Preserve: Growing a Sustainable Consumer Goods Company

Abstract

This case presents the startup and growth of Preserve, a sustainability-driven business and B Corp, in the circular economy. The company has grown over the years as a housewares and personal care consumer goods company in the retail industry with a closed loop business model on #5 plastics. With this operational model, Preserve managed to create social and commercial value by attaining strategic growth while meeting its social mission. To serve dual-purpose (social and commercial), Preserve helped its partners achieve sustainability goals, but these investments did not necessarily add to the financial bottom line and short-term growth of the company. The case focuses on the meaning of “growth” as the strategic intent for a sustainability-driven business. It explores to what extent a purpose-driven business like Preserve could meet the challenge of simultaneously being a social value leading business and keeping financial sustainability with the current business model.

The case examines Preserve’s founding mission and organizational values, and it discusses the tradeoff between social mission and economic goals any growth-driven sustainable company would face. It puts into perspective the importance of stakeholder collaboration and communication for sustainability and growth. The case introduces the framework of SEERS – Social, Environmental, Economic Responsibility and Sustainability – for evaluating Preserve’s sustainability strategy. The SEERS framework contains four elements: (1) identifying purpose and strategic intent, (2) engaging stakeholders, (3) developing metrics, and (4) implementing cascading innovations. It provides opportunities for considering strategic decision-making with respect to economic and social value generation and social responsibility.

AuthorsSinan Erzurumlu
InstitutionBabson College, USA
Competition Year2018
PlaceSecond Prize
TrackSocial Entrepreneurship
Key WordsSustainability, circular economy, closed loop, recycling, social and commercial value, blended value, Benefit corporation, B corporation, SEERS, corporate responsibility, start-up, entrepreneurship, operations management, household products, leadership, strategy
CoursesCorporate Strategy, Leadership and Strategic Management, Social Entrepreneurship, Social Innovations, Operations Management, Organizational Behavior, Sustainability, Business and the Environment, and Corporate Social Responsibility
Target AudienceMBAs, Undergrads, Executive Education
Permission rightsThis case will be published at the Case Centre shortly. You find an inspection copy for download below.
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posted June 5, 2018

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ecostore – the Carbon CaptureTM Pak decision

Abstract

ecostore – manufacturer of household and personal cleaning products is a New Zealand based company with a strong drive towards innovation and improvements into effectiveness of its products. This case captures ecostore’s journey to introduce a new technology – green packaging made from sugar cane (carbon captureTM pak) and examines the difficulties surrounding its adoption. The technology is its early stages of its development and market acceptance.

In the case, students are guided to evaluate company values, culture, underlying philosophies, and business aspirations before evaluating the decision. The case portraits ecostore’s unique business philosophy and commitment to avoid using commonly accepted chemicals normally deemed as safe by the industry in their formulas and to stay true to their precautionary principle to avoid using any chemical where no impact on health can be determined. After this consideration, the case introduces a new idea for ecostore: to implement a sugar cane based plastic for their product portfolio. This new technology could set the firm apart from the other firms that operate in an environmentally responsible manner and can cause disrupt into packaging market. ecostore is about to choose from three potential partners and the decision presents a significant challenge to a firm and its operations. However, if successful, the technology can change the demand and nature of packaging of the entire industry and ecostore can become a potential partner for other businesses who will pursue the implementation of this technology.

The case enables students to better understand challenges of pursuing innovation in a context of an established business and invites discussion on environmental practices, processes associated with innovation, scrutinizes the information asymmetry between chemicals used in household and personal cleaning industry, and makes students to evaluate possible partners to implement the new technology. Furthermore, the case presents major producers of sugar based plastic and outlines benefits and challenges associated whilst partnering with one of them. Students are guided to make a decision based on information provided in the case and additional research. The teaching notes reveal the final ecostore’s decision.

AuthorsMichaela Balzarova & Pavel Castka
InstitutionUniversity of Canterbury, New Zealand
Competition Year2018
PlaceRunner Up
TrackCorporate Sustainability
Key WordsGreen plastic, Bio-sourced plastic, Strategy, Decision-making process
CoursesStrategic management, Sustainable business, Sustainable enterprise
Target Audienceundergraduates, executive MBAs
Permission rightsThis case is part of the oikos free case collection. Download a free online copy below. If you are a faculty member and you are interested in teaching this case, you can request a free teaching note by sending us an email to freecase@oikos-international.org.
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posted June 5, 2018

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‘Enrich Not Exploit’: Can New CSR Strategy Help Body Shop Regain Glory?

