Airbnb & Nest Partnership – A Huge Win for Google, Airbnb and Hosts, but is it Good for Guests?

By Scott Kirk We recently discussed Airbnb’s partnership with Nest (acquired by Google in January 2014 for $3.2B). The nuts and bolts of the partnership include Airbnb providing selected hosts with the Nest Learning Thermostat free of charge ($250 retail value) and access to Nest’s MyEnergy platform that allows hosts to track energy consumption, learn […]

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Does “Greenwashing” have Positive Outcomes?

By Anonymous In the Aspen Skiing Company case, we learned about the bad publicity companies in the ski industry receive for being one of the most energy-intensive industries and for being a major contributor to deforestation. Despite these facts, Aspen managed to build a reputation for being environmentally conscious as well as for showing a […]

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What do Wal-Mart and McDonalds have in common?

By N.R. Wal-Mart and McDonalds have many things in common that most Americans know about. They are both huge American companies that operate around the world and that thrive on affordability for their customers. Wal-Mart and McDonalds are both publicly traded and have historically outperformed the market during economic downturns. However, what some people (myself […]

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Expanding the win-win set for business and the environment.

By Vidushi Tekriwal I was intrigued by a notion Professor Henderson introduced in the Walmart case, and I have been impressed by the insight it has added in several cases we’ve studied since then, particularly the McDonald’s case today.  I find it to be a very eloquent way of articulating the central dilemma that even […]

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Why is marketing a bad word?

By Kelly O. A trend that I have noticed in many of our class discussions is the prevailing view that marketing your environmental activities is greenwashing in and of itself. One classmate even said that if a company truly cared about the environment they shouldn’t feel the need to advertise it. I disagree. I think […]

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Big Oil: Greenwashing sustainability?

By Jessica Over the years “Big Oil” has tried to improve their corporate image by introducing environmental and sustainable initiatives as well as by diversifying into alternative and renewable energy. However, I argue that Big Oil is not making a strategic shift to become fundamentally more sustainable but rather is doing the minimum required to […]

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Balancing making money and doing good at Walmart

By Christie Walmart is the biggest retailer in the world, with $466 billion in sales and 2.2 million employees in 2013. (1) Because of its size, Walmart has the ability to deliberately craft their vision and push industry to meet this vision. In 2005, Lee Scott announced that Walmart would make sustainability a priority and […]

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