Many sustainability initiatives focus on improving the sustainability of products and operations in legacy or adjacent markets or on achieving sustainability gains by exploring new markets with a more diverse set of products. This is a variation on the classic "where to play/how to win" strategy familiar to most executives. Fewer leaders, however, are exploring an important new frontier in sustainability, in which brands actively partner with customers to achieve ongoing impact. This article describes a practical framework for creating sustainability strategies that take into account both dimensions--markets and customer engagement. The model lays out the four key ways that legacy companies can nurture growth in their sustainability efforts.

Schneider Electric is a multinational company providing energy management and automation. The case briefly outlines the company's history and describes the progressive integration of sustainability efforts into its overall strategy. This 20-year journey culminates in 2021 when Corporate Knights ranked Schneider Electric No. 1 worldwide for its sustainability performance. The protagonist, Gilles Vermot Desroches, who spearheaded the effort, looks back at how this remarkable achievement came about and how he is now confronted with the difficult task of imagining the company's next steps.

Set in 2008, the A case portrays the first 134 years of Aikon, a US multinational based in Minnesota. It is presented to participants as the baseline case, and they are told that the B and C cases (which will cover the next 14 years) will be handed out in class. The case depicts the rich history of the company, which succeeded in reinventing itself several times. Aikon progressively emerged as a key player in the ice-making industry before becoming a producer of household appliances, such as refrigerators, and then transforming itself into a major player in the medical device market (e.g., pacemakers). In 2007 the company had a record year in terms of both sales and profit, and the CEO is now considering what steps should be taken to ensure continued growth. In reality, there is no B or C case. The A case is a disguised version of the growth history of Company X, up to its final record year in 2007. When participants study the growth of Company X, they already know what has happened. It is then easy to blame Company's X's top team for a lack of foresight and strategic vision - "How could they not have ...?" Clearly, it is a great example of hindsight bias. However, the situation looked very different from the perspective of Company X's CEO in 2008. The key questions are: Were there already warning signs of the company's demise, any weak - or not-so-weak - signals? And, perhaps most importantly: What does it say about participants' own situations? Could their company be the next Company X? (The identity of Company X is revealed in the teaching note.

Why are so few organizations selling beneficial products at the base of the pyramid (BoP) successful? This is not simply a story of companies failing, and it is one with a dramatic consequence as low-income people do not benefit from products that can improve their way of life. Instead, they continue to drink unsafe water, cook on stoves that emit fumes that kill over 1 million people per year, light their homes with dangerous kerosene lamps, and fall ill from a mosquito bite. Based on a multiyear field research program conducted in 25 countries, we argue that having a specific mindset about BoP customers is consequential to an organization's success. Many organizations start with the assumption that BoP customers lack money, knowledge, and jobs. By contrast, successful organizations start from the assumption that customers can and will pay if they are provided with a satisfactory solution to their needs and are reassured about the level of risk involved. We detail the different practices that follow from this mindset change in the areas of value proposition, communication, and distribution and show how these practices can make or break the organization's financial sustainability.

Organizational transactions are handled along a continuum of the firm's customer relationships, ranging from relational and friendly to more adversarial and us-versus-them in demeanor. For top customers, the approach is almost always close and relational. In this article, we question this view and suggest that there is benefit from conditioning the firm's relationship development efforts on an understanding of the true value to be gained from partnering and increased closeness. We provide a framework with which managers can diagnose their current portfolio of relationships with key customers or suppliers and offer suggestions for action. We provide an empirical illustration of the typical distribution of responses among five regions of the framework and discuss its implications.

Almost 120 million people in the European Union are classified as at risk of poverty or social exclusion. Although many companies offer low-cost products and services, they have largely ignored the needs of these consumers. In this article the founder of Grameen Bank and his coauthors describe how five leading companies, working through the not-for-profit Action Tank, have developed "social business" models to serve the bottom of the pyramid in France. Those companies include Danone, which works with the French Red Cross to provide low-income parents with affordable and nutritious food for children aged six months to 24 months; Essilor, which provides easily affordable reading glasses to poor pensioners; and Renault, whose project Mobiliz aims to resolve transportation issues for poor people. In rural areas without public transportation, that involves a network of "solidarity garages" that repair damaged or broken cars at a nominal cost. A social business has three characteristics: It seeks to alleviate social problems; it must be run sustainably; and any profits must be reinvested in the company rather than funneled back to shareholders. Unlike a low-cost business, a social business determines up front who will be eligible for its offer and strives to maintain high quality in its product or service. The spillover effects of creating one may in the long run be as commercially valuable as the profits of a low-cost business. Those effects include uncovering opportunities for innovation in new markets, motivating employees, and enhancing the company's reputation.

Our annual survey of ideas and trends that will make an impact on business: Duncan J. Watts contends that ordinary people, not "influentials," drive social epidemics. Yoshito Hori predicts that Japan's young entrepreneurs could outshine those in China and India. Frederic Dalsace, Coralie Damay, and David Dubois propose brands that--like Harry Potter--mature with their customers. Michael Schrage reveals the hidden value in long-forgotten equations. Harry Hutson and Barbara Perry put hope back in the executive repertoire. Eric von Hippel spotlights Denmark, where "user-centered innovation" is a national priority. Linda Stone detects a backlash against cell-phone and BlackBerry addiction. Michael C. Mankins suggests where to put all that excess cash. Ap Dijksterhuis reaffirms the value of sleeping on a decision. Robert G. Eccles, Liv Watson, and Mike Willis report on a new software standard that will make business and financial information dramatically easier to generate, aggregate, and analyze. Geoffrey B. West challenges the conventional wisdom that smaller innovation functions are more inventive. Karen Fraser warns of apparently loyal customers who are poised to bolt for ethical reasons. Phillip Longman predicts the return of large patriarchal families and their effects on marketing strategy. Rashi Glazer illustrates the sociocultural and business implications of nanotechnology. Yoko Ishikura urges global firms to "think locally." Klaus Kleinfeld and Erich Reinhardt explore the convergence of imaging technology and biotech and its enormous benefits for medical care. Christopher Meyer advises focusing on what you want from your network before you build the platform. Charles R. Morris asserts that health care costs are falling; it's spending that's on the rise. Clay Shirky shows why open source projects succeed by failing. David Weinberger claims that accountability has morphed into superstitious "accountabalism."