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The cumulative effects of individual purchase decisions are responsible for anthropogenic climate change. These very same private investment and consumption decisions are at the center of climate change mitigation efforts. This article shows that new market-based, incentive-compatible mechanisms could encourage win-win (green and profitable) behavior by private investors. Despite their availability and financial viability, people often overlook more efficient technologies in favor of the less efficient but familiar ones. The article provides a framework that shows how local policies can act as catalysts in providing profitable opportunities for private investors to bridge this so-called "efficiency gap."

The newly appointed country director of MIA Philippines, a non-profit organization with a mandate to alleviate poverty in developing countries, is faced with the challenge of designing and managing a development assistance project that would establish a go-to-market supply chain for a remote Filipino fishing village. The country director has to enter a new country, launch the project, deal with the constraints of a foreign culture, manage the expectations of major stakeholders whilst trying to manage a multi-cultural team and conclude the project on time. The value of the case lies in the realistic assessment of stakeholders' motivation, their capabilities and assets, and project constraints during the design and implementation stages. Value chain analysis, value added analysis and stakeholder analysis are used to assess the applicability of project design, impact and long term success.

This technical note outlines background theories of ethics that are relevant to managerial decision-making and develops a framework that managers can use to enhance their ability to make good choices.

This technical note provides an introduction to the some of the key concepts of ethics relevant to thinking about business.

The case outlines the conflicting ethical demands on a Danish pharmaceuticals company, Novo Nordisk, that is operating globally and is aspiring to high standards of corporate social responsibility. A recent report alleges that multinational pharmaceutical companies routinely conduct trials in developing countries under alleged unethical conditions. The company's director reflects on how to respond to a request from a journalist for an interview. This triggers a discussion on the appropriate ethical principles and how to communicate them. As a company emphasizing corporate responsibility, the interaction with the media presents both opportunities and risks to Novo Nordisk. The case focuses on clinical trials that are required to attain regulatory approval in, for example, Europe and North America, and that are conducted at multiple sites around the world, including many emerging economies. Novo Nordisk has implemented numerous procedures to protect its various stakeholders, yet will this satisfy journalists and non-governmental organizations, and how should the company communicate with these stakeholders?

EnerNOC - a clean energy company -- sells energy-monitoring, management and efficiency services to utility customers, who agree to reduce consumption during peak-period emergencies in exchange for payments throughout the year. Utilities sign long term contracts with EnerNOC for delivery of "negawatts", i.e. the reduced consumption of electricity during peak periods, as a way to avoid adding power generating capacity. EnerNOC is undergoing explosive growth and must manage the build out of its energy management system, as well as the growth and evolution of its sales force. This case can be used in a variety of courses. In an entrepreneurship course, it can be the basis for a discussion of entrepreneurial opportunities in the clean energy sector, as well as the challenges of managing rapid growth. In a marketing class, it can be used to discuss the concept of adjacent markets. It can be used to stimulate a discussion of a broad range of issues in a sales management class: rewards systems; identification of sales skills in potential employees; entry into a new market; sales training; and so forth. It can be used in MBA level courses and in upper level undergraduate courses.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. One could argue that "what business are we really in" is the most important question a leader can ask about his company. But perhaps right up there with the classic Peter Drucker interrogatory is this one: What is your business model? So argue the authors, who correctly point out that firms searching for forms of competitive advantage -- sources of distinctiveness that are enduring, hard to copy and valuable in the marketplace -- should take a look at their management model. That is, they should examine the choices made by the top executives in how they define objectives, motivate efforts, coordinate activities and allocate resources. How they define the work of management, in other words. Not only do the authors provide a framework for this discussion -- dividing companies' business models into four possible choices -- but they supply a list of questions leaders can ask to determine which management model may be right for their company. Clearly, when it comes to management models, one size does not fit all. And it is equally obvious that even similar-size companies in the same industry may choose differing models, depending on their own particular circumstances. While the model they choose is of extreme importance, so, too, is the process they follow -- and the thinking they use -- to select it.

