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All HBS Web
(751)
- People (1)
- News (102)
- Research (559)
- Events (2)
- Multimedia (1)
- Faculty Publications (301)
- June 2011 (Revised February 2024)
- Background Note
Carbon Footprints: Methods and Calculations
By: Michael W. Toffel, Stephanie van Sice and Kelsey Carter
Describes methods to calculate the carbon footprint (greenhouse gas emissions) of an organization's operations and supply chain, and a product or service. Illustrates concepts with examples of calculating the carbon footprint of organizations and products. Provides...
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Keywords:
Measurement;
Climate Change;
Climate Impact;
Carbon Accounting;
Carbon Footprint;
Carbon Emissions;
Sustainability;
Environmental Management;
Operations;
Supply Chain;
Pollutants;
Measurement and Metrics;
Environmental Sustainability
Toffel, Michael W., Stephanie van Sice, and Kelsey Carter. "Carbon Footprints: Methods and Calculations." Harvard Business School Background Note 611-075, June 2011. (Revised February 2024.)
- 2021
- Working Paper
Science-Based Carbon Emissions Targets
By: David Freiberg, Jody Grewal and George Serafeim
We examine the effect of voluntarily adopting a standard for setting science-based carbon emissions targets on target difficulty and investments to achieve those targets. We find that firms with a track record of setting and achieving ambitious carbon targets are more...
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Keywords:
Target;
Targeting;
Target-setting;
Target Efficiency;
Management Control Systems;
Management Accounting;
Environment;
Environmental And Social Sustainability;
Climate Change;
Environmental Management;
Environmental Accounting;
Environmental Sustainability;
Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques
Freiberg, David, Jody Grewal, and George Serafeim. "Science-Based Carbon Emissions Targets." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 21-108, March 2021.
- September 2016
- Article
The Effect of Target Difficulty on Target Completion: The Case of Reducing Carbon Emissions
By: Ioannis Ioannou, Shelley Xin Li and George Serafeim
Targets are an integral component of management control systems and play a significant role in achieving desirable performance outcomes. We focus on a key environmental performance objective—reduction of carbon emissions—as a setting in which to examine how target...
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Keywords:
Sustainability;
Target-setting;
Management Accounting;
Management Accounting And Control Systems;
Control Systems;
Sustainable Development;
Environment;
Goals and Objectives;
Climate Change;
Management Systems;
Accounting;
Environmental Sustainability
Ioannou, Ioannis, Shelley Xin Li, and George Serafeim. "The Effect of Target Difficulty on Target Completion: The Case of Reducing Carbon Emissions." Accounting Review 91, no. 5 (September 2016).
- Research Summary
Overview
By: Robert S. Kaplan
Kaplan introduced time-driven activity-based costing (TDABC) to provide the cost component in Michael Porter's Value Based Health Care framework of delivering superior patient outcomes at lower societal cost. TDABC is becoming the global standard for health care...
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- July 2012
- Supplement
Generation Investment Management, Video
By: Sandra J. Sucher
Examines the Investment process of Generation Investment Management, a "sustainable" investing firm established in 2004 by David Blood and U.S. Vice President Al Gore. Places students in the position of David Lowish, director of global industrials, who must decide...
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Keywords:
Leadership And Managing People;
Accountability;
Investment Management;
Social Issues;
Investment;
Corporate Accountability;
Ethics;
Development Economics;
Natural Environment;
Financial Services Industry;
Energy Industry
Sucher, Sandra J. "Generation Investment Management, Video." Harvard Business School Video Supplement 612-704, July 2012.
- Article
Integrated Reporting and Investor Clientele
By: George Serafeim
In this paper, I examine the relation between Integrated Reporting (IR) and the composition of a firm's investor base. I hypothesize and find that firms that practice IR have a more long-term oriented investor base with more dedicated and fewer transient investors....
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Keywords:
Integrated Reporting;
Sustainability Reporting;
Long-term Investing;
Short-termism;
Accounting;
Integrated Corporate Reporting;
Environmental Sustainability;
Investment;
Corporate Governance
Serafeim, George. "Integrated Reporting and Investor Clientele." Journal of Applied Corporate Finance 27, no. 2 (Spring 2015): 34–51.
