Accelerating Innovation In Energy: Insights from Multiple Sectors
| Authors: | Rebecca M. Henderson and Richard G. Newell |
|---|---|
| Published: | February 24, 2010 |
| Paper Release Date: | February 2010 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
How should the energy sector best respond to the threat of climate change? In this introductory chapter to a forthcoming book, Harvard Business School's Rebecca M. Henderson and Richard G. Newell of Duke University frame the discussion by highlighting the volume's contributions concerning four particularly innovative sectors of the U.S. economy: agriculture, chemicals, life sciences, and information technology. These four sectors have been extraordinarily important in driving recent economic growth. Henderson and Newell describe why accelerating innovation in energy could play an important role in shaping an effective response to climate change.
Is a Stringent Climate Change Agreement a Pot of Gold?
| Published: | January 6, 2010 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | What Do YOU Think? |
| Forum: | closed | 19 Comments posted |
Reading this month's comments, HBS professor Jim Heskett wonders if we even need a climate change agreement as a catalyst to foster innovation and the VC investment required to support it. (Online forum has closed; next forum opens February 4.)
Published in 2009
Business Summit: The Coming World Oil Crisis
| Published: | July 10, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | HBS Business Summit |
Without enormous changes the world faces an imminent oil crisis—and there are no silver bullet solutions. People must wake up to the sobering ramifications of peak oil, which may be the defining issue of this century.
Business Summit: Business and the Environment
| Published: | June 26, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | HBS Business Summit |
If the causes for global climate change are not addressed, the consequences for the planet are likely to be disastrous. Governments, business, and consumers must act.
Business Summit: The Evolution of Agribusiness
| Published: | June 19, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | HBS Business Summit |
Agribusiness has come to be seen not just as economically important, but as a critical part of society. The future for this massive industry will be both exciting and complex.
HBS Cases: The Energy Politics of Russia vs. Ukraine
| Published: | March 11, 2009 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
A recent Harvard Business School case looks at Russia's decision in 2006 to cut off supply of natural gas to Ukraine's energy company—a move repeated this year. Is Russia just an energy bully? Students of professor Rawi Abdelal learn there is nothing black and white when it comes to Russia's energy politics. From HBS Alumni Bulletin.
Published in 2008
HBS Cases: Economics of the Ethanol Business
| Published: | November 3, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | Lessons from the Classroom |
What happens when a group of Missouri corn farmers gets into the energy business? What appears to be a very lucrative decision quickly turns out to be much more risky. Professor Forest Reinhardt leads a case discussion on what the protagonists should do next. From HBS Alumni Bulletin.
Responding to Public and Private Politics: Corporate Disclosure of Climate Change Strategies
| Authors: | Erin M. Reid and Michael W. Toffel |
|---|---|
| Published: | October 1, 2008 |
| Paper Release Date: | August 2008, revised April 2009 |
| Feature: | Working Papers |
Social activists are increasingly attempting to directly influence corporation behavior, using tactics such as shareholder resolutions and product boycotts to encourage companies to improve their environmental performance, increase their transparency about operations and governance, and more stringently monitor their suppliers' labor practices. This paper examines how companies are responding to these pressures, in the context of requests for greater transparency about the risks climate change poses to their business—and the strategies these companies have developed to address these risks. This paper reveals that a company is more likely to comply with social activists' requests for greater transparency about climate change when the company itself, or other companies in its industry, has been targeted by formal shareholder resolutions on environmental topics—and when the company is facing potential regulations restricting greenhouse gas emissions. These findings demonstrate that changes in corporate practices may be sparked by both social activists and by the mere threat of government regulations, and that challenges mounted against a specific firm may inspire broader changes within its industry.
How Sustainable Is Sustainability in a For-Profit Organization?
| Published: | February 1, 2008 |
|---|---|
| Feature: | What Do YOU Think? |
| Forum: | closed | 77 Comments posted |
Online forum now closed. For managers, sustainability can mean the integration and intersection of social, environmental, and economic responsibilities. The concept is admirable, says Jim Heskett, but does it also confuse managers entrusted with the bottom line? How should they make trade-offs? Jim sums up reader responses.
