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ERB Institute
  • Case Study

Patagonia: Challenging Consumerism through Refusal to Co-brand Apparel

Patagonia has long been a revered company in the world of outdoor gear, and environmental and social sustainability. Known for pushing the bounds of what it means to be a mission-driven organization, the company has…

  • Topics on: Climate Investing, Climate Sustainability, Climate Tech, Corporate Sustainability Strategy, Social Impact and Sustainability, Statistics
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ERB Institute
  • Case Study

Kitson & Partners: Climate Change and the Future of Real Estate in Florida

Highlighting the successful implementation of a sustainable large-scale residential development that defied powerful Hurricane Ian, this case focuses on Sydney Kitson and his sustainable real estate development company…

  • Topics on: Climate Investing, Climate Sustainability, Climate Tech, Corporate Sustainability Strategy, Social Impact and Sustainability, Statistics
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HBS Cases
  • Case Study

Camber Creek & Measurabl Inc.

In late 2017, Camber Creek, a real estate technology focused venture capital firm, had to evaluate a potential investment in Measurabl Inc. which provides real estate companies of all sized with a full SaaS solution for sustainability data.
  • Topics on: Circular Economy, Climate Tech, Statistics
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HBS Cases
  • Case Study

KiOR: Catalyzing Clean Energy

Biofuels start-up KiOR was developing a proprietary technology that had the potential to dramatically impact the emerging renewable energy landscape: a process that converted cellulosic biomass into “bio-crude,” a hydrocarbon mixture with properties to…
  • Topics on: Circular Economy, Climate Investing, Climate Tech, Corporate Sustainability Strategy
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Jason Jay
  • Course Syllabi

Innovating for Impact

Many of us at MIT share a dream to “do well by doing good” – to apply our talents in ways that solve important world problems while generating enough revenue to grow a healthy business. The real world exhibits varying degrees of this phenomenon. We hope all MIT graduates joining the private sector plan to help their enterprises operate with integrity and care for all stakeholders, in order to mitigate any harmful negative externalities.

But it is rarer to successfully innovate for impact, that is, develop products and services that actively improve the world as they grow. It turns out that growth, profit, and positive impact are in constant tension with one another, as are different dimensions of impact. Breaking these tradeoffs is possible but extraordinarily challenging.

  • Topics on: Climate Finance, Climate Policy, Climate Sustainability, Decision, Risk, and Operations, Social Impact and Sustainability

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Steven Eppinger
  • Course Syllabi

Product Design and Development

This class teaches modern tools and methods for product design and development. The cornerstone is a project in which teams of management, engineering, and industrial design students conceive, design, and prototype a new product or service. The class is primarily intended for Sloan MBA students (particularly the Entrepreneurship and Innovation track and the Leaders for Global Operations program) and for MIT engineering graduate students (particularly mechanical engineering and manufacturing master’s programs). The course is jointly taught with Rhode Island School of Design for industrial design students as a senior studio.

  • Topics on: Climate Finance, Climate Sustainability, Renewable Energy, Social Impact and Sustainability

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David Rand
  • Course Syllabi

Consumer Behavior

Understanding the behavior of consumers – what choices people will make in a given situation and how those choices can be influenced – is central to marketing, as well as a wide range of other areas including innovation, entrepreneurship, management, and strategy. Furthermore, we are all consumers ourselves, and thus understanding the behavior of consumers helps us to understand – and improve – our own decision-making. In this course, we will explore insights into consumer behavior generated by behavioral economics, cognitive science, and social psychology, and how to translate these insights into action in “real world” settings

  • Topics on: Behavioral Economics, Climate Sustainability, Corporate Sustainability Strategy, Social Impact and Sustainability

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Bethany Patten
  • Course Syllabi

Sustainable Business Lab (S-Lab)

Integrative experience that explores the complex set of circumstances and choices leaders must face in light of uncertain environmental and social consequences. Drawing on academic and practical experiences, students engage in a semester-long project focused on a host organization’s sustainability challenge.

Peer-to-peer learning accompanies in-class cases, simulations, and role-playing to provide students with practical skills for application in projects and for careers beyond. A shared deep dive into a systemic challenge provides a chance for students across programs to reflect and engage in dialogue about the ethical landscape of business. Through personal reflection and career visioning, students clarify their own personal commitments to leadership and change.

