HBS Business and Environment Initiative

Are you interested in founding a climate startup? Register for the next session of "How to Create a Climate Venture", an online class offered by the Harvard Innovation Labs?for Harvard University alumni, students, faculty, and staff. In this non-credit-bearing weekly online class, you'll get help with coming up with an idea, testing the viability of your idea, and connecting with fellow climate entrepreneurs.?Register?by January 10th. https://lnkd.in/eB9YJ4ky #harvardbusinessschool #climatechange #climateaction #entrepreneurship

What will it take to adapt to the realities of climate change? In the latest episode of the Skydeck podcast, Dan Morrell speaks with Harvard Business School alum Tim Sweeney, CEO of Liberty Mutual Insurance, on how the insurance industry can be proactive about adaptation as climate change and the rise in catastrophic weather have dramatic implications on the insurance industry. https://lnkd.in/eywTTgTJ

On Wednesday, Harvard University announced the Consortium for Climate Solutions is a first-of-its-kind renewable energy collaboration led by Harvard, Mass General Brigham (MGB), and the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT).?The consortium will leverage its collective purchasing power to overcome market conditions that serve as barriers to development of projects that advance cost-effective renewable energy and allow for larger-scale investment. “There is plenty of scientific evidence that fossil fuels are negatively impacting health, community stability, and ecosystems around the world. As Harvard continues on its path to become a fossil fuel-free campus, it is critical that the University not only conduct research on how to drive down global emissions and bolster adaptation, but to use our purchasing power to help produce cost-effective renewable energy solutions at scale,” said Harvard Business School Professor Mike Toffel. https://lnkd.in/eSV55RfY

?? How AI is Reshaping Energy Demand Management ?? In the latest episode of the #ClimateRising podcast, Pasi Miettinen, CEO of Sagewell, Inc, discusses how AI is driving efficiency in energy demand management, helping utilities reduce peak loads and cut costs. Key Takeaways: 1?? Significant Opportunities for Efficiency: Due to the structure of our energy system, there is ample room for improving efficiency. Utilities are motivated to enhance energy management to serve more customers at lower costs and reduce strain on the grid. 2?? AI’s Rapid Advancements in Predicting Demand: AI is evolving quickly, enabling utilities to better predict energy demand patterns through large-scale models and advanced analytics, making energy use more efficient and sustainable. 3?? Career Advice: Choose an area where you can have the most impact, and stay curious. Continuous learning, whether from diverse reading sources or connecting with new people, is essential for growth in the fields of AI and clean energy. ?? Listen now: https://lnkd.in/e5webgCM #AI #CleanEnergy #EnergyEfficiency #Sagewell #Sustainability #ClimateAction #HarvardBusinessSchool #PodcastEpisode??

This fall, Professor Jim Matheson offered the inaugural "Launching Climate Ventures" Sprint, a one-day program that provided climate concerned?Harvard Business School?and?Harvard John A. Paulson School of Engineering and Applied Sciences?students with an understanding of the process of launching a climate-focused venture. Students were exposed to a wide range of panelists, offering their expertise and experience on critical topics such as climate innovation, licensing intellectual property, making a climate impact, building a successful founding team, and raising early climate tech capital. Read about the course on our blog: https://lnkd.in/eVCVkfaZ Harvard Grid Paul Hayre Wyss Institute at Harvard University Sukanya Punthambaker, Ph.D. Adam Slavney Sam Liss Ted Wiley Tom Clay Ann DeWitt Richard Collins #harvardbusinessschool #climate #climatechange #climateaction #entrepreneurship #leadership

Last month, a group of students visited California's?climate?frontier on a trek to the Bay Area where they explored trends, toured companies, and met with leaders in?climate tech. From touring Tesla’s manufacturing plant to visiting Antora Energy and learning about the entrepreneurial journey of Anthro Energy, students gained invaluable insights and connections with experts shaping the future of?climate action. During their visit to?Stanford University Graduate School of Business, they heard from Gigascale Capital and SE Ventures and met with Stanford students and alumni equally passionate about the climate crisis. The trek was a reminder of why so many dedicate their careers to confronting climate change and the broad network of people committed to driving real action. Read about the experience from Harvard Business School student Luca Mantovani: https://lnkd.in/eMmSfwB8 #harvardbusinessschool #climate #climatechange #climateaction #climatetech

