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A leading Chinese energy firm, active in coal mining and electric power generation, analyzes coal-to-liquids technology in light of energy security and environmental concerns.

In 2012, Syngenta, one of the world's largest agricultural input company, committed to build a $1 billion business in Africa over the next 10 years. In mid-2014, CEO Michael Mack and Africa Venture Team head Dimitri Pauwels are reviewing progress. Was the company's committment to Africa still relevant and achievable?

The Dutch company HEINEKEN, one of the leading global brewers known for its brands like Heineken, Amstel, or Desperados and for its award-winning marketing campaigns, seeks to closely integrate its long-term sustainability "Brewing a Better World"-approach into its corporate strategy. HEINEKEN had set itself ambitious 2015 and 2020 sustainability targets in six pillar areas around Energy/CO2, Water, Sustainable Sourcing, Responsible Consumption, Community/Inclusive Growth, and Health & Safety. The case zooms in on HEINEKEN's efforts in the sustainable sourcing pillar, with its work on farming standards and supplier code as well as its support for local sourcing programs in the growing African market. HEINEKEN's management finds that marketing its achievements in these sustainability areas poses new challenges though. For example, its current "mass-balance" sourcing in which sustainable and traditional material got mixed in the supply chain did not allow for effective communication on a given bottle. But was this reason enough to try to move to "segregated" sourcing, if that was even reasonable?

Patagonia produces high-quality environmentally friendly garments that command significant price premiums. In Spring 2010, Patagonia rolled out a new, radical environmental initiative called "Product Lifecycle Initiative" (PLI), which was committed to lengthening the lifecycle of each product and reducing landfill waste. This case provides an update on Patagonia's PLI as well as on other company environmental and social commitments.

This case examines world fertilizer markets from the perspective of a large Norwegian producer. The global fertilizer industry is critical to food production and to food security, and hence is the object of numerous forms of government intervention. The case analyzes questions of business strategy within this politically charged economic environment.

The (A) case describes the launch of a new passenger vehicle in China, produced jointly by Nissan of Japan and by Chinese automaker Dongfeng. Early sales results following the April 2012 launch were disappointing and the joint venture's managers had to decide how to respond. The case includes information on the structure of the industry, on government regulation, and on the preferences of Chinese purchasers of automobiles, including information about environmental considerations. The short (B) case, designed for distribution in class, describes further complications, as an international dispute between the Japanese and Chinese governments created further uncertainties for Chinese consumers and hence for the carmakers. The (C) case concludes the story; it too can be distributed in class.

The (A) case describes the launch of a new passenger vehicle in China, produced jointly by Nissan of Japan and by Chinese automaker Dongfeng. Early sales results following the April 2012 launch were disappointing and the joint venture's managers had to decide how to respond. The case includes information on the structure of the industry, on government regulation, and on the preferences of Chinese purchasers of automobiles, including information about environmental considerations. The short (B) case, designed for distribution in class, describes further complications, as an international dispute between the Japanese and Chinese governmenbs created further uncertainties for Chinese consumers and hence for the carmakers. The (C) case concludes the story; it too can be distributed in class.

The (A) case describes the launch of a new passenger vehicle in China, produced jointly by Nissan of Japan and by Chinese automaker Dongfeng. Early sales results following the April 2012 launch were disappointing and the joint venture's managers had to decide how to respond. The case includes information on the structure of the industry, on government regulation, and on the preferences of Chinese purchasers of automobiles, including information about environmental considerations. The short (B) case, designed for distribution in class, describes further complications, as an international dispute between the Japanese and Chinese governments created further uncertainties for Chinese consumers and hence for the carmakers. The (C) case concludes the story; it too can be distributed in class.

From modest beginnings as a cashew trader in Nigeria, Olam, founded by Indian nationals in 1989, has grown into a leading global agricultural trading company, with annual revenues of $14 billion. The company recently has begun investing in farms and in the production of packaged goods, shifting from its traditional focus on the midstream of the value chain. The case raises questions involving competitive positioning, corporate strategy, sustainable development, and the management of business and political risk.

This case is about Colbun, Chile's second largest electricity generator, which is facing significant uncertainty regarding the cost and availability of alternative energy sources. Problems with the contracted supply of natural gas and the volatility of oil prices, coupled with pressure from collective activists, force Colbun to revise its business strategy and its sourcing mix. The case also deals with the pros and cons of various energy sources in view of their perceived environmental impact. The company's CEO, Bernardo Larrain Matte, has to take all these different considerations into account when planning Colbun's future, especially in the light of new opportunities and challenges posed by global climate change. The case analyzes the operations of Colbun to illustrate the complexities associated with conducting business under the influence of global energy markets, political uncertainty, and environmental activism.

Duke Energy, an American investor-owned electric utility, confronts multibillion dollar decisions about its future fuel mix. In particular, its leaders are considering building new nuclear capacity. Whether this is sensible depends, among other things, on demand growth, capital costs, fossil fuel prices, possible regulatory or other delays in constructing the reactors, and possible future restrictions on carbon dioxide. CEO Jim Rogers believes that nuclear power makes sense from a social standpoint but also must consider the perspectives of his ratepayers and his shareholders.