Abstract

This case looks at some key challenges before Jeremy Schwartz (Schwartz), CEO of The Body Shop International Plc. (Body Shop), and its International Director of Corporate Responsibility and Campaigns, Christopher Davis (Davis), as they try to re-establish the company as a leader in ethical retail and maintain its distinct image amid tough competition and boost sales.

Body Shop was regarded as a pioneer in modern CSR practices and was strongly associated with the social activism of its founder, Dame Anita Roddick (Roddick). The case discusses how since its inception, Body Shop had endorsed and championed various social issues such as opposition to animal testing, development of community trade, building of self-esteem, campaigning for human rights, and protection of the planet. Through these initiatives, the company had cultivated a loyal base of customers. The case goes on to discuss the acquisition of Body Shop by the beauty care giant, L’Oréal SA (L’Oréal), and how its ethical image suffered after the takeover. Customers and activists felt betrayed by the deal as Roddick had previously been vocal in her criticism of companies like L’Oréal on account of their alleged unethical policies. According to Schwartz, after the death of Roddick in 2007, Body Shop’s fortunes reportedly took a sharp downturn and its ethical message faded.1 Moreover, with a host of new competitors making their way into the green cosmetics market, the sales of Body Shop plummeted.

In 2016, to reinvigorate the brand, position itself as a more ethical business, and reassert its position as a trailblazer of positive change, Body Shop unveiled its new global CSR campaign. The new commitment entitled ‘Enrich Not Exploit’ outlined 14 sustainable targets with a focus on people, products, and the planet, touching all areas of the business, to be delivered by 2020. The initiative was aimed at supporting Body Shop in its aim of becoming the world’s most ethical and sustainable global business. But will this help Body Shop regain its past glory?

AuthorsSyeda Maseeha Qumer & Debapratim Purkayastha
InstitutionsIBS Hyderabad, IFHE University, India
Competition Year2017
PlaceRunner Up
TrackCorporate Sustainability
Key WordsCSR, Socially Responsible Investing, Environmental Performance, Social Performance
CoursesSustainable Finance, Strategic Management, Finance, Business Sustainability, Business and Society, or Environmental Entrepreneurship
Target AudienceMBAs, Undergrads
Permission rightsThis case will be published at the Case Centre shortly. You find an inspection copy for download below.
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posted June 19, 2017

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Ten Thousand Villages in Crisis: Can the Fair Trade Pioneer Survive and Flourish in an Economic Downturn?

Abstract

This two-part case examines a major reorganization process which took place at Ten Thousand Villages Canada in 2013, as a response to severe challenges from the aftermath of the 2007-08 global financial crisis. Ten Thousand Villages is one of the oldest fair trade organizations in North America, whose history can be traced back to craft sales in 1946. The case was developed in close collaboration with managers and volunteers of Ten Thousand Villages Canada, as well as their producer partners in Kenya.

The Part A case provides an overview of Ten Thousand Villages (e.g., history, producer partnerships, operation in Canada) and the financial challenges faced by the organization in 2013. Part A facilitates the discussion of how the organization could be revived at the verge of bankruptcy, specifically from the perspective of a senior manager who must develop a plan to reach a break-even point within 12 months. The Part B case presents the actual decisions of the leadership team and what happened afterwards. By studying this case, students are expected to gain an in-depth understanding of real-life challenges faced by social enterprises and develop strategic decision-making capabilities for achieving financial sustainability at the same time as pursuing social mission.

AuthorsAnna Kim & Cécilia Renaud
InstitutionsHEC Montréal & CHUM, Canada
Competition Year2017
PlaceRunner Up
TrackSustainable Entrepreneurship
Key WordsCSR, Socially Responsible Investing, Environmental Performance, Social Performance
CoursesSustainable Finance, Strategic Management, Finance, Business Sustainability, Business and Society, or Environmental Entrepreneurship
Target AudienceMBAs, Undergrads
Permission rightsThis case will be published at the Case Centre shortly.
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posted June 19, 2017

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Bridge International Academies

Abstract

Bridge International Academy (Bridge), the world’s largest and fastest growing private school chain, is known for its radically innovative “Academy-in-a-Box” model, which is a scalable and easily replicable model that offers low cost unique solutions to the problem of quality education to children at the bottom of the pyramid. With the mission of providing ‘Knowledge for All’ Bridge has enrolled more than one hundred thousand students in Kenya and other developing countries. The unique model revolves around the developing of rigorous course content by expert teachers from around the world and the “Scripted Instruction Methodology” to ensure standardization of delivery in the classrooms. The model that delivers affordable education at about $6 a month needs to scale up and enroll half a million students to break even.