This is an MIT Sloan Management Review article. That is a question that has long puzzled marketers who have heard from customers that they want to do business with ethically based firms -- defined as companies that produce products under conditions of progressive stakeholder relations, advanced environmental practices and respect for human rights. Marketers had no reason to doubt that sentiment, but they have always wondered if consumers would be willing to pay a higher price for ethically produced goods (since they tend to be more expensive to create.) It turns out that a series of controlled experiments proves that consumers will, in fact, pay a premium for ethically produced goods. But perhaps of equal interest is the fact that they will punish (by demanding a lower price) companies that are not seen as ethical. That relationship is not symmetrical. The punishment exacted is greater than the premium customers are willing to pay. How ethical do you have to be? Perhaps not as much as you might think. The research shows that a small degree of ethicalness "pays off" It is not necessary for a company's product to be "100% pure" in order to receive a price premium. This research is the first to find that consumers use price to punish unethical companies more than they use price to reward ethical companies, and that the ethicality of a company's behavior is, indeed, an important consideration for consumers (as demonstrated in their willingness-to-pay decisions).

Five years after its launch, the Latino Community Credit Union had made remarkable progress, garnering 40,000 members and $22 million in assets. More extraordinary was the LCCU's customer base: Hispanic immigrants, many of them undocumented. The credit union's next bold step was to consider introducing credit cards for their customers. The question was how to make it work.

This case traces UPS's first corporate sustainability report (CSR), "Operating in Unison," from its origins up to its publication in 2006. It is based on interviews with managers who championed and shaped the report internally. UPS took its CSR quite seriously, basing its reporting and goals on the more stringent Global Reporting Indices (GRIs) as opposed to merely complying with U.S. regulations. Soon after going public, UPS was significantly expanding its European operations; it followed that its CSR ultimately took the form of many European CSRs, addressing the relationships among financial performance, environmental sustainability, and engaging stakeholders such as employees and the community. By 2008, some form of CSR would become routine in the United States. Yet not all CSRs are created equal; the case includes copious examples from UPS's first report, with key performance indicators in all categories. Given UPS's employee-centered culture, the company debated how much internal information to report. UPS also has an engineering culture whose innovative thinking helped align its business model with efficiency and reduce its carbon footprint. UPS managers and employees are invariably motivated by "doing the right thing"-a phenomenon increasingly found in strong brands. UPS's reporting grew out of its culture. Yet a major topic for our times is how to manage reputational risk, especially when these risks are inherent to the business. As corporate social responsibility gains public attention, will first-movers such as UPS be rewarded for taking CSR seriously?

The case discusses the current US and international accounting guidance regarding the disclosure of contingent and environmental liabilities, including FAS 5 and IAS 37. It then addresses the role of socially responsible investors and other factors that gave rise to the FASB revisiting its guidance. The case details the proposed new guidance and includes perspectives from various constituent groups (financial statement preparers and users) on its pros and cons. The case concludes with an example of existing guidance in practice using Novartis AG. It includes Novartis' financial and other quantitative disclosures regarding environmental liabilities, and its liability from a dumpsite in Bonfol, Switzerland, in particular.

In 2006, the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation and the Rockefeller Foundation joined together to form a new organization, AGRA, to tackle the historic challenge of increasing agricultural production in Africa. Launched with much fanfare and led by former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan as chairman of the board, AGRA sought to help millions of African farmers and their families achieve food security and lift themselves out of poverty. By 2008, AGRA had assembled a strong leadership team and had funded numerous small projects ranging from seed development to education. However, it needed to secure additional funding from public and private donors, gain the cooperation of governments, and catalyze private markets to achieve its goals.