The case describes CME Group, the world's largest commodities exchange, futures and options on futures contracts, history, regulation, and the strategic choices the company faced. CME Group was formed from the oldest and most well-known exchanges in the world. Traders on the exchange bought and sold contracts in order to hedge risk or speculate on future price trends. In recent decades trading had undergone significant growth. From its roots in agricultural commodities, with trading typically occurring in face-to-face transactions in pits on exchange floors, CME introduced new hedging products in metals, energy, and finance, and electronic trading, which brought new market participants. Some of these new participants, such as pension funds, were significantly larger and had different strategic agendas than the traditional agricultural related participants. The case raises the question of whether increased speculation was helping or hurting the exchange or its participants. In addition, the financial crisis of 2007 and 2008 was driving new regulation in the industry which brought new challenges and opportunities to CME.

MME is a farmer-owned cooperative that produces ethanol from corn. The cooperative has performed well in comparison to other producers but margins in the industry had declined as industry production levels neared market demand limits. MME farmers needed to decide whether to take advantage of their success and expand through acquisitions, whether they should sell the plant, or whether they should continue current operations. MME must consider ongoing regulatory changes that impacted the industry, the possible impact of imported ethanol, the power of the petroleum industry which bought its product, and ongoing uncertainty about corn and ethanol price swings.

Patagonia was deeply committed to the environment. This commitment, at times, conflicted with the company's goal to create the most innovative products in its industry. Patagonia's founder and executives welcomed imitation of both its environmental commitment and its culture. The question remained whether Patagonia's model would work well for a wide range of companies. In 2003, Patagonia executives were considering which products and markets would fit best into their portfolio of product lines, which included alpine, skiing, snowboarding, fishing, paddling, rock climbing, surfing, kayaking, and mountain biking. There was a tradeoff between alienating its core customers and achieving growth via entry into new product markets.

Global climate change is an increasingly prominent political and business problem. Design of market-based systems to reduce carbon emissions has proven difficult. More broadly, national attempts to comply with the provisions of the Kyoto Protocol present both governments and firms with significant challenges. The design of international institutions that will be useful for managing change after the Kyoto period is a challenge both for Kyoto ratifiers and for countries like the United States that have not ratified the agreement. Creation of a post-Kyoto treaty on climate change requires agreement by China and the United States, the world's largest carbon emitters. The case summarizes the science and economics of climate change and encourages readers to contemplate the strategic and risk management problems that it presents to government officials and to business leaders in developed countries and in the developing world.

The Cosan case introduces students and executive education participants to political economy and business strategy in the biofuels industry. Cosan, based in Brazil, is the largest grower and processor of sugarcane in the world, and the largest sugar and ethanol producer in Brazil; it is also the world's largest exporter of ethanol for vehicle fuels. Rubens Ometto, Cosan's CEO, has staked out a leading position in the Brazilian ethanol and sugar industries by virtue of his efficiencies in agricultural production and in downstream logistics. He now needs to consider whether, and how aggressively, to expand abroad, either with production facilities or by exporting Brazilian output. He also needs to decide the appropriate vertical structure for the firm: whether he should be involved more extensively in agriculture, processing, distribution, or retail. The answers to these questions depend on his views of the future of the industry, and on the governmental institutions that will affect the distribution of value along the value chain.

This case is about Colbun, Chile's second largest electricity generator, which is facing significant uncertainty regarding the cost and availability of alternative energy sources. Problems with the contracted supply of natural gas and the volatility of oil prices, coupled with regulatory changes made by the government, force Colbun to revise its business strategy and its sourcing mix. New legislation will replace historically regulated electricity prices for certain customers with free market prices and therefore change the conditions under which the company must operate. The case also deals with the pros and cons of various energy sources in view of their perceived environmental impact. As the company's CEO, Bernardo Larrain Matte has to take all these different considerations into account when planning Colbun's future, especially in the light of new opportunities and challenges posed by global climate change. The case analyzes the Chilean electricity sector and the operations of Colbun to illustrate the complexities associated with conducting business under the influence of global energy markets, government regulations, and environmental activism.

Arcadia Biosciences is an entrepreneurial California agricultural biotech company seeking to earn carbon credits by modifying commodity crops for use in China and India. Eric Rey, Arcadia's CEO, faced a strategic inflection point in early September, 2008. The company had a plan to share carbon credits allocated by the United Nations Clean Development Mechanism Executive Board to China, for use of Arcadia's rice varieties, since they enabled farmers to reduce nitrogen fertilizer use, in turn lowering greenhouse gas emissions. But the company's proprietary traits for nitrogen use efficiency, salt tolerance, and water use efficiency also had more conventional paths to market based on licensing deals to large seed companies. Alternatively, Arcadia could acquire a seed company and develop and market its seed directly. A different near-term growth area involved commercializing enriched safflower oil which had undergone several proof of concept tests and for which Rey foresaw a clear market in nutritional supplements and functional foods. The case provides context on the company; describes advances in crops genetics focused to climate change and associated resource issues of fertilizer use, water use, and soil salinity; and poses strategic choices for a start-up company operating at the intersection of business, agriculture, and climate change.

In late 2008, Christoph Sutter, CEO of South Pole Carbon Asset Management, reflects on his firm's early success at originating carbon credits in developing nations, and selling them to governments and firms who seek to offset their greenhouse gas emissions voluntarily or to fulfill regulatory obligations. South Pole's early strategy has focused on being a first mover in the niche market for premium quality carbon credits. But as the market evolves in the face of significant policy uncertainty, Sutter wonders what South Pole's strategy should be for the future. This case study can facilitate discussions about environmental markets, about opportunities for entrepreneurship raised by new environmental regulations and about challenges in markets for tradable pollution permits.