Operations

Take a look at operations-related case studies from the Fowler Center for Business as an Agent of World Benefit at Case Western Reserve University.

  • Novo Nordisk A/S – Integrating Sustainability into Business Practice

    Company: Novo Nordisk

    Publisher: ECCH, EABS

    Call Number: N/A

    Year Published: 2008

    Novo Nordisk is an excellent example of an organization that attempts to consider sustainability as an integrated part of its strategy and in all of its business decisions. To meet this goal, the company has adopted a management philosophy which they call the ‘Novo Nordisk Way of Management’ to ensure all actions taken by employees meet corporate objectives. However, it is not certain to what extent this is effective in influencing behavior at the operational level.

    What is the dilemma or tough decisions?

    Will the Novo Nordisk Way of Management be successful at the operational level?

    Website where case study can be found

    https://www.thecasecentre.org/products/view?id=87866

  • Molten Metal Technology (A)

    Company: Molten Metal Technology

    Publisher: Boston University

    Call Number: 99-03A

    Year Published: 1999

    Just six years after its founding in 1989, Molten Metal Technology Inc. (MMT) was on the verge of huge successes. The company had successfully developed an exciting new technology, catalytic extraction processing (CEP) that would not only break down hazardous and radioactive wastes into benign forms but also recycle them back into marketable products. This new technology had great potential but the growth strategy was critical.

    What is the dilemma or tough decisions?

    How can a small start up company go about commercializing a revolutionary technology?

    Website where case study can be found

    https://acquia-prd.case.edu/fowler/sites/case.edu.fowler/files/2022-08/Molten%2…

  • Sustainability at Millipore

    Company: Millipore

    Publisher: Harvard

    Call Number: 9-610-012

    Year Published: 2009

    This case describes Millipore Corporation's approach to becoming a more environmentally sustainable company. The Director of Sustainability needed to recommend whether the company should purchase carbon offsets to help meet its aggressive greenhouse gas reduction targets, and whether to continue publicly reporting its greenhouse gas emissions and strategies despite recent problems. On a more strategic level, he needed to recommend how to take the company's Sustainability Initiative to the next level and consider whether changes were needed to its organizational structure.

    What is the dilemma or tough decisions?

    How to develop a more systematic approach to prioritizing investments in various projects being proposed to improve environmental performance?

    Website where case study can be found

    http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=1051151&R=610012-PDF-EN…

  • Manila Water Company

    Company: Manila Water Co.

    Publisher: Harvard

    Call Number: 9-508-004

    Year Published: 2007

    In 1997, the Philippines government privatized its water utility in the metropolitan Manila area. The East Zone concession was won by Manila Water Company and the West Zone concession by Maynilad Water Services. Over the next decade, Manila Water turned in an impressive and profitable performance, while Maynilad failed.

    What is the dilemma or tough decisions?

    The opportunity to own the West concession.

    Website where case study can be found

    http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/search/manila%2520water%2520company?Ntk=HEMainSea…

  • Kimpton Hotels: Balancing Strategy and Environmental Sustainability

    Company: Kimpton Hotels

    Publisher: Oikos

    Call Number: N/A

    Year Published: 2006

    Michael Pace faced a dilemma. He was determined to help the boutique hotel chain "walk the talk" regarding its commitment to environmental responsibility, but he also had agreed not to introduce any new products or processes that would be more expensive than those they replaced. Now that the first phase of the program had been implemented nationwide, he and the company's team of "eco-champions" were facing some difficult challenges with the rollout of the second, more ambitious, phase.

    What is the dilemma or tough decisions?

    Products considered for phase 2 of operations would require additional budget to mark total transition to an environment friendly hotel.

    Website where case study can be found

    https://oikos-international.org/publications/kimpton-hotels/

  • Interface’s Evergreen Services Agreement

    Company: Interface, Inc.

