McKinsey Quarterly is the business journal of McKinsey & Company.
January 2012
Innovation in energy technology is taking place rapidly. Five technologies you may not have heard of could be ready to change the energy landscape by 2020.
Over the next quarter century, the rise of three billion more middle-class consumers will strain natural resources. The race is on to boost resource supplies, overhaul their management, and change the game with new technologies.
Historian Niall Ferguson, the CEO of a water services company, and Boeing’s lead environmental executive reflect on the resource transition under way, where it could be headed, and what it means for leaders now.
November 2011
Cheap resources underpinned economic growth for much of the 20th century. The 21st will be different.
February 2011
Large cities may be the ideal test track for the mass market. Catalyzing early adoption could take less than most auto executives and policy makers think.
January 2010
McKinsey’s Jeremy Oppenheim analyzes the impact the recent climate conference will have on businesses and economies around the globe.
Tom Albanese explains how Rio Tinto is adapting its operations to a future when climate change may make the world’s dry parts drier and wet parts wetter.
There is great potential to reduce energy consumption and minimize its total cost by using existing technologies—and without changing the everyday habits of consumers.
December 2009
The solution to water scarcity, in part, will come from new technologies for better managing water as a resource. But to make these technologies more effective, business and policy leaders will need to work more closely to implement them.
For many companies, water efficiency is a long-term requirement for staying in business, a big commercial opportunity, or both.
In a collaboration between Duke University’s Fuqua School of Business and McKinsey, a panel of experts and CEOs from leading energy companies debate the critical scientific, resource, and policy issues challenging energy sustainability today.
November 2009
The US biofuels industry must address midstream ethanol distribution bottlenecks if it hopes to deliver next-generation ethanol in a cost-effective manner.
July 2009
The US government is beginning to spend vast sums to jump-start the economy. The opportunities for the private sector are huge, but so are the changes it must make to benefit from them.
September 2008
Businesses are beginning to embrace the economics of carbon reduction. Here's how.
July 2008
Top companies regard climate change as an opportunity to get closer to suppliers—effectively reducing both costs and carbon in their supply chains.
A program that targets cost-effective opportunities in energy productivity could halve the growth in energy demand, cut emissions of greenhouse gases, and generate attractive returns.
June 2008
Investment in capital projects is rising. First-rate contracting will help companies to get a significant leg up on their rivals.
Don’t be fooled by technological uncertainty and the continued importance of regulation; solar will become more economically attractive.
April 2008
The country can go on cutting its greenhouse gas emissions substantially, but difficult trade-offs loom.
November 2007
Executives place the environment and climate change in a class of their own when evaluating the impact of societal issues on shareholder value. They also indicate that companies are getting a little better at managing sociopolitical issues and understanding what the public wants.
July 2007
The opportunities for improvement are huge, but market forces alone won’t realize them.
May 2007
The industry is still in its infancy but evolving rapidly. Companies that hope to compete must devise their entry strategy now.
March 2007
The country now produces ethanol more cheaply than anywhere else on Earth, but that may not be true for long.
Multinational companies remain wary of political and macroeconomic risk in Latin America. Yet the region is full of attractive opportunities.
February 2007
A global study of the size and cost of measures to reduce greenhouse gas emissions yields important insights for businesses and policy makers.
Energy and materials companies face a demanding future. They must start preparing for it now.
Demand for energy is set to grow rapidly during the next 15 years—unless governments, businesses, and consumers take advantage of the many substantial, economically viable, and technologically proven opportunities to boost energy productivity.
Multinational producers of energy-intensive commodities must rethink their approach to crafting deals in the Gulf.
Many problems seem intractable, but energy doesn’t have to be one of them.
August 2006
Paolo Scaroni explains how he helped rescue two troubled businesses and now confronts what is in some respects a more challenging task: leading a highly successful one.
Many arenas to profit from—but only with the right skills.
March 2006
China's emergence as a major player is transforming the global fine-paper industry. European and North American producers must consider their strategic options.
December 2005
The oil and gas industry has a history of overinvesting at the top of a cycle. This time it should break the habit.
September 2005
Demand is outstripping supply. Will the country find the reserves it needs to fuel its growth engine?
There's a gold mine out there—if the government eases restrictions on market entry and improves infrastructure.
May 2005
The major oil companies are struggling to replenish their reserves amid increased competition for new sources of petroleum. Innovative approaches are needed to ensure these companies' long-term viability.
December 2004
For capital-intensive businesses, the variables in portfolio decisions can seem overwhelming. Streamlining can help.
February 2004
In basic materials, only diversified companies approach an efficient portfolio’s risk–return performance, since they can exploit negative correlations among the business cycles of different commodities.
January 2003
Off-the-shelf tools from other sectors won’t work. What will?
November 2002
A new kind of professional purchaser bent on getting rock-bottom costs threatens suppliers of basic materials. But these companies can save themselves by taking up the purchasers’ weapons.
May 2001
How can investment bankers achieve better results at chemicals companies than engineers and chemists do? No, it isn't black magic.
February 2001
Acquirers in the forestry products industry beware: the capital markets’ tendency to give acquisitions the thumbs down is well-founded and suggests that most companies should sell rather than buy.
November 2000
No product really has to be a commodity. The trick is to know what services your customers want—and to charge more.
May 2000
The past decade has been a punishing one for shareholders of pulp-and-paper companies, but successful, or at least remedial, strategies are available even for the weaker performers among them.
Cyclical stocks such as airlines and steel can appear to defy valuation. But an approach based on probability will help managers and investors draw up a reasonable estimate.
February 1998
Companies without structural advantages can reap rewards by managing the inevitable cycle. But to do so, they must get their financing at the right time and understand the dynamics of demand for their products.
May 1997
The concept is simple: help 20 to 30 customers serve their customers better. Most of the improvement potential is not in sales (or pricing) but in logistics and technology. By focusing on innovation and growth, a company can change its self-image and ability to attract talent.
August 1996
Many upstream producers have integrated with downstream ones in an effort to guarantee a market for their output. But such an insurance policy can turn out to be extremely expensive.
May 1996
Senior management of basic material industries must not only focus on optimizing yield but also on managing the cycle.
February 1996
Cyclical markets aren’t the enemy—you are. A new model suggests counter-strategies. Modernize in an upturn, buy capacity in a downturn. Sectors growing at 2 to 3 percent may be the best bet.
November 1995
Improving volumes and margins from current businesses may be your best option.
August 1995
Say goodbye to the tonnage mentality. The difference in profitability between similar orders can be 20 percent. Get the true cost of every order to both manufacturing and sales. Two case examples in steel and pulp and paper.
May 1995
Managers in commodity businesses talk about cost and volume, and seldom if ever use innovative pricing and marketing approaches. But unexploited pricing and marketing opportunities do exist—and can be captured quickly.
JANUARY 2012
DECEMBER 2011
NOVEMBER 2011
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