Skip to Main Content
HBS Home
  • About
  • Academic Programs
  • Alumni
  • Faculty & Research
  • Baker Library
  • Giving
  • Harvard Business Review
  • Initiatives
  • News
  • Recruit
  • Map / Directions
Faculty & Research
  • Faculty
  • Research
  • Featured Topics
  • Academic Units
  • …→
  • Harvard Business School→
  • Faculty & Research→
Publications
Publications
  • Fall 2013
  • Article
  • Manufacturing & Service Operations Management

Engaging Supply Chains in Climate Change

By: Chonnikarn Fern Jira and Michael W. Toffel
  • Format:Print
ShareBar

Abstract

Suppliers are increasingly being asked to share information about their vulnerability to climate change and their strategies to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Their responses vary widely. We theorize and empirically identify several factors associated with suppliers being especially willing to share this information with buyers, focusing on attributes of the buyers seeking this information and of the suppliers being asked to provide it. We test our hypotheses using data from the Carbon Disclosure Project's Supply Chain Program, a collaboration of multinational corporations requesting such information from thousands of suppliers in 49 countries. We find evidence that suppliers are more likely to share this information when requests from buyers are more prevalent, when buyers appear committed to using the information, when suppliers belong to more profitable industries, and when suppliers are located in countries with greenhouse gas regulations. We find evidence that these factors also influence the comprehensiveness of the information suppliers share and their willingness to share the information publicly.

Keywords

Knowledge Sharing; Motivation and Incentives; Risk Management; Climate Change; Supply Chain Management; Environmental Sustainability

Citation

Jira, Chonnikarn Fern, and Michael W. Toffel. "Engaging Supply Chains in Climate Change." Special Issue on the Environment. Manufacturing & Service Operations Management 15, no. 4 (Fall 2013): 559–577.
  • Find it at Harvard
  • Read Now

About The Author

Michael W. Toffel

Technology and Operations Management
→More Publications

More from the Authors

    • April 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Driving Decarbonization at BMW – Instructor Spreadsheet Supplement

    By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
    • January 2023
    • Faculty Research

    Global Sourcing at Nike

    By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Michael W. Toffel
    • December 2022 (Revised April 2023)
    • Faculty Research

    Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Spreadsheet Supplement

    By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
More from the Authors
  • Driving Decarbonization at BMW – Instructor Spreadsheet Supplement By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
  • Global Sourcing at Nike By: Nien-hê Hsieh and Michael W. Toffel
  • Driving Decarbonization at BMW - Spreadsheet Supplement By: Shirley Lu, George Serafeim and Michael W. Toffel
ǁ
Campus Map
Harvard Business School
Soldiers Field
Boston, MA 02163
→Map & Directions
→More Contact Information
  • Make a Gift
  • Site Map
  • Jobs
  • Harvard University
  • Trademarks
  • Policies
  • Accessibility
  • Digital Accessibility
Copyright © President & Fellows of Harvard College