The Political Economy of Carbon Trading

Forest L. Reinhardt; J. Gunnar Trumbull; Mikell  Hyman; Patia  McGrath; Nazli Zeynep Uludere

Case | HBS Case Collection | February 2010 (Revised April 2011)

The Political Economy of Carbon Trading

by Forest L. Reinhardt, J. Gunnar Trumbull, Mikell Hyman, Patia McGrath and Nazli Zeynep Uludere

Abstract

Global climate change is an increasingly prominent political and business problem. Design of market-based systems to reduce carbon emissions has proven difficult. More broadly, national attempts to comply with the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol present both governments and firms with significant challenges. The design of international institutions that will be useful for managing change after the Kyoto period is a challenge both for Kyoto ratifiers and for countries like the United States that have not ratified the agreement. Creation of a post-Kyoto treaty on climate change requires agreement by China and the United States, the world's largest carbon emitters. The case summarizes the science and economics of climate change and encourages readers to contemplate the strategic and risk management problems that it presents to government officials and to business leaders in developed countries and in the developing world.

Keywords: Policy; International Relations; Risk Management; Agreements and Arrangements; Business and Government Relations; Natural Environment; Pollutants; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Public Administration Industry;

Format: Print

55 pages

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Citation:

Reinhardt, Forest L., J. Gunnar Trumbull, Mikell Hyman, Patia McGrath, and Nazli Zeynep Uludere. "The Political Economy of Carbon Trading." Harvard Business School Case 710-056, February 2010. (Revised April 2011.)

Brazilian logistics company Rumo operated 13,500 km in railway networks, port terminals, and inland transshipment terminals, connecting major Brazilian ports to the agriculture hubs of Mato Grosso and São Paulo state. Controlled by Cosan, Brazil's leading sugar and ethanol producer, Rumo had been through a turnaround over the last three years, including heavy investment in operational improvements and financial deleverage, taking cash flow generation from a negative $278 million in 2015 to positive $15.3 million in 2018. In 2019, as the company planned its new expansion cycle ($3.4 billion would be invested from 2019 to 2023), Rumo's executives had to find the best way to continue to capture the value created, while preserving its relations with customers and other stakeholders.

Case | HBS Case Collection | August 2019 (Revised February 2020)

New Hope Liuhe: Building an Integrated Agri-Food Business

Forest L. Reinhardt, Shu Lin, Natalie Kindred and Nancy Hua Dai

In October 2018, LIU Chang (Angela), chairman of Beijing-based New Hope Liuhe (NHL), was considering the strategy of the firm. With $9 billion in sales and a presence in nearly 20 countries, NHL was China’s largest animal feed producer and a major pork and poultry producer and processor. The firm also marketed a range of food products to consumers. This case describes NHL’s entrepreneurial beginnings, growth, and recent efforts to transform from a feed producer into an integrated agri-food company with an active presence throughout the chicken, duck, and pig value chains. Considerable context is provided on the structure and evolution of these livestock industries in China and the food processing industry, and important issues such as food safety are considered. This background is helpful in enabling students to assess NHL’s evolution in scale and scope and consider what (if any) changes should be made to the firm’s strategy in the context of this critically important market.

Keywords: Strategy; Corporate Strategy; Food; Agribusiness; Expansion; Diversification; Growth Management; Consumer Behavior; Change Management; Entrepreneurship; Organizational Structure; Organizational Change and Adaptation; Government and Politics; Animal-Based Agribusiness; Transformation; Volatility; Business Cycles; Goods and Commodities; Supply Chain; Product; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Food and Beverage Industry; China; Asia;

Citation:

Reinhardt, Forest L., Shu Lin, Natalie Kindred, and Nancy Hua Dai. "New Hope Liuhe: Building an Integrated Agri-Food Business." Harvard Business School Case 720-009, August 2019. (Revised February 2020.) View Details

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The Political Economy of Carbon Trading

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