While May and Jay, the founders of Bridge, were well on course to achieve their goal of enrolling 10 million poor students by 2025, they faced resistance from teachers’ associations which felt that encouraging Bridge would lead to privatization and commercialization of education. The governments also brought in new legislations that seriously hampered its business model by increasing costs and stalling its scalability. May and Jay now have to take a decision on how to rework the existing model to overcome regulatory hurdles and opposition from educators in order to achieve their goal. The case has important decision points and ramifications for all social entrepreneurs who have built or are building a sustainable business model to offer quality primary education to the poorest of the poor.

AuthorsManish Agarwal and D. Satish
InstitutionIBS Hyderabad, IFHE University, India
Competition Year2017
PlaceThird Prize
TrackSustainable Entrepreneurship
Key WordsCSR, Socially Responsible Investing, Environmental Performance, Social Performance
CoursesSustainable Finance, Strategic Management, Finance, Business Sustainability, Business and Society, or Environmental Entrepreneurship
Target AudienceMBAs, Undergrads
Permission rightsThis case will be published at the Case Centre shortly. You find an inspection copy for download below.
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posted June 19, 2017

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Refugee Labor Market Integration – An Impact Investment Case Study

Abstract

The dislocation of millions of people in various conflict zones of the Middle East and Africa is one of the greatest humanitarian catastrophes of our time. Given the complexity of the issue, various ways of solving the associated challenges have been implemented; reaching from emergency camps in conflict zones to innovative integration services in host countries. With overloaded government processes and too little funding, it is of utmost importance to fund and scale up effective integration services. Successful integration depends to a large extent on promoting the required abilities to build a self- sustained life. As such, labor market integration of refugees becomes of crucial importance first and foremost for themselves, yet successful integration also bears major upsides for the broader society.

One example of a successful integration service is SchlaU Schule, located in Munich, Germany. By providing young refugees with an education that is acknowledged on the German labor market, young refugees can integrate faster and build self-sustained lives through the improved facilitation of labor market integration. Today, organizations like SchlaU Schule often lack funding to operationalize and scale up their services. Hence, identifying successful services that generate social impact and implementing smart ways to allocate funding to those organizations, while generating financial returns, are urgent issues to be solved.

Students tackling this case will work at the intersection of social impact and financial return. Students are encouraged to design an impact investment case targeting refugee labor market integration that not only creates social impact, but also financial return for investors. Thus, entrepreneurial thinking is combined with rigorous financial modelling to align both financial and social returns in a meaningful way. The goal of the case is to allow students to think entrepreneurially, conceptualize financially viable and socially meaningful solutions, and identify ways to implement these in the real world.

AuthorMarc Haßler
InstitutionMaastricht University School of Business and Economics, The Netherlands
Competition Year2017
PlaceThird Prize
TrackSustainable Finance
Key WordsCSR, Socially Responsible Investing, Environmental Performance, Social Performance
CoursesSustainable Finance, Strategic Management, Finance, Business Sustainability, Business and Society, or Environmental Entrepreneurship
Target AudienceMBAs, Undergraduates
Permission rightsThis case is part of the oikos free case collection. Download a free online copy below. If you are a faculty member and you are interested in teaching this case, you can request a free teaching note by sending us an email to freecase@oikos-international.org.
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posted June 19, 2017

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oikos LEAP Webinar “Thinking Innovation For Better Projects”

As part of the oikos LEAP Leadership Program, three inspirational Webinars are open to all oikos members.

We’re kicking of the season with this special Webinar on project design, design thinking and putting a good will into an even better project, captured under the name “Thinking Innovation for Better Projects”. Webinar Leader Daniel Hires has conducted numerous projects and grown businesses in the sustainability realm. T name a few, he co-founded MakeSense, an online matching-platform for social entrepreneurs, co-authored the book “Phase 0 – How to make some action” (http://www.phase0.org/), established the Silent Climate Parade and now works with the UN environmental program to connect the landscape of green entrepreneurs in the MENA region.

We are extremely happy to have him with us. Appreciate his great work by attending our LEAP webinar and bring questions along his way! To join the webinar, find the call details in the oikos Intranet Calendar or write to adrian.jagow@oikos-international.org. Time is 6pm (18:00) Central European Time.

