Business & Environment
Business & Environment
The vital connection between the natural environment and the business world has long been a central focus of our research at HBS – from Richard Vietor’s study of business-government relations in U.S. energy policy in the 1980’s to Michael Porter’s new concept of the relationship between the environment and competition in the 1990’s. Today, our faculty members focus on corporate environmental strategy, operations and reporting; sustainable cities and infrastructure; the role of government and environmental policy; clean energy generation and demand-side energy efficiency; and the effective management of natural resources essential to human prosperity.
Initiatives & Projects
The Business & Environment Initiative and the Social Enterprise Initiative deepen business leaders’ understanding of today’s environmental challenges and assist them in developing effective solutions.
Business & Environment Social EnterpriseRecent Publications
Shell’s Balancing Act: Resource Allocation and the Green Transition (Abridged)
- July 2024 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Disclosing Downstream Emissions
- July–August 2024 |
- Article |
- Harvard Business Review
Certain companies, however, are accountable for disclosing downstream emissions generated by consumers’ use of their products. Three principles govern accountability: (1) Downstream accountability is limited to companies whose products are directly used by end customers. (2) Accountability for B2C companies is limited to cases where a reasonable causal link exists between product-design decisions and the downstream emissions generated by consumers. (3) Companies are accountable for disclosing emissions produced per unit of use, not for total emissions.
This article presents the principles and explains how and to what standards of reliability the companies should disclose downstream emissions.
Vinalhaven: The Downtown Project
- June 2024 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Climate Governance at Linde plc (A)
- June 2024 (Revised June 2024) |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Budget Committee Testimony on Riskier Business: How Climate Is Already Challenging Insurance Markets
- 2024 |
- Government Testimony |
- Faculty Research
Economics of Enhanced Methane Oxidation Relative to Carbon Dioxide Removal
- June 2024 |
- Article |
- Environmental Research Letters
Pricing of Climate Risk Insurance: Regulation and Cross-Subsidies
- 2022 |
- Working Paper |
- Faculty Research
Shell's Balancing Act: Resource Allocation and the Green Transition
- May 2024 |
- Case |
- Faculty Research
Business Education Is Broken: Here Are Strategies to Fix It
- May 9, 2024 |
- Article |
- Inspiring Minds
Together for Sustainability
- May 2024 (Revised June 2024) |
- Case |
- Faculty Research