Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2000 (Revised February 2001)

Plum Creek Timber (A)

by Max H. Bazerman, Hannah Bowles, Dov Brachfeld and Jack Troast

Abstract

Plum Creek Timber Co., the nation's sixth largest private timberland owner and forest products company, must decide whether to enter negotiations with the U.S. government to establish a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) on its Pacific Northwest properties for a threatened fish species, the bull trout. Under the Endangered Species Act, Plum Creek could voluntarily create an HCP in exchange for long-term regulatory assurances from the U.S. government. The company has to weigh several factors in its decision to proceed with the negotiations: whether it can replicate the success of a recent HCP for spotted owls, the likelihood of government or third-party lawsuits against the company, the costs of coordinating with multiple state and federal environmental agencies, and the value of regulatory predictability.

Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Participants; Environmental Sustainability; Business and Government Relations; Forest Products Industry; United States;

Format: Print 19 pages Find at Harvard

Citation:

Bazerman, Max H., Hannah Bowles, Dov Brachfeld, and Jack Troast. "Plum Creek Timber (A)." Harvard Business School Case 801-131, August 2000. (Revised February 2001.)

Related Work

  1. Case | HBS Case Collection | June 2001 (Revised November 2001)

    Plum Creek Timber (B)

    Max H. Bazerman, Jack Troast, Hannah Bowles and Nicole Nasser

    Plum Creek Timber Co. decides to go ahead with negotiations for a Habitat Conservation Plan (HCP) on its Pacific Northwest properties. HCP represents a new form of public-private-sector collaboration and innovation to improve upon command-and-control environmental policy solution. Throughout the negotiation process, the company must manage several factors: identifying which native fish species to include beyond the bull trout, matching "best science" standards with cost-efficient conservation commitments, minimizing the regulatory burden while enhancing species protection, and fostering support and avoiding conflict with a range of interested stakeholders, from environmental activists to forest products executives.

    Keywords: Conflict of Interests; Negotiation Process; Negotiation Participants; Environmental Sustainability; Business and Government Relations; Forest Products Industry; United States;

    Citation:

    Bazerman, Max H., Jack Troast, Hannah Bowles, and Nicole Nasser. "Plum Creek Timber (B)." Harvard Business School Case 801-399, June 2001. (Revised November 2001.)  View Details
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About the Author

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Max H. Bazerman
Jesse Isidor Straus Professor of Business Administration
Negotiation, Organizations & Markets

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