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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.

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.

Smart grid companies such as Viridity Energy are finding profitable opportunities to help their customers cut energy bills and simultaneously get credit for greater environmental responsibility. But will consuming fewer dirty watts from fuel sources such as coal and natural gas be a sufficient objective for customers in the future? What will rising societal expectations, tougher environment regulations, and new distributed clean energy technologies mean for the ability of smart grid companies to engage new customers and differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded field?

This case explores the problems that Tetra Pak India faced in its ambitious goal of recycling post-consumer cartons (PCC) in India, and the approach that it adopted in overcoming obstacles. It provides a deep understanding of PCC recycling and Tetra Pak's broad program of incorporating social, environmental, health, and ethical issues in its day-to-day operations. Evident in the case are Tetra Pak India's efforts to meet environmental objectives and the seemingly insurmountable challenges in India that appeared to prevent it from attaining its goals. The case offers students an opportunity for an intellectually stimulating discussion on whether or not, and how, Tetra Pak India overcame problems to succeed in its PCC recycling initiative. Students will be able to understand the importance of the partnerships and alliances that Tetra Pak forged with non-governmental organizations, scrap dealers, rag-pickers, commercial establishments, and organizations that championed the cause of the environment. With ever-changing mindsets, increasing regulations, and growing customer expectations in India, Tetra Pak would have to be on its toes to ensure that its success from the PCC recycling initiative could be sustained and scaled up in the future. The case explores how Tetra Pak India could face the challenges of the future.

Smart grid companies such as Viridity Energy are finding profitable opportunities to help their customers cut energy bills and simultaneously get credit for greater environmental responsibility. But will consuming fewer "dirty" watts from fuel sources such as coal and natural gas be a sufficient objective for customers in the future? What will rising societal expectations, tougher environment regulations, and new distributed clean energy technologies mean for the ability of smart grid companies to engage new customers and differentiate themselves in an increasingly crowded field?

This case explores the problems that Tetra Pak India faced in its ambitious goal of recycling post-consumer cartons (PCC) in India, and the approach that it adopted in overcoming obstacles. It provides a deep understanding of PCC recycling and Tetra Pak’s broad program of incorporating social, environmental, health, and ethical issues in its day-to-day operations. Evident in the case are Tetra Pak India’s efforts to meet environmental objectives and the seemingly insurmountable challenges in India that appeared to prevent it from attaining its goals. <br><br>The case offers students an opportunity for an intellectually stimulating discussion on whether or not, and how, Tetra Pak India overcame problems to succeed in its PCC recycling initiative. Students will be able to understand the importance of the partnerships and alliances that Tetra Pak forged with non-governmental organizations, scrap dealers, rag-pickers, commercial establishments, and organizations that championed the cause of the environment. With ever-changing mindsets, increasing regulations, and growing customer expectations in India, Tetra Pak would have to be on its toes to ensure that its success from the PCC recycling initiative could be sustained and scaled up in the future. The case explores how Tetra Pak India could face the challenges of the future.

Clarke, a mosquito abatement company seen as having a core business that is environmentally harmful by its very nature — selling pesticides — faces unique challenges in its transformation into a sustainable enterprise. Should it shift its focus entirely towards offering “green” pesticides and risk losing some of its customers, or should it keep offering its less expensive, more toxic products? This case shows how even when innovation leads to new green products, processes, technologies, and business models, the leadership of a company must cope with the daunting task of engaging employees and customers in the idea that green can be effective and profitable.

Companies in every industry are attempting to reduce their use of chemicals, particularly synthetic organic compounds, where there is a perception of harm to human health or the environment. The industrial and commercial floor-cleaning equipment industry is no different, with many equipment manufacturers seeking to reduce their use of harsh cleaning chemicals such as petroleum solvents. But with every competitor pursuing similar greening efforts in a mature market, companies find it difficult to differentiate their offerings to customers. <br><br>Tennant Company chose to differentiate itself through a technology-driven business strategy based on chemical-free cleaning. Instead of reducing the use of harsh cleaning chemicals, or reducing the harshness of those chemicals, Tennant offered its customers a cleaning solution that used ionized tap water to clean and disinfect surfaces, thereby eliminating harsh chemicals altogether. The benefits to customers were numerous, including lower total cost of ownership and improved health and safety, while maintaining cleaning performance relative to conventional chemical-based products. This case helps to illustrate the challenge of profitably going beyond incremental “greening” efforts (aimed at doing less harm) — could a significant innovation in environmental performance be the central argument for the company’s value proposition?

Companies in every industry are attempting to reduce their use of chemicals, particularly synthetic organic compounds, where there is a perception of harm to human health or the environment. The industrial and commercial floor-cleaning equipment industry is no different, with many equipment manufacturers seeking to reduce their use of harsh cleaning chemicals such as petroleum solvents. But with every competitor pursuing similar greening efforts in a mature market, companies find it difficult to differentiate their offers to customers. Tennant Company chose to differentiate itself through a technology-driven business strategy based on chemical-free cleaning. Instead of reducing the use of harsh cleaning chemicals, or reducing the harshness of those chemicals, Tennant offered its customers a cleaning solution that used ionized tap water to clean and disinfect surfaces, thereby eliminating harsh chemicals altogether. The benefits to customers were numerous, including lower total cost of ownership and improved health and safety, while maintaining cleaning performance relative to conventional chemical-based products. This case helps to illustrate the challenge of profitably going beyond incremental "greening" efforts (aimed at doing less harm) to offer a disruptive step-change in environmental performance as the central argument for the company's value proposition.

A company seen as having a core business that is environmentally harmful by its very nature - in this case selling pesticides - faces unique challenges in its transformation to a sustainable enterprise. Even when innovation leads to new green products, processes, technologies and business models, the leadership of the company must cope with the daunting task of engaging employees and customers in the idea that green can be effective and profitable.