Academy08

Climate Change, Uncertainty, and Strategic Management

January 27 - February 1, 2008, Swiss Federal Institute of Technology (ETH), Zurich (Switzerland)

Climate change is a major issue facing the world in the 21st century. Drastic reductions of greenhouse gas emissions are crucial for stabilizing the world’s ecosystems. The business sector needs to mitigate the sources of climate change and adapt to its effects even while both its magnitude and economic implications are uncertain. Consequently, the appropriate management of carbon resources becomes a cornerstone of competitive strategy.

The aim of the annual ETH PhD-Academy is to promote excellent PhD research in the area of sustainability and technology and to develop responsible leaders for tomorrow. While the 2008 academy focused on climate change, it was also open to PhD students working on similar challenges with respect to environmental sustainability. The first four days of the academy focused on improving the research design and methodology of participants’ PhD projects. One additional day was reserved for discussions with leading business representatives. We invited PhD students with a background in strategic management, technology/innovation management, or institutional change to participate in the academy. Besides content-related discussions, students got valuable feedback from their peers and three well-respected professors:

• Prof. Dr. Pratima Bansal (Shurniak Professor in International Business, Richard Ivey School of Business, University of Western Ontario, Canada)

• Prof. Dr. Andrew Griffiths (Professor for Strategy and Sustainability, UQ Business School, University of Queensland, Australia)

• Prof. Dr. Volker Hoffmann (Professor for Sustainability and Technology, ETH Zurich, Switzerland)

Papers focused on – but were not limited to – the following topics:

• Corporate strategy and investment decisions under uncertainty
• Clean technologies and innovation strategies
• Carbon risk assessment & analysis
• Future development of climate regulation & carbon markets
• Corporate perceptions of and adaptation to climate change

For any additional questions please contact us at SusTecAcademy@ethz.ch.