18 Jan 2013
by Arthur I Segel, Nicolas Ibanez and Jay Verjee
Warren Adams founded Patagonia Sur in 2007 as one of the world's first for-profit land conservation businesses. His goal was to purchase over 100,000 acres of land in southern Chile and to run a variety of sustainable businesses to generate annual returns for investors. Patagonia Sur planned to derive various streams of revenue from the land—including eco-tourism, sustainable land development, carbon credits, water rights and eco-brokerage—thereby giving a financial return to investors on top of achieving a positive environmental impact. By 2011, Warren had raised over $20 million from high net worth individuals and Patagonia Sur had over 60,000 acres in Patagonia under management. However, institutional investors seriously questioned whether Patagonia Sur could ever do more than break even on an annual basis. Further, they worried that in fact the risk of the investment went up significantly as the company spent both its capital and management time on so many different revenue streams. In addition, some investors felt that for-profit conservation was morally wrong. Warren needed to convince both individual and institutional investors that his vision would succeed in both generating returns and preserving the natural beauty of Patagonia. Read more
10 Jan 2012
by John D. Macomber, Regina Garcia-Cuellar, Griffin H. James and Frederik Nellemann
In this case, a property company, a water privatizer, and municipal engineers explore the causes of and solutions to a severe water shortage in Mexico City, a great global capital. The protagonist is a real estate investor doing due diligence on the magnitude of the crisis, the impact on the firm's operations, and the likelihood of resolution. Due diligence includes interviews with city water officials and global-scale water privatizers. This case is an excellent introduction to city scale infrastructure issues on a global level. A related case, "Water Shortage and Property Investing in Mexico City," HBS No. 210-085, contains more real estate finance and less water infrastructure finance material than this case does. Read more
16 Sep 2010
by Michael W. Toffel and Aldo Sesia
Genzyme Corporation is in the midst of planning its new corporate headquarters, which incorporates many innovative green building features. After learning that the building as planned would likely earn a LEED Silver rating, an intermediate score in the LEED green building rating scheme, the CEO charged the building team with exploring opportunities that would enable the building to earn the highest rating, LEED Platinum. Five additional green building features are described, and students are asked to analyze and recommend which, if any, of these features to pursue based on their cost, likelihood of earning LEED credits, and their influence on the building's environmental performance. Read more
03 Jun 2010
by Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and Dilyana Karadzhova
Arup, an engineering firm, collaborated with PTW Architects and China Construction Design Institute to develop a design for the 2008 Beijing Summer Olympics Aquatics Center design competition. Their winning concept for the Water Cube combined elements of Chinese culture with innovative materials and sustainability requirements. The multidisciplinary and cross-company team, based in Sydney, Australia with counterparts in Beijing, faced project management challenges and cultural differences. The Water Cube became an iconic image during the Olympics, and managers at Arup now wonder how to leverage the impact within the company. Read more
22 Mar 2010
by Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson, Susan Thyne and Tiona Zuzul
Living PlanIT is a start-up company that has developed a new, innovative business model for sustainable urbanization. This model reflects the software and technology backgrounds of its founders, Steve Lewis and Malcolm Hutchinson, and is in vivid contrast to other models for green or smart cities that are variations on a massive real estate development project. The main economic engine driving Living PlanIT's model is a partner channel strategy adopted from the high technology industry. The case shows how the Living PlanIT business model has evolved from the original vision of Lewis and Hutchinson to radically transform the construction industry to a go-to-market partnership model using the real estate as a "showroom" for evolving sustainable urban technology—a $3 trillion global market over the next 20 years. Living PlanIT is developing its first project, a new city called PlanIT Valley, outside of Porto, Portugal. The company has clarified its vision and is moving into the implementation phase, which involves fundraising, signing up channel partners, and negotiating various issues with the Portuguese government for its pilot project. Success in PlanIT Valley will translate into a strong market position as global population and demand for new cities increases, particularly in developing countries such as China and India. Read more
18 Sep 2008
by Forest L. Reinhardt and Nazli Uludere
Presents data on opportunities to conserve energy in buildings, which account for about a third of all energy use. Encourages readers to think about the impediments to energy efficiency in the buildings sector and the ways in which entrepreneurs can profitably surmount the obstacles. Read more
15 May 2008
by Arthur I Segel, Robert Barlick Jr and Jose Gonzalez
In September 2001, Armando Codina, the CEO and chairman of Codina Group, is facing the decision of whether to go ahead as planned with its $220 million Beacon Lakes project, a 6.6-million-square-foot warehouse and office park in Miami's Airport West submarket. Although his firm has already spent more than two years and almost $2 million to get the project underway, the various obstacles ahead make him ponder whether to continue. Codina feels that an unsuccessful project could hurt his otherwise untainted career. Among the issues facing him: the uncertainty regarding the expansion of the Urban Development Boundary line to the west to include the site of the project, which is currently zoned to prohibit any type of development, and the heated environmental debate regarding the site's proximity to the Northwest Wellfield Protection Area and the Everglades National Park. Codina needs to analyze fully the economics of the deal, taking into account market conditions as well as the ultimate profitability of the project given the concessions that he is willing to make. Includes color exhibits. Read more
