Climate Change
The Environmental Benefits of Digital Design
Smart companies can take advantage of digital platforms to see financial and sustainability gains.
Sustainability remains a frequently discussed opportunity for business differentiation. Heralded as “the primary moral and economic imperative of the 21st century,” by Mervyn King, former governor of the Bank of England, it is considered to be “one of the most important sources of both opportunities and risks for businesses.”
MIT SMR and Boston Consulting Group recently completed an eight-year collaboration on the topic of sustainability. Over the course of the program, the partnership produced cutting-edge research on business adoption of sustainable practices and the integration of sustainability into business strategy. We developed detailed analyses of the business cases for sustainability, sustainability-related profitability, and issues around collaboration and investment.
The intersection of sustainability and another powerful market influence, digitalization, however, represents largely unexplored territory. Each has spawned a massive set of research about how it will change management practice, and more broadly, business and society. MIT SMR intends to build on its research on corporate sustainability and digitalization, and is currently looking for a partner to join our research effort.
Smart companies can take advantage of digital platforms to see financial and sustainability gains.
Digitization of physical products and production has become an emerging idea in sustainability.
Leaders should realize that companies are fundamentally linguistic entities.
Most companies have not yet come to terms with what it means to be truly sustainable.
Any corporate purpose, however laudatory or noble that mission may be, must be accompanied by strong governance.
A company’s support of the U.N.’s SDGs is not necessarily a proxy for doing good.
BlackRock’s CEO Larry Fink tells the corporate community to “contribute to society” or risk losing his company’s support.
Business needs to push back — hard — against cyberthreats to elections.
The 2030 Sustainable Development Goals challenge companies to do well while doing good.
The most valuable contributions of AI to the economy may be as an adjunct to advancing discoveries.
Digitalization and sustainability are both powerful trends. What happens when they merge?
Technology innovation offers an opportunity to resolve pressing social and environmental problems.
Business leaders must partner with policy-makers to improve disaster preparedness and resilience.
It’s not smart to base any part of your strategy on what you see in the rear-view mirror.
There are many good reasons why companies should comply with TCFD disclosure recommendations.
Companies should be more forthcoming about long-term value-creation strategies when communicating with investors.
Meeting your sustainability commitments requires long-term thinking and strategy.
The real divide over climate change is about whether markets have the power to change the world.
U.S. corporations still have considerable incentive to move forward on their own climate plans.
As regulations ease, business must show restraint and farsightedness as it never has before.