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Environmental SustainabilityRemove Environmental Sustainability →

New research on environmental sustainability from Harvard Business School faculty on issues including the role of companies to mitigate climate change, corporate social responsibility, reporting to stakeholders, government relations and development of Chief Sustainability Officers.
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Market Investors Pay More for Resilient Companies

by Kristen Senz

During a market collapse, investors will pay up for companies considered resilient in their response, according to George Serafeim. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Capitalism Is More at Risk Than Ever

by Martha Lagace

Almost a decade after writing Capitalism at Risk, Joseph Bower, Herman Leonard, and Lynn Paine argue that not enough companies are stepping up to fix big global problems. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Corporate Resilience and Response During COVID-19

by Alex Cheema-Fox, Bridget LaPerla, George Serafeim, and Hui (Stacie) Wang

Investors look for evidence during a market crisis that a company is resilient. This study includes findings that challenge the notion that companies need to adopt practices that hurt their employees because investors want them to do so.

How Anchor Investors Help Impact Funds Succeed

by Sean Silverthorne

3Questions A startup fund's ability to attract a major first investor is a signal to others that the investment pool is just fine for entering. Shawn Cole and Rob Zochowski answer questions about anchor investors. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Corporate Environmental Impact: Measurement, Data and Information

by George Serafeim, DG Park, David Freiberg, and T. Robert Zochowski

This paper proposes a methodology for investors, companies, or regulators to use established environmental resources, reasonably accessible in the public domain, to measure an organization’s environmental impact from operations. These measurements contain information that is different from environmental ratings widely used by investors and other stakeholders.

COVID-19’s Hard Lessons Might Prepare Business for Climate Change

by Danielle Kost

We asked experts from the HBS Business and Environment Initiative how the coronavirus crisis might change the way companies think about sustainability. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Fighting Climate Change Requires a New Capitalism

by Danielle Kost

Tackling one of the biggest crises of our time—climate change—requires leaders to embrace a new vision of business, argues Rebecca Henderson. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

The Key to Powerful Social Change: Small Villages

by Dina Gerdeman

When institutions let us down, look for leadership outside of hierarchies, says Rosabeth Moss Kanter. These leaders "don’t wait to be asked; they just get moving." Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Is the Healthiest Building in the World Worth the Rent?

Re: John D. Macomber

Some people call 425 Park Avenue, New York, the healthiest building in the world. But will tenants pay a premium for better air and environmental friendliness? John Macomber and Joseph Allen discuss their recent case study and new book. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

How Investors Are Sizing Up Climate Change’s Risks—and Opportunities

by Danielle Kost

What are the financial implications of rising seas and extreme weather? Asset managers and risk experts gathered at Harvard Business School to discuss how they’re evaluating climate risk in their portfolios. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Why COVID-19 Raises the Stakes for Healthy Buildings

by Kristen Senz

Like it or not, humans have become an indoor species, so buildings have a major impact on our health. That's why the Healthy Building Movement is gaining momentum, say John Macomber and Joseph Allen. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Global Ocean Trust: Protecting the Blue Planet in New Ways

Re: Rosabeth M. Kanter

Following a successful career in finance, Torsten Thiele has devoted himself to the challenging cause of ocean conservation and stewardship. Rosabeth Moss Kanter and Thiele discuss strategy for solving one of the world's biggest problems. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

A Preliminary Framework for Product Impact-Weighted Accounts

by George Serafeim, Katie Trinh, and Robert Zochowski

Although there is growing interest in environmental, social, and governance measurement, the impact of company operations is emphasized over product use. A framework like this one that captures a product’s reach, accessibility, quality, optionality, environmental use emissions, and end of life recyclability allows for a systematic methodology that can be applied to companies across many industries.

Businesses Need a 'Catalyst' to Make CSR Practices Stick

by Michael Blanding

Despite best intentions, many corporate social responsibility programs fail. One answer: Companies need community partners to sustain work over the long term, says Robert Kaplan. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Can Capitalism Be Fixed by Making Companies More Just?

Re: Ethan C. Rouen, Charles C.Y. Wang

JUST Capital seeks to make public companies more "just" by measuring and ranking their overall impact on society, based on priorities most important to average Americans. Ethan Rouen and Charles Wang explore whether JUST Capital's performance evaluation methodology can improve corporate behavior. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Intelligent Design of Inclusive Growth Strategies

by Robert S. Kaplan, George Serafeim, and Eduardo Tugendhat

How companies, working with a catalyst, can redesign supply chains to achieve economic, environmental, and social returns.

Pathways to Materiality: How Sustainability Issues Become Financially Material to Corporations and Their Investors

by Jean Rogers and George Serafeim

This paper provides a framework for understanding and predicting how environmental, social, and governance (ESG) issues become financially material.

Torched Planet: The Business Case to Reinvent Almost Everything

by Rebecca Henderson

With climate change scorching the planet, business leaders have a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to change the world—and make money in the process, says Rebecca Henderson. Open for comment; Comment(s) posted.

Decarbonization Factors

by Alex Cheema-Fox, Bridget LaPerla, George Serafeim, David Turkington, and Hui (Stacie) Wang

This paper contributes to a growing knowledge base about how climate change impacts investor expectations, capital allocations and thereby pricing and returns. It provides actionable insights into how to decarbonize portfolios and evaluate the likely performance and carbon exposure differences across strategies.

Undisclosed Debt Sustainability

by Laura Alfaro and Fabio Kanczuk

Presenting a scenario in which non-Paris Club lending and borrowing is fully disclosed, this study illustrates that transparency has potential effects of decreased debt sustainability for investors such as China, and significant welfare gains for recipient countries. Effects are particularly strong if the debt is large.