30 Mar 2004
by Thomas R. Eisenmann and Ryland Matthew Willis
The challenges faced in establishing hydrogen fuel cell-powered transportation in the United States, which promises to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and dependence on imported oil is examined. Foremost among these challenges is a "chicken-and-egg" dynamic: consumers will not buy hydrogen-fueled vehicles until a nationwide network of hydrogen refueling stations is available, and such a network will not be supplied without a critical mass of vehicles. Explores efforts of the George W. Bush administration and the U.S. Department of Energy in developing hydrogen fuel cell technology and infrastructure and in overcoming the chicken-and-egg dynamic. Also covers industrial policy and tax regimes in the United States, Japan, and the European Union and the efforts of automobile manufacturers to develop environmentally friendly transportation. Read more
07 Jan 1994
by Forest L. Reinhardt and Thomas Patterson
The Montana Land Reliance is a small not-for-profit organization in the business of creating conservation easements on private lands in Montana. The easements preserve the scenic character and recreational value of the lands by precluding subdivision and other forms of real estate development. The Reliance, established only in 1976, has grown rapidly in recent years. At the time of the case, its leaders face the need to define the market they want to serve, determine the right rate of growth, and create the institutional capabilities to capitalize on their early successes. Read more
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01 Jan 2012
by Robert G. Eccles, Annissa Alusi, Amy C. Edmondson and Tiona Zuzul
Two trends are likely to define the 21st century: threats to the sustainability of the natural environment and dramatic increases in urbanization. This paper reviews the goals, business models, and partnerships involved in eight early "ecocity" projects to begin to identify success factors in this emerging industry. Ecocities, for the most part, are viewed as a means of mitigating threats to the natural environment while creating urban living capacity by combining low carbon and resource-efficient development with the use of information and communication technologies to better manage complex urban systems. Read more
19 Oct 2011
by Auden Schendler and Mike Toffel
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01 Mar 2011
by Tiona Zuzul and Amy C. Edmondson
This paper explores how entrepreneurs grow a new business in a nascent industry. Through a longitudinal, qualitative study of a new company in the nascent smart cities industry, we examine how company leaders grew a new venture while facing the ambiguity inherent in the very early phases of a new industry. We identify two distinct essential journeys that enabled the company to grow: an internal journey focused on developing and refining a business model and an external journey focused on legitimating both the firm and its growing industry. Our study illuminates the activities entrepreneurs undertake in pursuing these interconnected journeys. We also show how externally and internally oriented activities can interfere with each other. Not only do they require different skills and approaches, but successfully pursuing one can impair an entrepreneur's ability to manage the other. Pursuing both journeys simultaneously is thus even more challenging than the challenges considered separately would imply. We argue that growth in a new industry may require skillful attention to both journeys while also managing their problematic interactions. Our findings contribute to research on entrepreneurship in nascent industries and suggest directions for future research. Read more
01 Dec 2010
by Annissa Alusi, Robert G. Eccles, Amy C. Edmondson and Tiona Zuzul
Two trends are likely to define the 21st century: threats to the sustainability of the natural environment and dramatic increases in urbanization. This paper reviews the goals, business models, and partnerships involved in eight early "ecocity" projects to begin to identify success factors in this emerging industry. Ecocities, for the most part, are viewed as a means of mitigating threats to the natural environment while creating urban living capacity, by combining low carbon and resource-efficient development with the use of information and communication technologies (ICT) to better manage complex urban systems. Read more
16 Dec 2009
by Michael W. Toffel and Aldo Sesia
Genzyme Corporation is in the midst of planning its new corporate headquarters, which incorporates many innovative green building features. After learning that the building as planned would likely earn a LEED Silver rating, an intermediate score in the LEED green building rating scheme, the CEO charged the building team with exploring opportunities that would enable the building to earn the highest rating, LEED Platinum. Five additional green building features are described, and students are asked to analyze and recommend which, if any, of these features to pursue based on their cost, likelihood of earning LEED credits, and their influence on the building's environmental performance. Read more
16 Dec 2009
by Michael W. Toffel and Aldo Sesia
Genzyme Corporation is in the midst of planning its new corporate headquarters, which incorporates many innovative green building features. After learning that the building as planned would likely earn a LEED Silver rating, an intermediate score in the LEED green building rating scheme, the CEO charged the building team with exploring opportunities that would enable the building to earn the highest rating, LEED Platinum. Five additional green building features are described, and students are asked to analyze and recommend which, if any, of these features to pursue based on their cost, likelihood of earning LEED credits, and their influence on the building's environmental performance. Read more
11 Apr 2005
by Arthur I Segel, Jeff Mandelbaum and Armen Panossian
Summarizes several of the major federal environmental statutes, most notably the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation and Liability Act ("CERCLA" or "Superfund"). Also discusses several state and local regulations. Read more
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