- December 2022
- Supplement
Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Video Supplement
Videos of Thomas Becker, Vice President of Sustainability and Mobility at BMW Group, in support of the case "Driving Decarbonization at BMW" (HBS No. 123-008)
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Keywords:
Decarbonization;
Auto Manufacturing;
Carbon Accounting;
Accounting;
Environmental Accounting;
Energy;
Environmental Management;
Climate Change;
Environmental Sustainability;
Pollution;
Product;
Supply Chain;
Supply Chain Management;
Production;
Product Design;
Transportation;
Transportation Industry;
Europe;
United States;
China
Lu, Shirley, George Serafeim, and Michael W. Toffel. "Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Video Supplement." Harvard Business School Multimedia/Video Supplement 123-706, December 2022.
- February 2013 (Revised December 2015)
- Case
Groom Energy Solutions: Selling Efficiency
By: Michael W. Toffel, Kira R. Fabrizio and Stephanie van Sice
Groom Energy Solutions helps organizations reduce their energy use and costs through the implementation of energy efficiency measures, which create long-term financial and environmental benefits. With early success serving customers in the cold storage and industrial...
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Keywords:
Groom Energy Solutions;
Jon Guerster;
Salem, MA;
Energy Management;
Energy Efficiency Paradox;
Sustainability Management;
Manufacturing;
Cold Storage;
Commercial Real Estate;
Enterprise Smart Grid;
Carbon Accounting;
LED Lighting;
Sustainability Research;
Entrepreneurship;
Environmental Entrepreneurship;
Energy Entrepreneurship;
Energy Services;
Electricity;
Startup;
Expansion;
Growth;
Sustainability;
Business Startups;
Forecasting and Prediction;
Energy Conservation;
Revenue;
Geographic Location;
Human Resources;
Management;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Market Entry and Exit;
Operations;
Service Delivery;
Strategic Planning;
Science;
Environmental Sustainability;
Climate Change;
Society;
Social Issues;
Technology Adoption;
Energy Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Technology Industry;
Utilities Industry;
United States;
Boston
Toffel, Michael W., Kira R. Fabrizio, and Stephanie van Sice. "Groom Energy Solutions: Selling Efficiency." Harvard Business School Case 613-054, February 2013. (Revised December 2015.)
- November 2023
- Background Note
Corporate Climate Targets
By: Willy C. Shih, Michael W. Toffel and Kelsey Carter
Companies that are addressing climate change by mitigating their greenhouse gas emissions often set reduction targets. This note describes several types of widely used carbon reduction targets, including carbon neutral, science based, net zero, real zero, and carbon...
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Keywords:
Corporate Sustainability;
Environmental Strategy;
Climate Risk;
Target-setting;
Climate Change;
Environmental Sustainability;
Corporate Accountability;
Policy;
Measurement and Metrics;
Strategic Planning;
Social Issues;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact
Shih, Willy C., Michael W. Toffel, and Kelsey Carter. "Corporate Climate Targets." Harvard Business School Background Note 624-041, November 2023.
- February 2020 (Revised August 2021)
- Case
Australia: Commodities, Competitiveness, Climate and China
By: Richard H.K. Vietor and Laura Alfaro
For the past few decades, Australia has dealt with the benefits and costs of repeated mining booms—inflation, a housing bubble, a current account deficit, and growing dependence on China. Between 1996 and 2007, however, Australia had most of these issues under control...
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Keywords:
Commodities;
Competitiveness;
Carbon Tax;
Environment;
Capital Flows;
Current Account;
Mining;
Economy;
Problems and Challenges;
Climate Change;
Taxation;
Competition;
Financial Condition;
Government and Politics;
Inflation and Deflation;
Environmental Sustainability;
Australia
Vietor, Richard H.K., and Laura Alfaro. "Australia: Commodities, Competitiveness, Climate and China." Harvard Business School Case 720-028, February 2020. (Revised August 2021.)
- January 2023
- Case
EKI Energy Services: One Billion Carbon Credits
By: George Serafeim
Within nine months from the time of its Initial Public Offering (IPO) in April of 2021, EKI Energy Services (EKI) shares had increased by more than 8,000%. Equally explosive was the growth of the company’s revenues and Earnings Before Interest, Taxes and Depreciation...
