Publications

SSRN

Find at Harvard

20 Jan 2020
News

Larry Fink Isn’t Going to Read Your Sustainability Report

Editorial

Why ESG Funds Fail to Scale

By: Gabriel Karageorgiou and George Serafeim

You’ve seen the headlines about the growth in environmental, social, and governance funds. Many investment professionals might read these and believe that launching a new ESG investment firm or ESG offering will be an automatic success. Our analysis of the data shows... View Details

Read Now

01 Jun 2018
News

Sustaining HBS’s Unique Economic Model

multiple revenue sources, continued investments in the campus, and limited debt. The surplus we generate allows us to invest in innovation, self-fund faculty research, and offer generous need-based financial... View Details

14 Dec 2015
News

How Accounting Can Help Build a Sustainable Economy

29 Oct 2018
Working Paper Summaries

Public Sentiment and the Price of Corporate Sustainability

Keywords: by George Serafeim

November 2009 (Revised April 2010)
Case

Rose Smart Growth Investment Fund

By: Arthur I Segel and Justin Seth Ginsburgh

The Jonathan Rose Companies must decide how to design and launch an innovative new real estate fund focused on green and transit oriented properties. JRC seeks to show through the fund that smart growth and green buildings provide superior economic returns to sprawl... View Details

Keywords: Property; Buildings and Facilities; Transition; Financing and Loans; Investment Funds; Investment; Marketing; Energy Conservation; Business Strategy; Growth and Development Strategy; Environmental Sustainability; Finance; Real Estate Industry

22 Apr 2024
Research & Ideas

When Does Impact Investing Make the Biggest Impact?

The idea of supporting social change has propelled impact investing assets to more than $1 trillion. But what if those funds aren’t as impactful as investors expect? Recent Harvard Business School research indicates that while impact... View Details

Keywords: by Rachel Layne

01 Dec 1999
News

Buffett Preaches Investment Discipline

When Warren Buffett speaks at HBS, it's always standing room only in Burden Auditorium. The cavernous hall fills up early, reverberating with the mounting excitement of a revival meeting. When the 69-year-old investment sage finally takes... View Details

22 Oct 2009
News

Investing in Clean Energy

Keywords: John Doerr, MBA '76; Administration of Environmental Quality Programs; Government; Utilities

September 2023 (Revised January 2024)
Case

Icahn Enterprises: Ponzi Scheme or Sound Investment

By: Aiyesha Dey, Jonas Heese and James Weber

Icahn Enterprises, a publicly traded limited partnership founded and operated by famed activist investor Carl Icahn, had earned above market returns for over a decade. Between 2018 and early 2023, it had a compound annual return of 31%. Icahn invested in undervalued... View Details

Keywords: Stock Shares; Investment Return; Business Model; Valuation; Financial Services Industry

June 2024
Teaching Plan

Sustainable Finance at Itau BBA

By: George Serafeim

Teaching Plan for HBS Case No. 123-036. View Details

May 2014 (Revised March 2017)
Case

Unilever's Lifebuoy in India: Implementing the Sustainability Plan

By: Christopher A. Bartlett

Unilever's new Global Brand VP must not only revitalize Lifebuoy soap's sagging market performance, but simultaneously impact the health of one billion people worldwide. The latter challenge comes from Unilever's new CEO who has introduced the Unilever Sustainable... View Details

Keywords: Multinational Management; Corporate Social Responsibility; Strategy Implementation; Marketing Strategy; Mission And Purpose; Change Management; International Business; Global; Fast-moving Consumer Goods; Soap; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Health Care and Treatment; Environmental Sustainability; Global Strategy; Developing Countries and Economies; Beauty and Cosmetics Industry; Health Industry; India

10 Nov 2003
Research & Ideas

The Hard Numbers on Social Investments

Global developed, financed, owned, and operated environmentally sustainable energy generation and electric distribution facilities in Central America. In 1992, seven IC members invested $1.4 million in the... View Details

Keywords: by Manda Salls

09 Apr 2025
Video

Schneider Electric | How digital solutions are accelerating sustainability in buildings

March 2023 (Revised May 2023)
Case

Tribal Councils Investment Group of Manitoba Ltd.

By: David L. Ager

In the Fall of 2014, Heather Berthelette, the recently appointed COO of Tribal Councils Investment Group of Manitoba Ltd. (TCIG), was preparing a recommendation to the Board of Directors about whether to dissolve the company and return any remaining funds to the seven... View Details

Keywords: Indigenous Communities; Corporate Governance; Governing and Advisory Boards; Social Enterprise; Economic Growth; Investment Banking; Canada

April 2019 (Revised December 2019)
Case

Exporting Livability: Investing in New Urban Centers

By: John D. Macomber and Essie Alamsyah

Can Singapore urban design, policy continuity, and system of laws be exported outside of Singapore to accelerate the effective development of new urban agglomerations? Nina Yang, CEO of Sustainable Urban Development at Ascendas-Singbridge, a large real estate company... View Details

Keywords: Urban Development; Projects; Design; City; Business and Government Relations; Expansion; Real Estate Industry; China; Singapore