Pioneer Hi-Bred International, Inc., the hybrid corn company division of Dupont, has engaged with PEACE (People's Action for Creative Education) to serve the base of the pyramid markets in India. The partnership between Pioneer and PEACE allows Pioneer to distribute its quality seeds to village farmers through PEACE. This is an example of a for-profit/non-profit partnership serving BoP markets. The case provides an inside look at the impact of the Pioneer/PEACE partnership through interviews with Indian farmers using Pioneer's engineered seeds. It also sheds light on the advantages and limitations of the venture's efforts to reduce production and transactional constraints of the Indian farmers.

Arcadia Biosciences is an entrepreneurial California agricultural biotech company seeking to earn carbon credits by modifying commodity crops for use in China and India. Eric Rey, Arcadia's CEO, faced a strategic inflection point in early September, 2008. The company had a plan to share carbon credits allocated by the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board to China, for use of Arcadia's rice varieties, since they enabled farmers to reduce nitrogen fertilizer use, in turn lowering greenhouse gas emissions. But the company's proprietary traits for nitrogen use efficiency, salt tolerance, and water use efficiency also had more conventional paths to market based on licensing deals to large seed companies. Alternatively, Arcadia could acquire a seed company and develop and market its seed directly. A different near-term growth area involved commercializing enriched safflower oil which had undergone several proof of concept tests and for which Rey foresaw a clear market in nutritional supplements and functional foods. The case provides context on the company; describes advances in crops genetics focused to climate change and associated resource issues of fertilizer use, water use, and soil salinity; and poses strategic choices for a start-up company operating at the intersection of business, agriculture, and climate change.

In this supplement to StormFisher (A): Power with Purpose, students are presented with an abbreviated version of the business plan, and challenged to enlist and respond to funding alternatives.

The case illustrates the tensions, trade-offs and adaptation challenges involved in designing a clean technology venture in a changing regulatory, funding and competitive context (Ontario, Canada, 2006-2008). The multiple decision points in the case have the students critically and iteratively assess the prospects of clean technology ventures and the evolving interface between technology and strategy in Canada's emerging clean energy sector. Beyond understanding the specific challenges faced by the venturing team, students are asked to grapple with the controversies and priorities for Canada's environmental policies in the energy sector, discuss competitive tension or symbiotic relationships between incumbents and disruptors, and actively align new venture design and strategy with a rapidly morphing regulatory, technological and competitive environment. The case discussion also opens up a broader platform for exploring the role of incumbents and disruptive business models in informing provincial and national responses to climate change, and, more generally, the role of cleantech venturing and venture capital in fostering climate change readiness and greener energy solutions. The A case asks students to compare and contrast the clean technologies available, discuss their pros and cons, and articulate a compelling business proposition.

Corporate social responsibility (CSR) looks at how firms treat their stakeholders. One key stakeholder group that is frequently overlooked is the firm's shareholders. All too often, the corporate social responsibility literature focuses on customers, employees, and the natural environment, but rarely on shareholders. The focus of this article is the impact of the firm on its shareholders as expressed through its corporate governance practices. If a firm can't treat its shareholders well, what hope is there for the other stakeholders? Herein, we argue that there are market forces at work which reinforce good CSR behavior.     

Hindustan Lever Limited, principally owned by Unilever, operates Shakti, a program which aims to extend the reach of HLL's products to the 742 million rural consumers in 637,000 villages in India. Critical questions the program faces: Will Shakti and the BoP markets it targets deliver to HLL much-needed long term growth and become a key source of a future sustainable competitive advantage? Is the program really making a social impact?

CARE is an international, humanitarian, non-governmental organization (NGO) composed of twelve member countries that manage field operations in over seventy countries offices around the world, reaching more than fifty million poor people. In 2005, CARE started a pilot initiative in Central America to access whether its support of revenue-generating ventures provides sustainable and scalable poverty alleviation outcomes as well as an opportunity to generate excess revenues for the organization. This case focuses on CARE's challenges to explicitly incorporate a market-based approach within its portfolio of poverty alleviation solutions.