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Keywords:
Carbon Credits;
Carbon Emissions;
Growth;
Business Analysis;
Environmental Sustainability;
Corporate Valuation;
Climate Change;
Accounting;
Valuation;
Transition;
Renewable Energy;
Analysis;
Product Positioning;
India
Serafeim, George. "EKI Energy Services: One Billion Carbon Credits." Harvard Business School Case 123-060, January 2023.
- March 2021 (Revised December 2021)
- Case
Cedar Environmental: Innovation vs. Corruption in Lebanon?
By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Youssef Abdel Aal
The case follows Ziad Abi Chaker, founder and CEO of Cedar Environmental, as he weighs options for how to grow the company in the face of growing economic and political instability in Lebanon in 2019.
Founded after the Lebanese civil war, Cedar... View Details
Founded after the Lebanese civil war, Cedar... View Details
Keywords:
Waste Management;
Recycling;
Corruption;
Leadership & Corporate Accountability;
Business And Government;
Social Entrepreneurship;
Environmental Sustainability;
Green Technology;
Pollution;
Entrepreneurship;
Business and Government Relations;
Crime and Corruption;
Technological Innovation;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Business Strategy;
Expansion;
Corporate Accountability;
Green Technology Industry;
Middle East;
Lebanon
Hsieh, Nien-hê, and Youssef Abdel Aal. "Cedar Environmental: Innovation vs. Corruption in Lebanon?" Harvard Business School Case 321-114, March 2021. (Revised December 2021.)
- February 2017 (Revised June 2017)
- Case
ExxonMobil: Business as Usual? (A)
By: George Serafeim, Shiva Rajgopal and David Freiberg
Climate change was becoming an important societal and business issue as more governments were introducing climate change related regulations and investors became increasibly worried about stranded assets within oil and gas firms. In September 2016, the U.S. Securities...
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Keywords:
Oil & Gas;
Oil Prices;
Oil Companies;
Asset Impairment;
Predictive Analytics;
Sustainability;
Environmental Impact;
Innovation;
Disclosure;
Accounting;
Valuation;
Climate Change;
Renewable Energy;
Environmental Sustainability;
Financial Reporting;
Energy Industry
Serafeim, George, Shiva Rajgopal, and David Freiberg. "ExxonMobil: Business as Usual? (A)." Harvard Business School Case 117-046, February 2017. (Revised June 2017.)
- March 2015 (Revised February 2017)
- Case
Shanghai: GDP Apostasy
By: George Serafeim
Balancing economic growth alongside environmental sustainability and social inclusion was becoming increasingly important in China. The case describes Shanghai's decision to abandon growth of Gross Domestic Product (GDP) as its primary metric of measuring success....
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Keywords:
China;
Gdp;
Measurement;
Measurement Problems;
Accountability;
Sustainability;
Sustainable Development;
Strategy Execution;
Strategy;
Balanced Scorecard;
Strategy Map;
Macroeconomics;
Measurement and Metrics;
Corporate Accountability;
Accounting;
Environmental Sustainability;
Development Economics;
Corporate Governance;
Shanghai
Serafeim, George, Rebecca Henderson, and David Freiberg. "Shanghai: GDP Apostasy." Harvard Business School Case 115-042, March 2015. (Revised February 2017.)
- 2023
- Working Paper
Cost-Efficient Decarbonization of Portland Cement Production
By: Gunther Glenk, Anton Kelnhofer, Rebecca Meier and Stefan Reichelstein
Accounting for nearly 8% of global annual carbon dioxide (CO2) emissions, the cement industry is considered difficult to decarbonize. While a sizeable number of abatement levers for Portland cement production is becoming technologically ready for deployment, many are...
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Keywords:
Decarbonization;
Carbon Abatement;
Carbon Accounting;
Carbon Emissions;
Carbon Regulation;
Carbon Tax;
Net-zero Emissions;
Management;
Environmental Management;
Sustainable Cities;
Accounting;
Management Analysis, Tools, and Techniques;
Environmental Accounting;
Energy;
Environmental Sustainability;
Construction Industry;
Steel Industry;
Pulp and Paper Industry;
Real Estate Industry;
Consulting Industry;
Energy Industry;
Green Technology Industry;
Manufacturing Industry;
Utilities Industry;
Industrial Products Industry;
Europe;
North America;
South America;
Africa;
Asia
Glenk, Gunther, Anton Kelnhofer, Rebecca Meier, and Stefan Reichelstein. "Cost-Efficient Decarbonization of Portland Cement Production." Harvard Business School Working Paper, No. 24-025, October 2023. (TRR 266 Accounting for Transparency Working Paper Series, No. 120, May 2023.)
