Sponsored Projects

The World Bank is made up of two development institutions owned by 186 member countries: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). The IBRD aims to reduce poverty in middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries, while IDA focuses on the world’s poorest countries. The Bank’s work is complemented by that of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA) and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Together, these institutions provide low-interest loans, interest-free credits and grants to developing countries for a wide array of purposes that include investments in education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management.

Project: To assist the Bank in preparing a proposal for Japan Social Development Fund (JSDF) Financed Social Inclusion for Waste Pickers Seed Grant for the Philippines, the SGE Immersion team reviewed approaches for engaging the waste recycling industry; designed and executed data collection in Manila with wastepickers and private sector representatives; and assessed ideas and approaches for engagement of the private sector and waste pickers.

ToughStuff was a social enterprise that sold affordable solar-powered products to low income people, replacing expensive and environmentally damaging alternatives (kerosene lamps and batteries). The company was founded in 2008 and ceased operations in 2012.

Project: International demand for ToughStuff products was greatly exceeding ToughStuff’s global presence. While the company aspired to distribute products globally, distribution within BOP markets required in-depth local market knowledge. The SGE Immersion team evaluated whether and how ToughStuff could develop or adopt international franchising methods to deliver products outside core markets.

Established in 1944, The World Bank is made up of two development institutions owned by 186 member countries: the International Bank for Reconstruction and Development (IBRD) and the International Development Association (IDA). The IBRD aims to reduce poverty in middle-income and creditworthy poorer countries, while IDA focuses on the world’s poorest countries. The Bank’s work is complemented by that of the International Finance Corporation (IFC), Multilateral Investment Guarantee Agency (MIGA), and the International Centre for the Settlement of Investment Disputes (ICSID). Together, these institutions provide low-interest loans, interest-free credits, and grants to developing countries for a wide array of purposes that include: investments in education, health, public administration, infrastructure, financial and private sector development, agriculture, and environmental and natural resource management.

Project: The Bank was engaged in a proposal to work closely with the waste picking communities in the Philippines to (a) identify their challenges and needs as informal waste reclaimers in obtaining safe, secure, and lucrative livelihood, whether within the waste recycling arena or a cleaner, safer and more securely lucrative arena; (b) identify specific gender and unique challenges and needs; (c) develop bottom-up, locally appropriate actions that would lead to improvements in their lives and livelihoods and enable their optimal economic, safe, and secure social inclusion in integrated waste management; and (d) conduct this work in communication with the other activities on this issue in other countries, allowing opportunities to learn from each other and provide mutual knowledge/experience sharing that might enhance local solutions development. The SGE Immersion team evaluated approaches for engaging the waste recycling industry and the poor worldwide and in the Philippines for purposes of developing alternate livelihood opportunities for waste pickers displaced by landfill modernization efforts.

Beginning in 1886 as a parquet flooring company, SC Johnson has a reputation for consumer-driven innovation. The company produces a host of well-known consumer brands, including Shout, Windex, Ziploc, Glade, Vanish, Raid, OFF!, and Pledge sold in more than 70 countries. SCJ is one of the largest privately held companies in the world, doing more than $9 billion in sales.

Project: To date, the company has not created the metric which would allow for the corporate-level evaluation and management of its BoP and community (philanthropic) initiatives. The team for this project made recommendations on what that corporate level metric should be, and how it should be designed and implemented.

Ocean Spray is a 75-year-old North American agricultural cooperative comprised of about 600 cranberry growers and 50 Florida grapefruit growers. Cranberries are only one of three fruits native to North America. High in vitamin C and antioxidants, the cranberry has a long history of health benefits. Since 1981, the company has been the leading producer of canned and bottled juice drinks in North America. The company employs more than 2,000 worldwide, and 2008 sales for Ocean Spray were $1.9 billion. Based in Lakeville-Middleboro, MA, Ocean Spray also operates fruit receiving stations and processing and bottling plants throughout the United States and Canada.

Project: Ocean Spray wanted to identify strategic business opportunities that might exist for the company as it related to environmental sustainability. The SGE Immersion team analyzed sustainability-related business opportunities that could help drive profit growth for the company (e.g. product commercialization, sourcing, transportation, OS international, R&D, etc.) The team conceptualized opportunities and created a roadmap for integration of sustainability strategy into the company’s long-range growth plans.

Johnson & Johnson is the world’s premier consumer health company, the world’s largest and most diverse medical devices and diagnostics company, the world’s fourth-largest biologics company, and the world’s seventh-largest pharmaceuticals company.

Project: J&J was working to uncover opportunities for sustainable innovation while building a coherent, credible pathway to market for sustainable brands. The SGE Immersion team evaluated one of the company’s core business portfolios by benchmarking other company approaches and exploring new product innovation opportunities, including new products, new business models and new services related to an existing keystone brand.

Project: Intelligen wanted to scale their business of pre-packaged cogeneration. The SGE Immersion team evaluated the market to develop a business and marketing strategy that would allow Intelligen to grow. The strategy considered internal infrastructure needs, hiring priorities, potential targets for strategic acquisitions and alliances, and opportunities to streamline operations. The marketing strategy focused on how to improve market penetration through direct sales, engineering firms, project developers/energy service companies, and third party ownership, as well as a review of marketing tools (website, brochures, press etc.), pricing of goods and services, and the potential for strategic marketing partners.

The Grassroots Business Fund (GBF) supports high impact intermediaries that provide sustainable economic opportunities to thousands of people at the base of the economic pyramid.

Project: GBF was at a point where it needed to take stock of what it had accomplished and identify how to project these accomplishments effectively for fundraising and partnership development. The SGE Immersion team reviewed GBF’s successes and the ways that the organization was communicating them to key supporters in order to recommend a communication strategy for acquiring additional funding for future growth. The team evaluated the social enterprise landscape and how GBF fit within it so that GBF could effectively communicate its unique work and value.

GE is a global manufacturer of a wide range of products for the home and business, including Appliances, Consumer Electronics, Home Comfort and Safety, Lighting, Automotive, Aviation, Commercial, Energy, Healthcare, Retail, Security, and Transportation.

Project: GE’s strategy was to target the utility-scale PV market through the equipment sale of a 600+ KW inverter and next generation thin film solar modules. Analyst forecasts varied significantly on how PV was going to be deployed in the US over the next decade. GE did not have a differentiated product or business model to address the rooftop market. The SGE Immersion team evaluated how the Solar business could best position itself to build a profitable business in the US market.

American Governor Company (AGC) provides critical support and equipment to over 90% of the North American hydropower market.

Project: Although the majority of AGC’s sales were in North America, international markets indicated significant promise for expansion. The SGE Immersion team developed a business strategy for accelerated international expansion for AGC’s existing product lines (parts, field service, repair/refurbishment, training, digital governor upgrades).