Live on Tuesday, 11/26 at 5:30PM ET: Hear from Harvard faculty about what the 2024 U.S. election results may mean for U.S. and global climate policy, the outlook for corporate climate action, and more. Featuring Jody Freeman of?Harvard Law School, Robert Stavins?of?Harvard Kennedy School, Peter Tufano of Harvard Business School and Jim Stock, Director of the Salata Institute. Register to submit a question now: https://cvent.me/K2DNDW

Harvard Business School?students explored various Dutch greenhouses during their January course on decarbonization with Mike Toffel and Willy Shih, all of which are cultivating a technological revolution with an eye toward sustainability across cultivar selection, input optimization, and pest management. Amrut Rajkarne, Ryan Boyd, and Adele Tran wrote about their experience visiting these technological marvels: https://lnkd.in/eUiM782t #harvardbusinessschool?#climate?#climateaction?#climatechange?#decarbonization

?? How Businesses Can Engage with COP29 ?? In the latest episode of the #ClimateRising podcast from Harvard Business School, Paul Dickinson and Tom Rivett-Carnac, co-hosts of Outrage + Optimism, share insights on how businesses can influence climate policy and engage in the upcoming COP29 conference. Key Takeaways: 1. COP has evolved from setting climate targets to also focus on implementation, making business engagement more important than ever. 2. To influence government climate policies, business leaders need to engage early, well before COP begins. 3. Corporate influence can help align ambitious climate policies with profitable business opportunities. If you’re looking for another way to enjoy Climate Rising, make sure to check out our new YouTube podcast. It’s the same show you know and love, now with captivating video: https://lnkd.in/eiE7S7XE #ClimateAction #COP29 #Sustainability #OutrageAndOptimism #HarvardBusinessSchool #NetZero #BusinessStrategy?

Insights from climate scientists I was honored to help kick off the Office for Financial Research- Cornell University conference on #Climate Science and #Climate Finance.??We began reviewing the newest findings from climate scientists, starting with an insightful and sobering keynote from Professor Johan Rockstr?m. I then had the pleasure of moderating a panel with Dr. Gavin Schmidt, Prof. Tim Lenton, and Dr.?Rebecca Shaw.??Here in the run-up to #COP29 where the emphasis will be on #climatefinance, here are some of my key takeaways from the discussions: ·?????The bad news:?The newest UNEP Emissions Gap report (https://lnkd.in/eVdpQyvs) puts us (probabilistically) on a very treacherous path.?The newest Planetary Health Check Report (https://lnkd.in/ekA9eCeu) show us breaching six of nine planetary boundaries. Negative tipping points are threatening. Climate and nature are intertwined, so we must focus on both. ·?????The good news:?We know what we have to do and largely have the technology to make progress.??We can also trigger positive tipping points. It's mostly a question of our determination to act. ·?????Specific advice for climate finance and finance academics: o??Get out of our silos. Work in larger research teams that include not only economists but also scientists so that our work is better grounded in the latest science. o?Look forwards, not only backwards. Look beyond historical data and gain comfort with research based on foward-looking forecasts and scenarios. But in doing this, appreciate that some well used scenarios, such as NGFS, may underestimate plausible outcomes. o??Keep learning. Climate science is a huge field and even scientists struggle to keep up with all of the work. There are ways to keep up with the science, including Gavin Schmidt’s excellent RealClimate blog (https://lnkd.in/e3xqYHfD) ? o??Don't pretend that our work is value-free. As economists we often pass on "distribution" issues that involve questions of fairness and ethics. Gavin's latest blog post discusses the fallacy of "value-free science." (https://lnkd.in/eNQRMHMJ) While we must do our work rigorously, this does not exempt us from interpreting it as citizens--which necessarily involves our values. Alissa M. Kleinnijenhuis, Andrew Karolyi, Dashol Kim (OFR), The Salata Institute for Climate and Sustainability at Harvard University, Harvard Business School, HBS Business and Environment Initiative,