Stories
Stories
Sustainability Is Good Business
The recent uproar over the Sierra Club’s acceptance of $26 million in undisclosed donations from an energy company prompted some environmentalists to warn against “sleeping with the enemy.” This sort of us-against-them rhetoric is all too common when it comes to business and the environment. Yet, one of the country’s leading defenders of the natural world aggressively seeks out partnerships with major corporations to advance their mutual interests.
Speaking to a student audience last week on campus, the Nature Conservancy’s president and CEO, Mark Tercek (MBA 1984), stressed the need for business and environmentalists to collaborate to develop sustainable enterprises. He described, for example, how Nature Conservancy scientists are working with Rio Tinto, a global mining behemoth, to craft an environmentally sensitive design for the world’s biggest copper mine in Mongolia. “Rio wants to be an environmental good citizen,” said Tercek, a former managing director at Goldman Sachs, where he played a key role in developing the firm’s environmental strategy. “So the question is, how do you avoid damaging the ecosystem while extracting needed mineral resources?”
With some 600 scientists on the payroll, the Nature Conservancy isn’t shy about offering its science-based expertise to help corporations soften their environmental footprints. Dow Chemical and British Petroleum are among its corporate partners.
Tercek’s bottom line: sustainability is good business, and groups like the Nature Conservancy can advance the cause. Put another way, rather than us against them, we’re all in this together.
Post a Comment
Related Stories
-
- 15 Mar 2024
- Making A Difference
Hungry for Change
Re: Laurel Flynn (MBA 2012) -
- 01 Mar 2024
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
Action Plan: Wild at Heart
Re: Heather Evans (MBA 1983); By: Christine Speer Lejeune -
- 01 Dec 2023
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
Rounding the Bend
Re: Emily Bolon (MBA 2007); James Reinhart (MBA 2009); Christopher Homer (MBA 2009); Maria McClay (MBA 2006); By: Jen McFarland Flint -
- 01 Jun 2023
- HBS Alumni Bulletin
Bridging the ESG Data Gap
Re: Megan Murday (MBA 2021); Rebekah Emanuel (MBA 2015); By: Deborah Blagg
Stories Featuring Mark Tercek
-
- 25 Apr 2014
- Storify
HBS Campaign Inaugural Event via Social Media
Re: Antoinette Bruno (MBA 1992); Bruno Schenk (AMP 181); Roberto Charvel (MBA 2001); Michael Kantrow (MBA 1997); Rob Uhlemann (MBA 2012); Bo Ekelund (TGMP 15); Janet Balis (MBA 1999); Matthew Rascoff (MBA 2009); Humphrey Chen (MBA 1996); Chris Schroeder (MBA 1992); Ron McKerlie (AMP 172); Fran Seegull (MBA 1998); Dean Florez (MBA 1993); Vivian Prokop (AMP 175); Laxmi Stebbins Wordham (MBA 2001); Antonio Mazzara (TGMP 15); Stever Robbins (MBA 1991); Blake Hall (MBA 2010); John Mascari (MBA 2012); Louis Beryl (MBA 2012); Melissa Fensterstock (MBA 2012); Ann Bilyew (MBA 1994); Mark Tercek (MBA 1984); Peggy Yu (MBA 2007) -
- 24 Apr 2014
- Making A Difference
Recasting environmentalism as a smart financial investment
Re: Mark Tercek (MBA 1984) -
- 01 Jul 2013
- Alumni Stories
The Nature of Business
Re: Mark Tercek (MBA 1984); By: Jill Radsken