<p align="justify">In 2019, Loblaw Companies Limited, a Canadian grocery chain headquartered in Brampton, Ontario, was mired in controversy over the “ethnic food aisle,” which was a common feature in all its stores. The company was questioned about the aisle’s role in creating a sense of otherness and divisiveness among the culturally diverse individuals it served. These issues related to discussions sparked by the Black Lives Matter movement alongside the emergence of COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, during which broad social inequality and COVID-19’s disproportionate impact on frontline employees became spotlighted in new ways.<br><br>Loblaw Companies Limited had to decide if it should remove its “ethnic food aisle.” It also had to consider the purpose of its acquired stores that were entirely dedicated to ethnic offerings, such as T&T Supermarket, which specifically offered products and a shopping experience tailored to Asian tastes. The company had several questions to resolve. Did its current corporate strategy reflect evolving expectations of equity, diversity, and inclusion? What actions should the company take with regard to its popular “ethnic food aisle?” Should it continue to expand by acquiring additional ethnic grocery store chains? Was Loblaw Companies Limited doing enough to support equity, diversity, and inclusion in the organization?</p>
In 2016, Peter Keith and his cofounders started Meuwly’s Ltd. (Meuwly's) as a subscription food-box service, and in 2018, they established a physical presence in one of the liveliest locations in downtown Edmonton, Alberta. The expansion diversified the company’s revenue streams, including retail, wholesale, special events, and subscription sales. The company strove to be sustainable, but faced a number of challenges. First, customers valued the sustainable, “eat-local” ethos of Meuwly’s locally sourced products but not its single-use product packaging, which failed to reflect the company's sustainability goals; Meuwly’s experimented with alternatives, but these compromised the product quality customers expected. Second, the company’s commitment to paying employees above minimum wage affected its profit margins and financial resources and constrained its availability to pursue sustainability initiatives. Third, misleading industry marketing pervaded the delicatessen market, compromising growth and pricing strategies. Finally, the local delicatessen market was saturated and very competitive. In November 2019, Keith faced important questions regarding the future direction of the company’s sustainability strategy: how could he design an appropriate stage-two sustainability strategy for Meuwly’s while retaining the company’s loyal customer base?
In late 2017, the co-owners of Rocky Mountain Soap Company in Canmore, Alberta, faced an important challenge. Their company produced and retailed toxin-free, 100 per cent natural bath and body products, and they wanted the product packaging to reflect their company’s commitment to sustainability. To meet the challenge of identifying and implementing sustainable packaging solutions, the co-owners needed to address intensifying competition, make good use of their limited ability to conduct research and development, and manage their customers’ expectations. How could the co-owners develop a packaging solution that aligned with the company’s brand focus of “100 per cent natural”? How could they find the support they needed to move the company forward?
In 2010, EPCOR Utility Inc.’s application to implement new metering technologies was denied by the Alberta Utilities Commission. By 2014, however, several key changes had taken place in regulations and in the cost of smart meters. With another application to the Alberta Utilities Commission due in just four months, the director at EPCOR Utility Inc. was contemplating several options, all of which involved carefully considering the interests of many different stakeholders and the development of a thorough and thoughtful implementation plan.
In November 2016, the co-founders of Poppy Barley Inc. (Poppy Barley) had just finished discussing the company’s fiscal projections and sustainability goals for the upcoming 2017 year. Poppy Barley, a made-to-measure footwear retailer in Edmonton, Alberta, had grown rapidly. The co-founders, who were sisters, wanted to further both their product line and their commitments to corporate sustainability. Would becoming certified as a sustainable business publicize their commitments and values, and improve their triple bottom line? If so, which certification should they choose? On the other hand, given the company’s growth stage, would directing finite resources toward certification detract from other important business areas?