    Publisher: Harvard

    Call Number: 9-603-112

    Year Published: 2003

    In an attempt to reduce its ecological footprint, Interface Americas, a leading manufacturer of commercial carpet tile, has launched the Evergreen Services Agreement (ESA)--a lease agreement that provides would-be carpet purchasers with comprehensive floor-covering services (color, texture, warmth, beauty, acoustics, and safety). Under ESA, Interface retains ownership of all carpet material, thereby ensuring proper recycling. Despite active media attention and a lot of interested calls from potential buyers, Interface is having difficulty selling ESA. CEO Dan Hendrix is at a crossroad and must decide whether to continue support for ESA or to focus on other initiatives.

    What is the dilemma or tough decisions?

    How can the ESA program be successful at getting people to lease carpet rather than buy it so as to ensure its proper recycling?

    Website where case study can be found

    http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=36775&R=603112-PDF-ENG&…

  • Environmental Product Differentiation by the Hayward Lumber Company

    Company: Hayward Lumber Company

    Publisher: Stanford

    Call Number: OIT-38

    Year Published: 2003

    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.

    What is the dilemma or tough decisions?

    What should HLC do about potential sustainable investment opportunities?

    Website where case study can be found

    https://oikos-international.org/cases/hayward-lumber-company/

  • Revolution of the rubber recycling business

    Company: Green Rubber

    Publisher: ACRC

    Call Number: N/A

    Year Published: 2009

    Dedicated to offering high-tech solutions for environmental and social problems, a privately-owned Malaysian conglomerate, Petra Group, aimed to innovate the recycling of rubber waste. Since the 1990s, the group had tried to transform rubber waste using its patented DeLink technology to produce reusable rubber, which it branded as Green Rubber. Despite failing to make a sound industrial impact with the technology in the mid-1990s, the company wanted to reintroduce the eco-friendly solution in the new millennium.

    What is the dilemma or tough decisions?

    How could GRG run a business successfully by also aiming at sustainable environment and social progress?

    Website where case study can be found

    http://cb.hbsp.harvard.edu/cb/web/product_detail.seam?E=1276171&R=HKU835-PDF-EN…

  • GOJO Industries: Aiming for Global Sustainability Leadership

    Company: GOJO Industries

    Publisher: Ivey

    Call Number: 9B13M108

    Year Published: 2013

    GOJO Industries, a U.S.-based hand hygiene company, plans to use sustainability as a business strategy in its big hairy audacious goal of reaching one billion people every day by 2020. It uses a six level framework to embed sustainability in every aspect of its business internally and externally. The company has a long history of using sustainability to drive innovation and facilitate expansion into new markets and sees sustainability as a key differentiator from its competitors to achieve its goal. In order to so, the company must also consider the importance of employee engagement in order to further embed sustainability and increase the number of people it reaches with its products.

    What is the dilemma or tough decisions?

    For a company pursuing sustainability leadership with a visionary BHAG, how might it engage employees more deeply in the pursuit of such outcomes in ways that are both good for society and the environment and good for customers and the business? What would make it possible for every employee to be even more inspired and authentically engaged in the kind of creativity and innovation that will be needed for the company to achieve its goals?

    Website where case study can be found

    https://www.iveypublishing.ca/s/product/gojo-industries-aiming-for-global-susta…

  • Ford Motor Company: New Shades of Green Through Soy Foam

    Company: Ford Motor Company

    Publisher: Ivey

    Call Number: 9B13M109

    Year Published: 2013

    Ford Motor Co. develops and commercializes a green technology that replaces a traditional and scarce resource with an abundant bio-material. The pilot project becomes hugely successful, and, within the company, the idea of expanding the use of bio-material gains considerable momentum, but implementation and customer acceptance prove to be a challenge. Two members from the company’s research and engineering division work together to overcome these obstacles and move the company toward a vision of sustainability that involves more than just fuel economy and cost reduction.

    What is the dilemma or tough decisions?

    What are the challenges faced by internal change agents of sustainability projects in their efforts to initiate and grow these projects throughout a large organization? How should these change agents manage the nuances of implementation once the advantages and disadvantages of such a “green” innovation have been determined? Website where case study can be found:

    Website where case study can be found

    https://www.iveypublishing.ca/s/product/ford-motor-company-new-shades-of-green-…