Energy →
- 21 Mar 2016
- Working Paper Summaries
Voluntary, Self-Regulatory, and Mandatory Disclosure of Oil and Gas Company Payments to Foreign Governments
Throughout its history the oil and gas industry has been vulnerable to expropriation and corruption. To this day, oil and gas firms provide very limited voluntary disclosure on payments to host governments, and that pattern has not changed materially over time. This paper shows that industry-level self-regulation may be effective in enhancing transparency when individual firms are reluctant to voluntarily disclose payments.
- 29 Feb 2016
- HBS Case
Bigbelly's Big Bet on the Digital Trash Can
Bigbelly wants to transform its solar-powered trash cans into digital hubs offering Wi-Fi access, advertising, and data-collecting sensors. (Oh, and garbage receptacles, too.) A new case study by Mitchell Weiss explores the challenges of a bold strategy pivot. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 03 Dec 2015
- Op-Ed
How "New Nuclear" Power Could Save the Planet—If Regulators Would Allow It
The barriers to rapid progress in next-generation nuclear power are certainly not technical and probably not even economic, argues Joseph Lassiter. The greatest barriers today are in outdated nuclear regulations. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Aug 2015
- Research & Ideas
Obama’s Clean Power Plan: Can Nuclear Power Beat the Global Threat of Coal?
Joe Lassiter believes the smart use of nuclear power is an essential ingredient in fighting the worldwide threat of coal-fired power plant emissions. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 17 Jun 2015
- Research & Ideas
Michael Porter on America’s Historic Energy Opportunity
America is caught in a divisive debate over energy strategy, which threatens our nation's economic and environmental goals. "There is an urgent need for the US to get on a new path," according to a new report by Michael E. Porter, David S. Gee, and Gregory J. Pope. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 13 Apr 2015
- Research & Ideas
3 Ways Firms Can Profit From Environmental Investments
Rebecca Henderson lays out three ways for firms to profit from investing in environmental sustainability: forestalling risk, increasing operational efficiency, and selling to the environmental niche. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 23 Jan 2015
- Research & Ideas
Oil Price Fallout: What Happens Next?
Oil producers are in shock, and consumers are shockingly happy. Richard Vietor discusses the geopolitical changes around dropping oil prices—and how long this all might last. Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Sep 2014
- Research & Ideas
The Business of Climate Change
What is the role of business and its leaders in creating positive climate change? In the middle of Climate Week, Six Harvard Business School faculty provide different perspectives. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Sep 2014
- Op-Ed
The ABCs of Addressing Climate Change (From a Business Perspective)
How can business leaders cut through the noise and actively address climate change from an economic perspective? John Macomber proposes a list of ABCs. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Sep 2014
- Op-Ed
Stop Thinking of Climate Change as a Religious or Political Issue
Private and public innovation around cleaning up our environment will be motivated only if prices reflect the true state of the world, says Forest Reinhardt. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Sep 2014
- Op-Ed
Tackling Climate Change Will Cost Less Than We Think
Yes, addressing climate change will be expensive, but not nearly as much as the costs of delaying action, argues Rebecca Henderson. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Sep 2014
- Op-Ed
The Climate Needs Aggressive CEO Leadership
History will judge CEOs not just on their stewardship of firm growth, but also on whether they effectively used their clout to address one of the greatest societal challenges of our time, say Michael Toffel and Auden Schendler. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Sep 2014
- Op-Ed
Take a Trim Tab Approach to Climate Change
Often depicted as greedy and shortsighted, business leaders face a crucial opportunity on the issue of climate change to change that perception, says Amy Edmondson. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 24 Sep 2014
- Op-Ed
We Need a Miracle. New Nuclear Might Provide it.
New nuclear power technology could be the miracle we need to combat dangerous carbon emissions, says Joe Lassiter. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 27 Aug 2014
- Lessons from the Classroom
Learning From Japan’s Remarkable Disaster Recovery
Harvard Business School students make an annual trek to businesses in the Japanese area wrecked by the 2011 earthquake and tsunami. Their objectives: learn all they can about human resilience and share their own management knowledge. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 01 Apr 2014
- Research & Ideas
When Do Alliances Make Sense?
Analyzing drilling leases in the Gulf of Mexico, John Beshears explores a question as old as business itself: When does it pay to make an alliance? Open for comment; 0 Comments.
- 16 Oct 2013
- Op-Ed
Response to Readers: Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking
Following a contentious online debate, Professor Joe Lassiter expands his argument that nuclear power and fracking are the lesser evils when stacked up against coal power, and presents a way forward. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 07 Oct 2013
- Research & Ideas
The Case for Combating Climate Change with Nuclear Power and Fracking
Joseph B. Lassiter explains why he believes that nuclear power and shale gas are on the right side of the fight against climate change, and why markets have a better shot at winning the fight than governments do. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
- 22 Aug 2013
- Working Paper Summaries
From Green Users to Green Voters
Does the diffusion of technology affect voting patterns? Technology is usually not aligned with a specific ideology or political party. Indeed, to the extent that technology raises living standards, all parties tend to favor technology diffusion. However, in some cases, voters may associate a political party with a specific technology. Green parties, for example, advocate for the diffusion of green energy technologies and pursue policies that foster the diffusion of green energies. This paper finds a significant effect of photovoltaic (PV) adoption on the increase in the share of votes for Germany's Green Party. In particular, the increase in the diffusion rate of PV systems between 1998 and 2009 led to an increase in the fraction of green votes of 1 percent, which represents 25 percent of the actual increase in the voting rate experienced by the Green Party between 1998 and 2009. Key concepts include: This study uncovered the impact that the diffusion of PV systems has on the votes obtained by Germany's Green Party. Individuals that use green technologies are more likely to become Green Party voters. Approximately a quarter of the increase in the share of votes experienced by the Green Party between 1998 and 2009 is driven by the diffusion of PV systems. In contrast, there were no such effects from the diffusion of industrial PV systems and eolic systems. This contrast confirms the importance of voters' direct involvement with the adoption and/or operation of the technology for this to affect their voting patterns. Closed for comment; 0 Comments.
‘Big Teaming,’ Audacious Innovation, and the Uncompleted Dream of a Smart City
How do you organize a project that spans professions, industries, and even nations? A new book by Amy Edmondson and Susan Salter Reynolds describes the approach of 'big teaming' with a case study of a high-profile smart city. Open for comment; 0 Comments.