Climate Rising
Harvard Business School Business & Environment Initiative
Climate Rising is about the impact of climate change on business. It brings business and policy leaders and Harvard Business School faculty together to share insights about what businesses are doing, can do, and should do to confront climate change. It explores the many challenges and opportunities that climate change raises for managers, such as decisions about where they choose to locate, the technologies they develop and use, their strategies with respect to products, marketing, customer engagement, and policy—in other words, the full spectrum of business concerns.
Episodes
Mentioned books
Jul 7, 2020 • 44min
Uncovering and Pricing Climate Risk
How do managers within the different sectors of financial services identify and value climate risk? Professor George Serafeim talks with an asset manager, an insurer, a hedge fund manager, and an investment banker about their approaches to identifying and valuing climate risk. The discussion highlights both the bridges and the gaps between ESG metrics and climate risk management. This is one of 4 new episodes this summer based on live content from the Harvard Business School Climate Risk conference held earlier in 2020.
Jul 7, 2020 • 22min
Incorporating Climate Risk in Pension Fund Investment Decisions
Hiro Mizuno, former head of the Japanese Government Pension Investment Fund (GPIF), and Professor Vikram Gandhi discuss the steps GPIF has taken to incorporate climate risk in its investment process. Mizuno highlights the need to address the entire investment universe and challenges of his approach. This is one of 4 new episodes this summer based on live content from the Harvard Business School Climate Risk conference held earlier in 2020.
Jul 7, 2020 • 23min
Leading State Street Corporation in the Era of Climate Change
State Street Chairman & CEO Ron O’Hanley describes leading one of the world’s largest financial institutions in the era of climate change. In a discussion moderated by Professor George Serafeim, he describes the roles of asset managers, shareholders, and asset owners with a focus on the concept of values vs. value in approaches to investment decisions. This is one of 4 new episodes this summer based on live content from the Harvard Business School Climate Risk conference held earlier in 2020.
Dec 20, 2019 • 26min
Climate Change Challenges Facing the Real Estate Industry
The real estate industry faces climate change challenges like difficult financing in coastal cities, more stringent regulations on where and how to build, and the need to retrofit existing properties to reduce emissions. Bryan Koop of Boston Properties, one of the largest commercial real estate development companies in the country, and Professor Arthur Segel discuss the climate change challenges confronting the real estate industry.
Dec 16, 2019 • 37min
Working with Companies and Investors to Address Climate Change
How will a warming climate affect a company’s bottom line? How can groups like Ceres help persuade shareholders, CEOs, and their boards to use their influence to address climate change? Mindy Lubber of Ceres and Professor Rebecca Henderson at Harvard discuss the difficult changes businesses must make now—taking a systems approach, setting long-term goals, and including sustainability metrics in their compensation systems—in order to mitigate the risks of climate change.
Dec 6, 2019 • 29min
Developing the Wind Industry
Wind power has more than tripled in the United States over the past decade. It's now the largest source of renewable energy in the country, accounting for more than 6% of the nation's electricity. The wind industry faces potential hurdles, however, with federal tax credits scheduled to start phasing out and delays in building major offshore wind farms. Francis Slingsby of Orsted, a global leader in offshore wind, discusses how the U.S. and the world is developing the wind industry and what the future looks like.
Dec 2, 2019 • 37min
Increasing Solar Power
Is increasing solar power the answer? Abby Hopper, president and CEO of the Solar Energy Industries Association, and Professor Joe Lassiter discuss how to deliver reliable, clean, low cost power for people everywhere.
Nov 25, 2019 • 31min
Business and the Politics of Climate Change
What influence does business have on the politics of climate change? In today’s episode, we'll look at how climate change affects different businesses, and how proposed regulations like a carbon tax could help or harm business. Weighing in with their unique perspectives are Auden Schendler from Aspen Skiing Company, Bill Eacho from the Partnership for Responsible Growth, and Professor Mike Toffel.
Nov 14, 2019 • 40min
Making the Food of the Future
Agriculture contributes a quarter of the world's greenhouse gas, and 60% comes from manure and methane emissions from animals like cattle. How is the beef industry changing to address this challenge? Could plant-based or clean meat truly change our diets enough to make an impact? Nicole Johnson-Hoffman from the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, Bruce Friedrich from the Good Food Institute, and Professor Max Bazerman discuss how to produce high quality protein to feed the world in the face of climate change.
Nov 7, 2019 • 32min
Growing Our Food: Making Agriculture More Sustainable
The massive agriculture industry feeds billions of people but also contributes heavily to climate change. How do we employ more sustainable agricultural practices and maintain our ability to feed 7.7 billion people, plus 2 billion more by 2050? Indigo Agriculture’s David Perry and Harvard Business School Professor David Bell discuss the promising opportunities to change the ways in which we grow food.