Read more about Daniel Hires on his Website below.

green social business

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oikos International

posted November 23, 2016

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oikos Alumni Debates Online

Value Creation from Sustainability

The market environment is fundamentally changing in the face of immense global environmental and social challenges, and the need for sustainable business practices represents an important opportunity for businesses and organizations to seize. Integrating environmental and social values into core business activities is the crucial for lasting profit and growth. Please join us on September 27th at 7pm CEST online for a lively panel by oikos Alumni on the role of sustainability in creating long-term value and business resiliency. How can sustainability be developed and leveraged as a competitive advantage? How can environmentally and socially responsible practices make businesses more economically profitable and organizationally resilient moving into the future? We will discuss the role that consultancies play in helping organizations strategically adopt and embed sustainable practices to create long-term value and resilience.

Two panelists will lead the discussion on Sustainability Consulting for Value Creation.

  • Katharina Beck, Manager, Accenture Strategy Sustainability Services
  • Thomas Petruschke,  Managing Director, BSD Consulting

Greg Ives will moderate the panel.

More info here.

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oikos International

posted August 9, 2016

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Socially Responsible Investing: Data-Driven Decision Making

Abstract

Socially responsible investing (SRI) is an investment process that screens investment opportunities based on ethical, social, corporate governance, or environmental. SRI has been growing rapidly; total U.S.-domiciled SRI-managed assets increased from $3.74 trillion in 2012 to $6.57 trillion in 2014. The growth of SRI puts it in a position to encourage sustainability as such firms have better access to capital markets. Unfortunately, while financial performance indicators have become standardized, social and environmental performance ratings have not. As the prominence of SRI grows, so does the number of metrics available to evaluate corporate social performance: there were 21 ratings in 2000 and that number grew to 108 by 2012.

The complexity of environmental and social performance contributes to the proliferation of rating metrics. Different aspects of environmental performance might be important to different rating schemes. For instance, one rating could place emphasis on greenhouse gas emissions, while another rating could focus on water usage. The heterogeneity of such ratings creates a situation in which the results of an assessment of environmental performance can differ based on which criteria are used. This case examines this phenomenon.

This case examines 13 publicly traded chemical companies in order to understand the various measures and dimensions of corporate environmental performance. Students are presented with real-world data on corporate environmental performance (including pollutants released and third-party corporate social responsibility ratings) and asked to incorporate environmental and social performance into investing decisions available for download at http://www.environment.ucla.edu/ccep/sri. This case highlights the challenges of evaluating corporate environmental performance, including the positive correlation between environmental strengths and concerns.

AuthorsMagali A. Delmas and Jinghui Lim
InstitutionUniversity of California, US
Competition Year2016
PlaceThird Prize
TrackSustainable Finance
Key WordsCSR, Socially Responsible Investing, Environmental Performance, Social Performance
CoursesStrategic Management, Finance, Business Sustainability, Business and Society, or Environmental Entrepreneurship
Target AudienceMBAs, Undergraduates
Permission rightsThis case is part of the oikos free case collection. Download a free online copy below. If you are a faculty member and you are interested in teaching this case, you can request a free teaching note by sending us an email to freecase@oikos-international.org.
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posted June 27, 2016

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Polarstern Energy – Sustainable Change Led by Innovative Entrepreneurs

Abstract

In 2011 three young entrepreneurs, Jakob Assmann, Florian Henle and Simon Stadler, set out to revolutionize the energy market by offering a radical solution for customers to switch from non-renewable fossil fuels to renewable energies. Through their start-up Polarstern, they aimed to offer the first comprehensive sustainable energy package, derived from 100% renewable resources and at competitive price points to compete with the handful of large companies, which dominated this industry. The added global social dimension of their service provided a clear point of differentiation but communicating their innovative service to customers proved to be very challenging. The founders had to be entrepreneurial in their marketing approach to gain the trust of potential customers and to encourage their switching from their existing energy providers.

AuthorsJulia K. Binder
InstitutionTUM School of Management at Technical University of Munich, Germany
Competition Year2016
PlaceFirst Prize
TrackSocial Entrepreneurship
Key WordsSustainable entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, sustainable marketing, entrepreneurial marketing, energy industry
CoursesSustainable/ Social Entrepreneurship, Sustainable/ Social Marketing, Entrepreneurial Marketing, Business and Society, CSR
Target AudienceAdvanced undergraduate students, graduate students
Permission rightsThis case is part of the oikos free case collection. Download a free online copy below. If you are a faculty member and you are interested in teaching this case, you can request a free teaching note by sending us an email to freecase@oikos-international.org.
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posted June 27, 2016

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