Climate change will affect everything businesses do, as government efforts to mitigate carbon emissions cause their prices to rise steeply. This special edition of Forethought takes a hard-nosed look at the risks and opportunities of climate change. Michael E. Porter and Forest L. Reinhardt argue that the effects of climate change on companies' operations are now so tangible and certain that the issue is best addressed with the tools of the strategist, not the philanthropist. Reinhardt also posits, in another article, that success in a carbon-constrained world will be determined by innovation and acumen, requiring companies to make bold moves. Peter Schwartz explains that firms that do business in vulnerable regions can advance their interests if they help those areas adapt to global warming. Daniel C. Esty notes increasing pressure on corporations to reduce emissions, predicting that companies that fail to do so will face grave consequences. Andrew J. Hoffman says that corporations need to know what regulatory issues are at stake--and where. Alyson Slater of Global Reporting Initiative discusses the challenges and benefits of voluntary disclosure. Auden Schendler cautions companies buying up renewable energy certificates that they could end up tarnishing their green credentials. Theodore Roosevelt IV and John Llewellyn explain that virtually any firm in any sector can reap the benefits of investors' surging demand for green business ideas. Vicki Bakhshi and Alexis Krajeski show how climate change will affect businesses in the midterm. Maria Emilia Correa describes a key plank of the strategy at Masisa, a company in Chile, that is engaging B2B customers in efforts to become greener. Mark Way and Britta Rendlen explain why insurer Swiss Re is persuading employees to reduce their carbon footprints. HBR also provides a forecast of the extreme climate phenomena likely to occur in the future, and their expected repercussions on industry, agriculture, and settlements.

To date, the United States has declined to ratify the Kyoto Treaty to reduce greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions. However, many companies are taking advantage of the lack of a mandatory U.S. GHG emission reduction program to set targets at their own pace and in ways that complement their own strategic objectives. Currently, as many as 60 corporations, with net revenues of roughly $1.5 trillion, have set voluntary reduction targets. Many of these companies are agnostic about the science of climate change or the social responsibility of protecting the global climate. The reasons are decidedly strategic. So why are they doing this? They are searching for ways to be prepared for the long term should GHG emission reductions become mandatory, while at the same time attempting to reap near-term economic and strategic benefits should new regulations not emerge.