The owner and operator of two stores that sold organic groceries and fair-trade goods in Edmonton, Alberta was proud of what he had built; however he was worried about the financial sustainability of his downtown location. Since its opening in 2014, the downtown store had constantly struggled to remain profitable in the face of extremely high overhead costs. The original Whyte Avenue location of Earth’s General Store, highly popular with its loyal patrons, had been subsidizing the downtown store just to keep its doors open. This practice was certainly not a long-term solution, and in early 2016, the owner needed to create a new business strategy that would balance his company’s financial needs with its social and environmental missions.
In 2010, three friends created Fruits of Sherbrooke as a way to rescue local fruit that would otherwise be wasted. The founders knew their efforts would be beneficial for the environment and for people in need of food. In February 2016, having grown their business into a successful social enterprise entirely through the help of volunteers, they faced important decisions. Realistically, they would not always be able to run the organization, which meant facing issues of succession. Additionally, they needed to decide how to balance growth strategies with their commitment to the social good. Should the organization focus on maximizing profitability or should decisions for growth be based only on providing the greatest benefit possible to the community and environment?
The Poultry Research Centre at the University of Alberta farm was an internationally recognized research, development, and learning hub. It began the Rare Poultry Conservancy Program in 1986 as a way to maintain heritage chicken breeds. In 2009/10, as a result of the global financial crisis, university funding was reduced, and every campus department needed to cut programs or find creative ways to finance them outside of the traditional methods. By 2014, the funding cuts posed a grave concern for the continuation of the heritage chicken program. Annual costs of CA$75,000 were required to maintain the flocks with very limited financial return. However, a leader at the Poultry Research Centre felt that the birds were important enough to develop a model where they could pay for themselves.
<p style="color: rgb(197, 183, 131);"><strong> AWARD WINNER - Urban Transition Challenges Award, European Foundation for Management Development (EFMD) Case Writing Competition</strong></p><br>In 1995, many of the flights at Edmonton City Centre Airport (ECCA) were being diverted to Edmonton International Airport. By 2008, ECCA’s two runways required an estimated CA$10 million in capital upgrades and CA$35 million in additional maintenance costs over the next 10 years. In light of these facts, in November 2011, Edmonton’s city council had begun to consider whether maintaining ECCA was feasible or if other alternatives would put the land to better use. The options available included the following: 1) maintain ECCA and the status quo by completing the repairs, 2) sell the property to a real estate developer and generate immediate revenue for other city projects, or 3) close ECCA and have the city redevelop the land for a community project. City councilors needed to find a clear and sustainable solution to the challenges presented by ECCA.
On July 19, 2013, the documentary Blackfish was released. The movie claimed to have uncovered a series of animal abuses at SeaWorld and alluded to the negative impact of captivity on orcas, known as killer whales, which had resulted in the harm and even death of whale trainers. Whether real or alleged, such negative publicity threatened to affect the company’s image, stock prices, profits, and many of the company’s corporate relations. SeaWorld now faced several options in terms of responding to the movie release: ignore it, respond to it, or use it as an opportunity to completely rebrand. Which option would be the best for the company in the long run?
In 2014, Transcend Coffee—an independent coffee shop and coffee bean roaster with several locations in Edmonton, Alberta—was selling premium coffee to a loyal base of customers. While it had taken several years to establish its presence in a marketplace that was filled with coffee retailers, Transcend Coffee's success was in part due to its direct trade supply chain strategy. By working closely with its coffee bean farmers, Transcend Coffee was able to assist in improving both the growing process of the beans and the quality of the coffee. When one of its farmers experienced a disastrous coffee bean season, the company was faced with several challenges that could have an impact on not just its profits but also the livelihood of its farmers. With demand for its coffee at an all-time high, Transcend Coffee had to consider how to mitigate a supply shortage without sacrificing quality. The founder was unsure if the current supply chain could guarantee a steady supply of high-quality coffee, or whether he could maintain transparency with consumers and suppliers if there was variability with the product. He had to quickly decide what to do about the poor harvest and his relationship with the supplier and also figure out how to meet customer demand.