“Doing well by doing good” has rapidly gained momentum in recent years as business leaders, investors, and stakeholders have deepened their understanding of the double bottom line. To help managers combine their values and their work, support the mission of their companies, and drive change, HBX introduced the online certifi cate program Sustainable Business Strategy in June 2018. Led by Rebecca Henderson, the John and Natty McArthur University Professor, the program showcases the role faculty research plays in course development and teaching. Henderson has spent much of her career focusing on how organizations respond to large-scale technological shifts, most recently in regard to energy and the environment.

“Sustainable Business Strategy is designed to empower decision makers on the ground to be purpose-centered leaders while achieving business success,” Henderson says. “It can also help companies rethink their role in society and the power they have to make a difference in ways that go beyond fi nding business opportunities.”

Participants set their own schedules during the interactive three-week course, which uses short videos and multimedia cases to spark discussions about the critical role that business can play in solving some of the world’s biggest problems. The 20 hours of content Henderson developed highlight a variety of companies, some of which feature in cases she and Professor of Business Administration George Serafeim teach in their MBA elective Reimagining Capitalism: Business and Big Problems. Joining Henderson and Serafeim for the HBX course are several faculty members from across Harvard who are experts in law, government, and fi nance.

Among the topics explored are alternative governance styles, multistakeholder partnerships, values-driven leadership, fi duciary duties, and the blurring of lines between government and business. Three cases focus on issues encountered by Unilever—one of which examines how the multinational conglomerate deals with uncertainty, including predicting government regulations, the costs of clean energy technology, and customer demand for products and services.

Another case looks at Norsk Gjenvinning, Norway’s largest supplier of recycling and environmental services, which was purchased by a private equity fi rm in 2012. Upon discovering rampant corruption in the organization and the industry at large, the new owners implemented a transparent strategy to identify and solve the problems, ultimately leading to improved effi ciency, reduced costs, and an expansion of clientele.

The course also considers the role of startups through the experiences of two graduate students who founded Transatomic Power in Cambridge, Massachusetts, a company that aims to revolutionize the nuclear energy industry. In addition, participants discuss alternative governance styles and shareholder value maximization in the case on King Arthur Flour in Norwich, Vermont—an employee-owned, certifi ed B-corp on a mission to further people’s passion for baking through environmentally sound practices.

“Sustainability is so much bigger than just climate change. It’s about sustaining societies and even businesses for the long term,” Henderson says. “Solving the enormous challenges facing our world will require business leaders who understand how business can effect change and who have the courage and vision to be catalysts both within their fi rms and across entire industries and regions.”

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