Climate Rising

As part of our 2023 back-to-business school series, this episode features a session from Harvard’s Climate Action Week in May 2023. Moderated by HBS Prof. George Serafeim, the panel includes Carter Roberts, President & CEO of World Wildlife Fund, HBS professor Deb Spar, Bonita Stewart, Board Partner at Gradient Ventures, and Lauren Taylor Wolfe, Cofounder & Managing Partner of Impactive Capital. They discuss how companies and their boards can use accountability and transparency to drive climate performance.

For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org

Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative

Moderator/Panelists:

●      George Serafeim, Charles M. Williams Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School

●      Carter Roberts, President & CEO, World Wildlife Fund

●      Debora L. Spar, Jaime and Josefina Chua Tiampo Professor of Business Administration; Senior Associate Dean for Business and Global Society; Board Director, Thermo Fisher Scientific

●      Bonita Stewart, Board Partner, Gradient Ventures

●      Lauren Taylor Wolfe, Cofounder & Managing Partner, Impactive Capital

Today’s episode is the first in our 2023 back-to-business school series. The episode features Gabriel Serber, Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainable Development, Arcos Dorados, the largest McDonald’s franchise in the world. He discusses how Arcos Dorados designs and implements climate solutions across the 20 Latin American and Caribbean countries where they operate, the vast cultural diversity across the region, and how his work fits into the larger McDonald’s corporate climate goals

For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org

Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative

Guest: Gabriel Serber, Vice President of Social Impact and Sustainable Development, Arcos Dorados

Today’s episode in our corporate net zero climate series features Paul Bodnar, Director of Sustainable Finance, Industry, and Diplomacy, Bezos Earth Fund, and former Global Head of Sustainable Investing at BlackRock. Paul discusses how investors approach the complex web of weighing climate priorities with fiduciary responsibilities. He also talks about his career in the private, public, and nonprofit sectors and where he thinks the next big climate-related investment priorities will be.

For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org

Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative

Guest: Paul Bodnar, Director of Sustainable Finance, Industry, and Diplomacy, Bezos Earth Fund

Today’s episode in our corporate net zero climate series features HBS alumna Sanchali Pal, Founder and CEO of Commons, an app created to help consumers make more climate-friendly purchasing decisions. Sanchali discusses why she chose an entrepreneurial pathway out of busine---ss school and what inspired her to focus on the power of consumers to drive corporate climate action. She also talks about building a startup and raising funds and offers advice for those seeking to work in business and climate change.

For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org

Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative

Guest: Sanchali Pal, Founder and CEO of Commons

Formerly Microsoft’s Chief Environmental Officer, and now Chief Sustainability Officer & Senior Managing Director at Haveli Investments, Lucas Joppa discusses the strategies and tools Microsoft developed to meet its ambitious carbon negative goals, including setting an internal price on carbon, restructuring their corporate governance, and funding innovative climate technology solutions. He also tells us why he thinks climate finance is entering its most consequential decade.

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Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative

Guest: Lucas Joppa, Chief Sustainability Officer & Senior Managing Director, Haveli Investments

For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org.

In this episode, Melissa Lott, Director of Research and Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy at Columbia University, and Michael Webber, Josey Centennial Professor in Energy Resources and Professor of Mechanical Engineering at the University of Texas at Austin, discuss how companies can decarbonize their electricity when pursuing net zero climate goals, from increased efficiency to electrification to generating their own carbon-free electricity, and the pros and cons of these pathways.

Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative

Guests:

Melissa Lott, Director of Research and Senior Research Scholar, Center on Global Energy Policy, Columbia University

Michael Webber, Josey Centennial Professor in Energy Resources and Professor of Mechanical Engineering, University of Texas at Austin

Today’s episode features Alberto Carrillo Pineda, Co-Founder and Chief Technical Officer of the Science Based Targets Initiative explains how they help companies and financial institutions design verifiable and achievable climate targets, and how they assess and validate those targets. He also discusses how the SBTi is transitioning from focusing on technical assistance and assessments to a standard-setting organization.

Company Resources:

The Science Based Targets initiative

How science-based targets work

Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative

Guest: Alberto Carrillo Pineda, Co-Founder and and Chief Technical Officer, Science Based Targets Initiative

For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org

For the second episode in our series on corporate net zero programs, we’re sharing an episode on airline decarbonization from the Climate Vision 2050 podcast produced by the consulting firm Boston Consulting Group. This episode sets up a scenario in 2050 where the industry relies on liquid nitrogen, sustainable aviation fuels, electric aircraft, and blending-wing body planes, coupled with present-day experts who explain the changes.

Link to original podcast: BCG Climate Vision 2050 (“Sustainability at 36,000 feet” episode)

Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative

In this first episode in a new series on companies setting and meeting net zero climate targets, Ashley Orgain, Chief Impact Officer at Seventh Generation, discusses why this home care products company decided to set a real zero climate goal instead of net zero, and how they plan to achieve it. She also describes how Seventh Generation is going beyond a carbon footprint to measure its carbon fingerprints that touch every aspect of their business, from banking to creative services.

For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org.

Climate Rising Host: Professor Mike Toffel, Faculty Chair, Business & Environment Initiative

Guest: Ashley Orgain, Chief Impact Officer, Seventh Generation

This bonus episode of Climate Rising features Harvard Business Review’s Cold Cast podcast with Brian Kenny interviewing HBS professor Shirley Lu on BMW Group’s decarbonization strategy, which is the subject of a new case study that Shirley wrote with HBS colleagues George Serafeim and Mike Toffel. They discuss why BMW is focusing on reducing vehicle lifecycle emissions, and why the company has so far avoided setting a phase-out date for internal combustion engine BMWs.

For transcripts and other resources, visit climaterising.org.

Guest/Host:

●      Brian Kenny, Chief Marketing and Communications Officer, Harvard Business School and host of Cold Call

●      Shirley Lu, Assistant Professor, Harvard Business School