Pollution - Publications - Faculty & Research

01 Jun 2022
News

A Sustainable Solution for Fashion

Ferdinand Stockmann (MBA 2021) and James Theuerkauf (MBA 2021) Photo courtesy Syrup Tech Fashion is one of the most polluting industries in the world, says James Theuerkauf (MBA 2021), who worked in McKinsey’s retail sector before... View Details

Keywords: April White

August 2015 (Revised October 2017)
Case

Turnaround at Norsk Gjenvinning (A)

By: George Serafeim

Erik Osmundsen, CEO of Norsk Gjenvinning (NG), had initiated a program to strenghten corporate governance, eliminate corruption and improve compliance, and as a result the company had experienced a turnover of almost half of its top 70 line managers and strained... View Details

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09 Mar 2015
Research & Ideas

Why Entrepreneurs Should Go Work for Government

enforcement on air pollution controls. In California, OpenCounter streamlined registration for small businesses and provided zoning clearances in a fraction of the usual time. In New York, Mark43 is developing software to analyze crime... View Details

Keywords: by Michael Blanding

21 Nov 2015
HBS Case

HBS Cases: Stella McCartney Combines High Fashion with Environmental Values

how we shop. So in that sense, if you create a sustainable business within that industry, you’re much more likely to have impact because it’s so influential. Q: Tell us a little bit about the fashion industry. A: Fashion is one of the most View Details

Keywords: by Brian Kenny; Fashion

January 2020
Background Note

Climate Change in 2020: Implications for Business

By: Rebecca M. Henderson, Sophus A. Reinert and Mariana Oseguera

This note provides general information about climate change and its implications for business. Included is an overview of climate change science and a number of its impacts, including rising sea levels, changing weather patterns and extreme weather, pressure on water... View Details

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22 Feb 2022
News

Breaking News

our sample affects, on average, 40 facilities. If you aggregate the penalty effect across these 40 facilities, that’s a $1.2 million increase in penalties over three years,” he adds. It also doesn’t include private companies, which can also View Details

Keywords: Jen McFarland Flint; illustration by Dana Smith; News, Library, Internet, and Other Services; Information

January 2017
Case

Danaher Corporation, 2007–2017

By: John R. Wells and Gabriel Ellsworth

On July 2, 2016, Danaher Corporation completed the spinoff of Fortive Corporation. The previous day, Danaher’s stock price had reached an all-time high. In 2015, Danaher had decided to split off its test and measurement, fuel and fleet management, and automation... View Details

Keywords: Danaher; Fortive; Larry Culp; Beckman Coulter; Pall; Life Sciences; Diagnostics; Environmental Operations; Water Management; Dental; Testing; Measurement; Fuel; Fleet Management; Automation; Toolmaking; Tools; Disease Management; Continuous Improvement; Toyota Production System; Divestiture; Spinoffs; Spin-off; Networks; Acquisition; Mergers and Acquisitions; Business Conglomerates; Business Divisions; Business Subsidiaries; Business Units; Business Growth and Maturation; Business Model; For-Profit Firms; Joint Ventures; Restructuring; Engineering; Chemicals; Construction; Machinery and Machining; Profit; Revenue; Globalized Firms and Management; Multinational Firms and Management; Health; Health Care and Treatment; Health Disorders; Medical Specialties; Business History; Job Cuts and Outsourcing; Business or Company Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques; Management Practices and Processes; Management Succession; Management Systems; Resource Allocation; Market Entry and Exit; Measurement and Metrics; Logistics; Business Processes; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Public Ownership; Problems and Challenges; Science; Genetics; Natural Environment; Wastes and Waste Processing; Science-Based Business; Opportunities; Strategy; Adaptation; Business Strategy; Competition; Competitive Strategy; Competitive Advantage; Consolidation; Corporate Strategy; Diversification; Expansion; Technology; Software; Technology Networks; Technology Platform; Value; Valuation; Aerospace Industry; Auto Industry; Biotechnology Industry; Chemical Industry; Computer Industry; Construction Industry; Consumer Products Industry; Distribution Industry; Electronics Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; Health Industry; Industrial Products Industry; Information Technology Industry; Manufacturing Industry; Medical Devices and Supplies Industry; Pharmaceutical Industry; Retail Industry; Rubber Industry; Semiconductor Industry; Shipping Industry; Technology Industry; Telecommunications Industry; Utilities Industry; United States; District of Columbia

