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• Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2020 (Revised April 2020)

  Fossil Fuel Divestment

  Michael W. Toffel and Sarah Gulick

  The president of Harvard University is facing growing pressure from students, alumni, and other climate change activists that are urging the university to divest its multi-billion dollar endowment from fossil fuel companies. The case summarizes the arguments for and against Harvard divesting, examining past examples of Harvard’s investment decisions and the financial implications of divestment.

  Keywords: divestment; Higher Education; Corporate Social Responsibility and Impact; Environmental Sustainability; Climate Change; Public Opinion; Education Industry;

  Citation:

  Toffel, Michael W., and Sarah Gulick. "Fossil Fuel Divestment." Harvard Business School Case 620-093, January 2020. (Revised April 2020.)  View Details

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• Case | HBS Case Collection | January 2020 (Revised April 2020)

  Rumo: Infrastructure for a Healthier Economy

  Forest L. Reinhardt, Mariana Cal, Ruth Costas and Natalie Kindred

  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.

  Keywords: Agribusiness; Plant-Based Agribusiness; Customer Relationship Management; Growth and Development Strategy; Logistics; Rail Transportation; Value Creation; Rail Industry; Transportation Industry; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Latin America; Brazil;

  Citation:

  Reinhardt, Forest L., Mariana Cal, Ruth Costas, and Natalie Kindred. "Rumo: Infrastructure for a Healthier Economy." Harvard Business School Case 720-008, January 2020. (Revised April 2020.)  View Details

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• Teaching Note | HBS Case Collection | April 2020

  Indigo Agriculture: Harnessing Nature

  Michael W. Toffel and James Barnett

  Indigo Agriculture used a digital-enabled research and development (R&D) process to launch its initial product, microbial coatings for agricultural seeds, which increase crop yields while reducing the need for fertilizers. In doing so, the company developed direct relationships with farmers, in contrast to typical agricultural supply chains that use intermediaries. The company then launched a marketplace platform to link growers directly to crop buyers, again disintermediating the market. Indigo Agriculture is now considering launching an initiative to incentivize farmers to engage in regenerative agricultural practices by setting up a carbon market that could pay them for sequestering carbon into their soils. If scaled globally, the idea could sequester as much as one trillion tons (a teraton) of carbon dioxide from the earth’s atmosphere into agricultural soils, but pursing the idea has many risks.

  Keywords: Operations; Supply Chain; Social Enterprise; Product Development; Distribution Channels; Business Strategy; Market Platforms; Science-Based Business; Agriculture and Agribusiness Industry; Green Technology Industry; United States; Massachusetts;

  Citation:

  Toffel, Michael W., and James Barnett. "Indigo Agriculture: Harnessing Nature." Harvard Business School Teaching Note 620-075, April 2020.  View Details

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