- December 15, 2023
- Article
What Every Leader Needs to Know About Carbon Credits
By: Varsha Ramesh Walsh and Michael W. Toffel
Many companies have begun to look into credits to offset their emissions as a way to support their net zero goals as their target years get closer and closer. As it stands, the carbon credit market is too small to bear the brunt of reducing companies’ impacts on the...
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Keywords:
Carbon Credits;
Climate;
Accounting;
Carbon Offsetting;
Carbon Abatement;
Carbon Emissions;
Carbon Footprint;
Climate Change;
Environmental Accounting;
Environmental Regulation
Ramesh Walsh, Varsha, and Michael W. Toffel. "What Every Leader Needs to Know About Carbon Credits." Harvard Business Review Digital Articles (December 15, 2023).
- February 2020 (Revised February 2022)
- Case
Sustainable Product Management at Solvay
By: George Serafeim, Vincent Dessain and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej
In November 2019, Ilham Kadri, CEO of Solvay, a Belgian specialty chemicals and advanced materials group, with annual revenues of more than €10 billion in 2018, announced the group’s mid-term strategy, eight months after she took the helm as Solvay’s 11th CEO. The case...
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Keywords:
Sustainability;
Sustainable Business And Innovation;
Sustainability Management;
Sustainable Development;
Management Accounting;
Innovation;
Carbon Emissions;
Sustainability Reporting;
Sustainability Targets;
Target-setting;
Product;
Management;
Transformation;
Growth and Development Strategy;
Climate Change;
Environmental Sustainability;
Chemical Industry;
Europe;
Belgium
Serafeim, George, Vincent Dessain, and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej. "Sustainable Product Management at Solvay." Harvard Business School Case 120-081, February 2020. (Revised February 2022.)
- March 2016 (Revised April 2019)
- Technical Note
ESG Metrics: Reshaping Capitalism?
By: George Serafeim
In the past twenty-five years, the world had seen an exponential growth in the number of companies reporting environmental, social and governance (ESG) data. Investor interest in ESG data also grew rapidly. A growing belief that increasing levels of social inequality...
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Keywords:
Capitalism;
Sustainability;
Accountability;
Corporate Social Responsibility;
Responsibilities To Society;
Environment;
Social Impact Investment;
ESG;
Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact;
Environmental Sustainability;
Measurement and Metrics;
Integrated Corporate Reporting;
Corporate Accountability;
Accounting;
Economic Systems
Serafeim, George, and Jody Grewal. "ESG Metrics: Reshaping Capitalism?" Harvard Business School Technical Note 116-037, March 2016. (Revised April 2019.)
- December 2022
- Technical Note
Risks and Opportunities from the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy: A Business Analysis Framework
By: George Serafeim
The transition to a low carbon economy introduces many risks and opportunities for businesses. Risks emerge from regulatory actions, such as carbon taxes and cap and trade systems, technological innovation that develop alternatives for customers making existing...
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Keywords:
Risk Assessment;
Opportunities;
Environmental Sustainability;
Carbon Footprint;
Risk Management;
Competitive Dynamics;
Business Analysis;
Climate Change;
Accounting;
Finance;
Valuation;
Business and Shareholder Relations;
Technological Innovation;
Transition;
Product Positioning;
Renewable Energy;
Analysis
Serafeim, George. "Risks and Opportunities from the Transition to a Low Carbon Economy: A Business Analysis Framework." Harvard Business School Technical Note 123-014, December 2022.
- October 2022
- Case
Driving Decarbonization at BMW
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,...
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Keywords:
Decarbonization;
Climate Change;
Environment;
Sustainability;
Carbon Accounting;
Carbon;
Carbon Abatement;
Electric Vehicles;
Automobiles;
Transportation;
Environmental Accounting;
Environmental Management;
Environmental Sustainability;
Accounting;
Strategy;
Technological Innovation;
Supply Chain;
Business and Stakeholder Relations;
Transportation Industry;
Auto Industry;
Battery Industry;
Germany;
China;
United States;
Europe
Lu, Shirley, George Serafeim, and Michael W. Toffel. "Driving Decarbonization at BMW." Harvard Business School Case 123-008, October 2022.