Feed-in tariffs (FITs) are crucial tools to increase the adoption of renewable energy technologies. But setting them at the right level (price) is a balancing act. If they are poorly designed, they can backfire, stunting the industry and wasting public money. A duo of HEC researchers, along with a colleague from the University of Texas at Austin, have shown that, to set optimal FIT levels, regulators must take into account the behaviours all players affected, including technology manufacturers.
By Sam Aflaki , Andrea Masini
Ratings and rankings have become powerful tools in global governance, frequently used to motivate companies to be good corporate citizens. A wide range of environmental and social matters such as access to medicine, climate change, obesity and working conditions increasingly transcend national borders and escape the reach of national regulators. For such issues, who should set the rules about the responsibilities of corporations? How can corporations that are by definition designed to generate profit, be guided towards making decisions that benefit society as a whole? Afshin Mehrpouya and Rita Samiolo explore the process behind the production of these rankings.
By Afshin Mehrpouya
Major advances in complex technologies require the cooperation of a broad range of parties – a whole business ecosystem. Professors Sihem Ben Mahmoud-Jouini (HEC Paris) and Florence Charue-Duboc (Ecole Polytechnique Paris) studied the case of the nascent hydrogen energy ecosystem to investigate how experimentation contribute to the emergence and consolidation of the ecosystem itself, and the characteristics of such experimentation.
By Sihem Ben Mahmoud-Jouini , Florence Charue-Duboc
Jean-Michel Gauthier began his career in the oil industry before switching to consulting. Having spent a total of 30 years in international energy, he now shares his expertise by training leaders from all sectors in energy-transition issues. Jean-Michel is affiliate professor in the finance department at HEC Paris, where he holds the Energy & Finance Chair sponsored by Société Générale.
By Jean-Michel Gauthier
Editorial by Marc Vanhuele, Professor of Marketing and Associate Dean. We live in a world of constant transformation. The role of research and education at a business school like HEC is to constantly innovate in order to give our students the knowledge, skills and mindset to live and work in a world with opportunities and challenges that may already have shifted by the time they graduate.
By Marc Vanhuele
Sam Aflaki and Serguei Netessine’s new research uncovers a problem with renewable energy incentive policies, such as feed-in tariffs and carbon taxes. Renewables like wind and solar power often depend on carbon costly backups which stunt investment rewards.
By Sam Aflaki
Given the urgent needs of different populations worldwide, economic development tends to be prioritized over climate issues. Short-termism is pitted against medium and long-term goals, economic growth and jobs against the climate. And yet, the horribly irony is that it is often the people living in emerging countries who suffer (and will suffer) the most from climate change. The urgent question is: how can economic development and environmental protection be pursued simultaneously without compromising on either?
By Nora Youcefi
In December a year will have passed since the celebration of COP21, a conference labeled a success as all 195 countries participating reached a global agreement, the so-called “Paris Agreement”. This aimed to reduce carbon emissions worldwide in order to bring down global warming below the 2°C threshold.
Whether technological or social, innovation is a driving force at Armor, the leading global provider of Thermal Transfer ribbon for barcode printing and the leading European producer of remanufactured ink cartridges for businesses. Hubert de Boisredon, who has been at the helm of this firm since 2004, has brought a "trust-based" style of management to the company. His guiding principle: using technological innovation for solutions to benefit humanity...
Governments have developed a wide range of initiatives and policies to support renewable energy generation as a key element of a low carbon future. At first glance, they seem to have worked, as renewable technologies have enjoyed significant growth. But new statistical analyses by Syed Basher, Andrea Masini and Sam Aflaki suggest more complex dynamics: policy is not the only driver for the increase in renewable energy technology development and application.
By Andrea Masini , Sam Aflaki