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12 Oct 1999
Research & Ideas

Porter’s Perspective: Competing in the Global Economy

Productivity is also consistent with a clean environment. Environmental pollution normally is a sign of inefficient and unproductive use of resources and is almost always a reflection of inadequate technology. Countries with toughening... View Details

Keywords: Re: Michael E. Porter

12 Nov 2021
News

Alumni Business Leaders on Confronting the Climate Change Challenge

will operate, recognizing that’s decades not quarters. This requires considering our current and future customers, communities, employees, and shareholders—not just the people we are working with today. The externalities of business-as-usual are a constraint to our... View Details

01 Dec 2009
News

One Man Crime Wave

of excreted pollutants wither the leaves on the trees and sicken the livestock. We hate our cars, Detroit .They are expensive, murderous junk, and they manage to look glassily contemptuous of the people who own them.” (Pale Gray for... View Details

Keywords: Garry Emmons; fiction writing; Arts, Entertainment; Publishing Industries (except Internet); Information

08 Sep 2008
HBS Case

The Value of Environmental Activists

There are many methods, most financial, to measure the success of companies in meeting goals. But the question becomes a lot harder at Harvard Business School when MBAs are challenged to measure the efforts of environmental organizations like Greenpeace and the World... View Details

Keywords: by Sarah Jane Gilbert; Energy; Utilities

20 Jan 2011
News

Oil Spill Solution

that has proven effective in pollutant absorption both above and beneath the surface of water. Smith has been working closely with fishermen in the Gulf area to help rid the affected waters of the propylene glycol (a chemical found in... View Details

08 Jun 2011
Lessons from the Classroom

Twenty-first Century Skill: Trading Carbon Credits

mechanism." The basic concept is straightforward enough: A cap is set on carbon emissions. Companies can then buy and sell a limited number of emission permits, which allows them flexibility in their pollution levels, and at the same... View Details

Keywords: by Julia Hanna; Energy; Utilities

14 Jan 2008
Research & Ideas

Mapping Polluters, Encouraging Protectors

and interpreting data about industrial environment performance because it brings together information about companies' environmental management, provided voluntarily by managers in real time, with companies' pollution data from the U.S.... View Details

Keywords: by Martha Lagace; Manufacturing; Chemical

November 2011 (Revised January 2014)
Teaching Note

FIJI Water: Carbon Negative?

By: Michael W. Toffel and Francesca Gino

Keywords: Energy; Pollutants

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16 Apr 2013
News

A Walkabout to the Ocean

environmental career that started on the banks of the Rhine River. Merkl grew up in Cologne, Germany in the 1960s—a time when the Rhine was so polluted that anyone even daring to wade into it risked arrest. "It stank, literally," recalls... View Details

Keywords: Ocean; Funds, Trusts, and Other Financial Vehicles; Finance; Administration of Environmental Quality Programs; Government

16 Sep 2019
News

Smarter Farming

intensification of land. That means putting more animals on our land than we've ever had before. And for many, it has been successful. But now we've found that our farmland is heavily polluted with chemicals. A lot of the runoff from the... View Details

Keywords: meat; dairy; cattle; Agriculture

February 1984 (Revised March 1984)
Teaching Note

Environmental Protection Agency: Emergency Pesticide Exemptions, Teaching Note

By: David E. Bell

Keywords: Law; Pollutants

Citation

13 Feb 2025
Blog Post

IFC India 2025: The Coal Dichotomy: Balancing Economic Growth and Decarbonization in India

India’s coal conundrum firsthand. Despite our preconceived images of soot-covered walls, we were startled by the cleanliness and modernity of the facility. Tata Power has invested heavily in technology to limit pollutants like nitrous... View Details