Designing a Sustainable Business Strategy for a Real-World Company Objective:
Students will research, evaluate, and propose a sustainable business strategy for an existing company. The focus will be on how the company can improve or implement sustainable practices that balance environmental, social, and economic factors.
Instructions:
1. Company Selection:
Each student should choose an existing company (preferably in industries like manufacturing, technology, fashion, or food) that they believe could benefit from sustainable practices.
They should conduct an in-depth analysis of the company’s current operations, focusing on areas like supply chain, energy use, product lifecycle, waste management, and corporate social responsibility (CSR).
2. Research Components:
Current Sustainability Efforts: Analyze what the company is currently doing in terms of sustainability. Are they certified by any environmental standards (e.g., ISO 14001, LEED)? Do they publish annual sustainability reports?
Challenges: Identify key challenges the company faces in becoming more sustainable. These could include financial constraints, consumer demand, regulatory pressures, or technological limitations.
3. Proposed Sustainable Strategy:
Based on the research, students should propose a comprehensive sustainability strategy for the company. This could involve:
Sustainable sourcing: Suggest improvements in the company’s supply chain.
Energy Efficiency: Recommend methods to reduce energy consumption or switch to renewable energy sources.
Waste Reduction: Propose ways to minimize waste and promote circular economy principles.
Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR): Suggest ways the company can engage with communities and improve social sustainability.
4. Presentation of Findings:
You will give a 10-15 minute presentation to the class, discussing the proposed sustainability strategy.
Grading Criteria:
Depth of Research (25%): How thorough is the analysis of the company’s current sustainability practices and challenges?
Creativity of Solutions (25%): Are the proposed solutions innovative, feasible, and impactful?
Relevance to Industry (25%): Are the recommendations realistic and tailored to the specific industry?
Presentation Quality (25%): Clarity, organization, and delivery of both the report and the oral presentation.