Publications
Publications
- February 2020 (Revised February 2022)
- HBS Case Collection
Sustainable Product Management at Solvay
By: George Serafeim, Vincent Dessain and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej
Abstract
In November 2019, Ilham Kadri, CEO of Solvay, a Belgian specialty chemicals and advanced materials group, with annual revenues of more than €10 billion in 2018, announced the group’s mid-term strategy, eight months after she took the helm as Solvay’s 11th CEO. The case describes what options Solvay had to operate a business transformation to follow a growth path while aiming to be a leading environmental solutions company. Solvay had developed a sustainability tool called Sustainability Product Management to identify promising business applications. How effective was the tool? What business lines should Solvay promote to grow and at the same time be more sustainable?
Keywords
Sustainability; Sustainable Business And Innovation; Sustainability Management; Sustainable Development; Management Accounting; Innovation; Carbon Emissions; Sustainability Reporting; Sustainability Targets; Target-setting; Product; Management; Transformation; Growth and Development Strategy; Climate Change; Environmental Sustainability; Chemical Industry; Europe; Belgium
Citation
Serafeim, George, Vincent Dessain, and Mette Fuglsang Hjortshoej. "Sustainable Product Management at Solvay." Harvard Business School Case 120-081, February 2020. (Revised February 2022.)