Business & Environment Initiative
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College
The BEI Team
Michael Toffel
BEI Faculty Chair
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Jennifer Nash
BEI Director
Marina Jokic
BEI Coordinator
Mission & Strategy
The Business and Environment Initiative seeks to deepen our collective
understanding of the urgent environmental challenges confronting
business leaders and to help them use the tools of business to design
effective solutions. The BEI aspires to help leaders create the economic
and political institutions that will enable firms and societies to thrive
while maintaining the physical and biological systems on which they
depend.
We work toward this mission by engaging with:
 Faculty – to catalyze research and leverage its impact
 Students – to educate and support future business leaders
 Alumni – to highlight inspiring work and create connections
 External constituents – to share HBS contributions and to learn
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Environmental Issues Are Key for Businesses
RESOURCE CONSTRAINTS
EMPLOYEE MOTIVATION
NEW PRODUCTS
AND SERVICES
LARGE-SCALE RISKS
INVESTOR
CONCERNS
REGULATORY
UNCERTAINTY
DESIGN INSPIRATION
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SAFETY, ETHICS AND
LICENSE TO OPERATE
Curriculum integration within the First Year
Environment-related cases recently taught in the required curriculum
(RC) include:
FIRST-YEAR CURRICULUM 2015-2016
 Arcadia Biosciences: Seeds of Change, Technology & Operations Management
 BASIX (Abridged), Finance I
 Cree Inc.: Introducing the LED Light Bulb, Marketing
 International Carbon Finance and EcoSecurities, Finance I
 Ilva Steel Taranto: Providing and Polluting, Leadership & Corporate Accountability
 Tesla Motors, Strategy
 The Pepsi Refresh Project: A Thirst for Change, Marketing
 Zipcar: Refining the Business Model, The Entrepreneurial Manager
We are working with students and faculty to further define core environmental concepts, and
to identify and bridge gaps in the RC.
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Second-Year Electives (2016-2017)
CORE BUSINESS & ENVIRONMENT COURSES
 Building Sustainable Cities and Infrastructure
 Immersive Field Course: Africa; Building Cities
 Reimagining Capitalism: Business and Big Problems
KEY INDUSTRY VERTICALS
 Innovating in Energy
 Agribusiness
OTHER RELATED COURSES
 Business at the Base of the Pyramid
 Creating Value in Business and Government
 Entrepreneurial Finance
 Field Course: Social Innovation Lab
 Retailing
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Extracurricular Programs & Events
 Alumni Mentor Program
 Faculty Lunches
 Student Advisory Board
 Lunch & Learn with BEI Faculty
 Conferences
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Career and Professional Development
 Cleantech 101
 Professional Perspectives Day
 Personalized career coaching
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Notable Alumni
 Warren Adams (MBA 1995), Patagonia Sur
 David Blood (MBA 1985), Generation Investment Management
 Jeffrey Immelt (MBA 1982), CEO of General Electric
 Henry M. Paulson Jr. (MBA 1970), The Paulson Institute
 John Replogle (MBA 1993), CEO of Seventh Generation
 Carter Roberts (MBA 1988), CEO of World Wildlife Fund
 Mark Tercek (MBA 1984), CEO of The Nature Conservancy
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Faculty Affiliates
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Faculty Affiliates continued:
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