01 Mar 2013
by David E. Bell and Natalie Kindred
For Asian Agri and other Indonesian palm oil producers, the future promised rising demand from fast-growing Asian populations, but also intensifying criticism from environmental groups. With the highest yield and lowest production cost of any edible oil, palm oil constituted an abundant, inexpensive source of food for Asian and, to a lesser extent, international markets. Its production had soared from 1970 to 2010, sparking concern from environmentalists over the conversion of high-value conservation land in Malaysia and Indonesia (where nearly 90% of palm oil was produced) into palm oil plantations. Critics had intensified their campaigns in recent years, urging—at times successfully—packaged food makers and investors to boycott palm oil suppliers accused of environmental mismanagement. While noting that some accusations were unjustified, palm oil producers argued the industry was making strides towards greater sustainability and cited the unique advantages of palm oil: it was free of unhealthy trans fats, for example, and required less land to produce more oil than any known substitute. Asian Agri, an established Indonesian palm oil grower and exporter, had thus far avoided public scrutiny. The company was a key source of employment in many rural communities, had extensive experience negotiating the complex Indonesian regulatory environment, and was moving to certify its operations according to industry-set sustainability guidelines. In 2010, Asian Agri appeared well positioned to capitalize on the growing palm oil market, but the broad-strokes vilification of the palm oil industry was a source of serious concern. In the face of great uncertainty, the management team needed to devise a strategy for the future. Read more
21 Nov 2012
by Rebecca M. Henderson and Frederik Nellemann
Unilever's Lipton Tea had been successful with the first phase of its certification partnership with Rainforest Alliance. Now the company faced challenges in how to push forward with the transformation of more difficult parts of the supply chain and how to market sustainable tea in developing markets like India. Read more
09 Oct 2012
by Francesca Gino, Michael W. Toffel and Stephanie van Sice
Seeking to go beyond global best practices in reducing environmental impacts, FIJI Water, a premium artesian bottled water company in the United States, launched a Carbon Negative campaign that would offset more greenhouse gas emissions than were released by the company's operations and products. The case examines the controversies surrounding this program as well as the program's impacts on the environment and FIJI Water's brand image. The company also faced decisions regarding how to best manage its relationship with the Fijian government, which recently dramatically raised imposed export taxes and could limit FIJI Water's access to water, its primary raw material. The case enables students to better understand the challenges of implementing an environmental strategy and of negotiating with parties that control raw materials, and invites discussion of the effectiveness of various approaches and the general lessons for the management of companies seeking to operate in an environmentally responsible manner. Read more
21 Jun 2011
by Forest L. Reinhardt and James Weber
Clearwater was trying to market value-added products in a traditionally commodities based industry while facing supply uncertainties and regulatory, environmental, and foreign exchange challenges. Clearwater harvested shellfish from the Canadian Atlantic fishery and sold this in markets around the world. They prided themselves on their sustainable fishing practices, which were not the norm for the industry. Seafood buyers traditionally bought on price. Clearwater's innovations and technology investments enabled it to produce a higher quality, value-added product, but it faced the challenge of convincing buyers to pay a premium price. Their products originated from a wild resource under government regulations which limited the size of the catch by both the industry and Clearwater. In recent years, Clearwater operated in an environment with a rising Canadian currency. This reduced profitability because Clearwater's costs were in Canadian currency while its sales where largely in other currencies. The case also discusses the challenges of maintaining a sustainable fishery and uses the collapse of the cod fishing industry as an example. Clearwater was founded in 1976, it went public in 2002, and was still managed by its two founding partners in 2006. Read more
14 Apr 2011
by John T. Gourville, Alice Tzou and David Lane
Set in 2002, this case looks at the potential for hybrid electric vehicles in the United States. Looks at the pressures on the automotive industry to produce a commercially viable, environmentally friendly vehicle and the consumer behavior surrounding purchase of those vehicles. Traces efforts over the years to produce electric vehicles, hybrid electric vehicles, and fuel-cell vehicles. Presents the questions of whether and why hybrid electric vehicles will succeed where other alternative-fuel vehicles have failed. Read more
25 Feb 2010
by Gary P. Pisano and Alison Berkley Wagonfeld
In 2009, Amyris Biotechnologies was building a plant in Brazil that used synthetic biology to convert sugarcane into both renewable fuels and renewable chemicals. The Amyris' marketing team was investigating the commercial interest for both types of products, while the research and development team and the operations group were building processes that could accommodate both as well. CEO John Melo hoped to have commercial product available in 2011; however, he realized that pursuing both chemicals and fuels added even more complexity to a business that was already executing multiple development steps in parallel. The case looks at the various strategic and operational decisions facing Melo as he planned the company's optimal commercialization strategy. Read more
23 Oct 2009
by Christopher Marquis, V. Kasturi Rangan and Alison Comings
Having bought Shaklee Corporation from Yamanouchi, Roger Barnett, its owner and CEO, wrestled with the question of how to grow the company and its reputation for environmental sustainability. In addition to preserving the "network marketing" nature of its sales channel (because it creates jobs and entrepreneurs), Barnett wished to take the business model to sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Read more
07 Apr 2009
by Joseph B. Lassiter III and David Kiron
On August 1, 2007, 61-year-old Jan-Olaf Willums' plane was flying along the Greenland coastline on his way back to Norway after intense discussions with several prominent U.S. venture capital investors, among them Kleiner Perkins and Rockport Capital Partners, about investing in a plan to accelerate his company's entry into the North American market. A successful engineer, entrepreneur, and sustainable development champion, Willums was CEO of Think Global AS (TH!NK), a privately held Norwegian maker of electric vehicles (EVs). Having already raised $85 million in venture backing, TH!NK was just a few months away from the broad European launch of its line of EVs, the first commercially available, highway-safe cars in the world that produced zero greenhouse emissions. Read more
05 Jan 2009
by David E. Bell, Nitin Sanghavi and Laura Winig
Marks & Spencer initiated a comprehensive approach to sustainability (reduction of waste, carbon emissions, fair trade) called Plan A. Does it offer a competitive advantage? Read more
07 Dec 2006
by Forest L. Reinhardt, Dennis A. Yao and Masako Egawa
In 1995, Hiroshi Okuda, president of Toyota Motor Corp., considers whether to push for a more aggressive launch of the Toyota Prius--an automobile that incorporates Toyota's new and technically advanced hybrid power train. This launch decision allows discussion of the importance of the Prius in Toyota's overall product strategy and explores issues ranging from market structure to competitive advantage and competitive dynamics. Read more
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