  • Topics on: Behavioral Economics, Climate Finance, Climate Tech, Renewable Energy, Social Impact and Sustainability

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Jason Jay
  • Course Syllabi

Business Strategies for a Sustainable Future

The purpose of this course is to help you think critically and move productively toward business strategies for a sustainable future. It is essential preparation for corporate sustainability leadership – in line/executive management, sustainability staff, or professional services and technology/tool development to enable corporate action. The course also supports aspiring regulators, advocates, and investors in understanding the firm-level perspective on sustainability. Business Strategies for a Sustainable Future (BSSF) has four learning goals that correspond to the PROMISE framework above, going from macro to micro. The backbone is a robust four-lens understanding of materiality. We explore the pressing environmental and societal issues facing business and society, their systemic causes, and ground you in a science-based lens on materiality and corporate sustainability. Key concepts: planetary boundaries, human rights and social foundations, limits to growth, race to the bottom, climate physical risk, life cycle impact and greenhouse gas accounting, context-based goal setting. Students learn how institutions (e.g. government policy) and markets (e.g. customers, investors, prospective employees) bring these issues to the doorstep of organizations – a stakeholder influence lens. Key concepts: collective action; governing the commons; single, double, and dynamic materiality; ESG data and aggregate confusion; stakeholder analysis; climate transition risk.

Students learn to assess strategies and solutions that aim to create value for organizations and society – the business value lens. We showcase the cutting edge of practice and where there is further opportunity for innovation.

Key concepts: enterprise carbon management; circular economy; servicizing; integrated design process; sustainability-oriented innovation; high performance work systems.
• Students clarify their personal purpose and sharpen relational skills to be an effective agent of change for sustainability. This is the basis of a purpose-based lens on materiality and corporate sustainability. Key concepts: sustainable leadership capabilities; authentic conversation; making/translating the business case.

  • Topics on: Climate Justice, Climate Policy, Climate Sustainability, Corporate Sustainability Strategy, Social Impact and Sustainability

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Jerry Davis
  • Course Syllabi

Impact Studio Course: Translating Research into Practice

The +Impact Studio teaches interdisciplinary student teams (e.g., MBAs, MSWs, MPH, MEng) how to use scholarly intellectual capital, business acumen and design methodologies to begin to address a wicked problem. Wicked problems are issues with societal import, that are difficult to understand, and are embedded within complex systems; for example, how might the financially precarious or the unbanked accomplish necessary financial transactions in society; how might citizens living with failing infrastructure be better served by municipality; how might we build enterprises that uplift rather than deplete their communities?

To begin to address such an issue, teams will be seeded with novel, university-generated intellectual capital (e.g., new insights on FinTech or a machine learning algorithm from Marketing research) that may provide a critical piece of the puzzle to making a sustainable, scalable positive impact. There is a trove of such capital within the University that would otherwise remain disconnected from the pressing problems of our generation. Thus, this course serves as a nexus between this intellectual capital, a wicked problem and design.

  • Topics on: Climate Policy, Social Impact and Sustainability

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Djordjija Petkoski
  • Course Syllabi

Social Impact and Responsibility: Foundations

How to define and deal with social impact and responsibility of the key stakeholders, including corporations; investors; international financial institutions, such as the World Bank; United Nations; foundations; donors; non-government organizations; and development agencies? How to deal with the increased complexity and the dynamic of change of the external ecosystem? What role can business, through its core activities, innovations, and innovative partnerships, play in meeting local and global societal needs in protecting the environment, improving health, education and governance, empowering communities, eradicating poverty, etc.?

Are these needs properly captured by environmental, social, and governance (ESG) priorities and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs)? What is the relationship between the SDGs and ESG? How to enhance environmental, social, and governance impact through leadership, social intrapreneurship and entrepreneurship, and disruptive social innovations? What are the challenges of measurement and reporting impact? Can technology help solve ESG related problems? Does business have a responsibility to help address these priorities? Are there limits to what can and should be done through business and innovative partnerships? What are successful examples of business and innovative partnerships approaches to meeting these needs and priorities? What is the role of GEN-Z?

  • Topics on: Corporate Sustainability Strategy, Social Impact and Sustainability

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Deborah Small
  • Course Syllabi

Marketing for Social Impact

Private and public sector firms increasingly use marketing strategies to engage their customers and stakeholders around social impact. To do so, managers need to understand how best to engage and influence customers to behave in ways that have positive social effects. This course consists of three distinct but connected parts. The first part of the course focuses on social marketing strategies for changing the behavior of a target segment of consumers on key issues in the public interest. The second part explores these initiatives within the context of specific issues (e.g., environmental sustainability, health behaviors, financial decisions, etc.).

The third part of the course examines the growing role of corporate social initiatives as they relate to marketing. For the first time, this course is being offered as an Academically Based Community Service (ABCS) course supported by the Netter Center for Community Partnerships. The purpose of this program is to offer more practical, collaborative problem-solving experiences as part of the learning experience. As described below, the final group project for this course will be carried out in partnership with local organizations affiliated with the Netter Center.

  • Topics on: Social Impact and Sustainability, Sustainable Marketing

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