article thumbnail

A Refresher on Payback Method

Harvard Business Review

There are a variety of ways to calculate a return on investment (ROI) — net present value , internal rate of return , breakeven — but the simplest is payback period. What is payback period? ” The shorter the payback period, the better. How do companies use the payback method?

article thumbnail

Walmart Broadens ROI for Green Power

Harvard Business Review

Second, Bedore spoke about how Walmart thinks about its investments in green power: "There is an ROI calculation on all sustainability investments like on all projects, but.we For example] the longer term payback on solar helps us get to scale down the road.". EPA's latest list of the top 50 renewable energy buyers.

ROI 14
Insiders

Sign Up for our Newsletter

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

article thumbnail

Why We Need to Update Financial Reporting for the Digital Era

Harvard Business Review

Business students have traditionally considered net present value, payback period, and hurdle rates as necessary tools to determine which project to select. Digital companies, in contrast, chase risky projects that have lottery-like payoffs. Risk is now considered a feature, not a bug.

Report 8
article thumbnail

An Inside View of How LVMH Makes Luxury More Sustainable

Harvard Business Review

Looking at LVMH’s efforts, I’ll highlight three areas where I see great impact and innovation: managing carbon and energy, building a connection with customers around brand purpose, and working closely with suppliers. Managing Carbon and Energy. I’ll then discuss some of LVMH’s challenges.

article thumbnail

How to Better Manage Your Company’s Utility Bills

Harvard Business Review

In general, managing energy bills has traditionally been a pretty low priority for most corporations. Outside the hot topic of who gets to control the thermostat , most managers just want to know that the lights will turn on and the computer servers will not be interrupted. We believe that this view is quickly becoming obsolete.