revised March 2012)
Case

KKR: Leveraging Sustainability

The case describes KKR's Green Portfolio Program, one of the firm's environmental initiatives, which has achieved $160 million in cost savings. While pleased with its progress in achieving greater energy efficiency and reduced carbon emissions, the firm is looking for... View Details

Keywords: Private Equity; Investment Portfolio; Energy Conservation; Cost Management; Supply Chain Management; Risk Management; Social Enterprise; Growth and Development; Performance Efficiency; Financial Services Industry

January 2024 (Revised May 2024)
Case

Generation Investment Management

By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Michael Norris and David Allen

In September 2021, the sustainable investment firm Generation Investment Management (Generation) considered whether to add Schneider Electric to the focus list of companies in which it was prepared to invest. Dedicated to promoting a sustainable world through its... View Details

Keywords: Sustainable Investing; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Governance; Private Equity; Public Equity; Financial Markets; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Institutional Investing; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Financial Services Industry; United Kingdom; England; London

2022
Case

Mandalay Homes: Building Sustainable Innovation in Residential Construction

By: Andrew J. Hoffman

Mandalay Homes, a home builder based in northern Arizona, is a market leader in energy efficiency based construction. The company is now at a crossroads for developing a strategy for the future. Internal leadership is in agreement that quality is better than quantity... View Details

Keywords: Green Building; Renewable Energy; Environmental Sustainability; Business Strategy; Construction Industry

May 2024
Teaching Note

Vineyard Wind Starts Spinning: Overcoming Onshore Challenges to Offshore Wind

By: Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Jacob A. Small

Teaching Note for HBS Case No. 324-113. 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... View Details

Keywords: Joint Ventures; Renewable Energy; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Business and Stakeholder Relations; Environmental Sustainability; Energy Industry; Massachusetts; Martha's Vineyard; New Bedford

09 Apr 2025
Video

The Capitals Coalition | Natalie Nicholles discusses why our economic system must evolve beyond GDP

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

12 Sep 2011
Research & Ideas

The Untold Story of ‘Green’ Entrepreneurs

forefathers were primarily motivated by social concerns such as a desire to bring power to rural communities, increasing productivity of farmers, and raising living standards in developing areas. “A lot of the recent growth in green View Details

Keywords: by Sean Silverthorne

09 Jan 2024
Research & Ideas

Could Clean Hydrogen Become Affordable at Scale by 2030?

Hydrogen is poised to move from the sidelines of global clean energy as the industry learns to produce it more efficiently and at lower cost, according to newly published research led by Gunther Glenk, a climate fellow with Harvard Business School's Institute for the... View Details

Keywords: by Desmond Dodd; Energy; Green Technology

29 Jan 2019
Research & Ideas

'Green Bonds' May Be Our Best Bet for Environmental Damage Control

pricing scheme, bond markets will be central to financing climate change and other environmental interventions. So-called green bonds appeal to investors who are looking for a safe place to park their money, as well as doing a little bit... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding; Energy; Energy; Energy; Energy; Energy

June 2015 (Revised August 2018)
Case

American Electric Power: Facing the Challenges of Distributed Generation

By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Hilary White

American Electric Power, like most utilities in the USA, is currently exposed to distributed generation and the problem of net-metering. Solar installations in particular have been heavily subsidized, by the state and by regulation, which does not allow grid operators... View Details

18 Sep 2012
First Look

First Look: September 18

Buildings Authors:Timothy Simcoe and Michael W. Toffel Abstract We measure the impact of municipal policies requiring governments to construct green buildings on private-sector adoption of the U.S. Green... View Details

Keywords: Sean Silverthorne

February 2018 (Revised August 2018)
Case

Blue Haven Initiative: The PEGAfrica Investment

By: Vikram S. Gandhi, Caitlin Reimers Brumme and Amram Migdal

This case examines Blue Haven Initiative (BHI), an impact investing fund and family office, and one of its investments, PEGAfrica (PEG). BHI founder Liesel Pritzker Simmons’ motivations for using her family wealth to start a family office focused on impact investing,... View Details

Keywords: Impact Investing; Family Office; Development; International Development; International Development Investing; Development Fund; Sustainability; Solar Energy; Solar; Pay As You Go; PAYG; MFI; Social Venture; Business Ventures; Acquisition; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Startups; Economics; Development Economics; Energy; Energy Conservation; Energy Sources; Renewable Energy; Social Entrepreneurship; Finance; Assets; Asset Pricing; Capital; Capital Budgeting; Capital Structure; Venture Capital; Cash; Cash Flow; Currency; Currency Exchange Rate; Equity; Private Equity; Financial Instruments; Debt Securities; Stock Shares; Financing and Loans; Microfinance; International Finance; Investment; Investment Return; Investment Activism; Investment Funds; Investment Portfolio; Price; Geography; Geographic Location; Emerging Markets; Ownership; Ownership Stake; Private Ownership; Social Enterprise; Value; Valuation; Value Creation; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; Energy Industry; Africa; United States

Guest Column

Who's Afraid of 100%?

By: Jurgen Weiss

The articles describes 100% renewable/clean energy systems and argues that they may be less costly and easier to achieve than is often argued in the industry. View Details

Keywords: Renewable Energy; Green Technology; Green Technology Industry; Energy Industry

Read Now

30 Apr 2020
News

Leading Your Team Past the Peak of a Crisis

Joseph B. Lassiter

Joe is the Senator John Heinz Professor of Management Practice in Environmental Management, Retired. He focuses on one of the world’s most pressing problems: developing clean, secure and carbon-neutral supplies of reliable, low-cost energy all around the world. He... View Details

Keywords: green technology; green technology; green technology; green technology; green technology; green technology; green technology; green technology

October 2022 (Revised February 2024)
Case

Masdar City: Aiming for Sustainable and Profitable Real Estate

By: Boris Vallee and Fares Khrais

Masdar City broke ground in 2008 and was conceived by the Abu Dhabi government to be an international beacon of innovation in sustainable energy and real estate. It was also to be a profitable investment for the government. At first glance, the two goals pulled in... View Details

November 2016 (Revised September 2018)
Case

Elon Musk's Big Bets

By: David B. Yoffie, Eric Baldwin and Brandon Kaufmann

Between late 2014 and late 2016, Tesla CEO Elon Musk undertook several major, and risky, initiatives that would dramatically expand the scale and scope of Tesla’s business. In late 2014, Tesla began construction on a $5 billion “gigafactory” that would manufacture... View Details