Case Abstract
The case traces the greening of Hayward Lumber Company, a family-owned company based in California. As an initial step toward serving an environmentally focused market niche, the firm began selling Forest Stewardship Council (FSC) Certified Lumber to meet a growing demand for green building materials in California’s central coast market. The company found that while supplying FSC wood afforded entry into the green builder market, horizontal expansion into higher margin green building materials created a greater opportunity for revenue enhancement. The case details competing certification standards, and the components of Hayward’s environmental strategy. The case closes with descriptions of several propositions for strategic growth of the firm, to reach stated environmental and sales goals.
| Authors: | Magali Delmas, Erica Plambeck, Monifa Porter |
| Institution: | UC Santa Barbara, USA; Stanford Graduate School of Business, USA |
| Competition Year | 2003 |
| Place | 3rd place |
| Track | Corporate Sustainability |
| Key Words | Lumber, Forest Stewardship Council, FSC, Certification, Business Policy, Entrepreneurship, Environmental Protection, Green Building Materials, California, Growth Strategy |
| Courses | Corporate Environmental Strategy, Business and Society, Environmental Entrepreneurship |
| Permission Rights | This case can be purchased from the Case Centre (OIT38). This case is also part of the oikos Case Collection book (Volume 1): Case Studies in Sustainability Management and Strategy published by Greenleaf. |
| Download | Inspection Copy |
