Sponsored Projects

Tandus is the profitability leader in the floorcoverings industry. It is a privately held entity comprised of three branded businesses — Monterey, C&A and Crossley —that design, manufacture, and market modular tile, six-foot structured back, and tufted and woven broadloom. The company has been a consistent leader in addressing the social and environmental issues of the floorcoverings industry. Tandus’ “Infinity Initiative” was the industry’s first closed-loop recycling program. The company was able to convert old carpet into new carpet instead of simply diverting old carpet into secondary products as competitors did. The company’s FLOORE program mined buildings in the industry’s first and only carpet buy-back program. In 2004, Tandus introduced ethos™, a non-chlorinated, high-performance backing for commercial carpet that provided all of the durability attributes of PVC. ethos™ was a next-generation floorcovering product made from an abundant waste source — the polyvinyl butyral (PVB) film found in automotive windshields. ethos™ was the first commercial use for PVB which accounts for millions of pounds of landfill waste every year in the US.

Project: The SGE Immersion team evaluated the supply chain for PVB, the key polymer input of a new technological process that produced ethos™. The product — a post-consumer and post-industrial, closed loop product — was the first of its kind in the industry. The ability to improve the business model around ethos™ was seen as critical for enabling Tandus to build clear, competitive advantage on the technology which relied on a stable supply of PVB.

Suncor Energy Inc. is an integrated energy company. Located near Fort McMurray, Alberta in Canada, Suncor extracts and upgrades oil sands into high-quality refinery feedstock and diesel fuel. In Western Canada, Suncor explores for, develops, and produces natural gas. In Ontario, Suncor refines crude oil and markets a range of petroleum and petrochemical products, primarily under the Sunoco brand. In Colorado, Suncor’s downstream assets include a Commerce City-based refinery, crude oil pipeline systems, and a network of retail stations branded as Phillips 66. By the end of 2007, Suncor planned to have four wind power projects in operation with a total capacity of 147 megawatts of renewable energy as an alternative to hydrocarbon-fueled generation. Suncor also operates an ethanol plant in the Sarnia-Lambton region of Ontario.

Project: Suncor had attempted to value the use of environmental resources in project planning, but the valuation results had been uneven. The “price” of resources (H2O, CO2, SO2, land use, etc.) either swamped the NPV calculation or it barely registered in the 1st decimal place. Suncor had developed one “cost” model which could be used outside of the capital planning/NPV calculations. The SGE Immersion team evaluated the best models to use for the company’s capital investment decision-making process that could consider optimal use of financial capital against water conservation, land use & reclamation, air emission reduction and risk mitigation, reputational value, and stakeholder concerns.

Shell Hydrogen is a global business of the Shell Group with headquarters in The Hague, the Netherlands, and regional bases in Houston and Tokyo. Shell Hydrogen was set up in 1999 to pursue and develop business opportunities related to hydrogen and fuel cells. The goal of the business is to bring hydrogen into a retail setting. Shell already has a hydrogen platform of production nodes all over the world. Over 50 million tonnes are produced and consumed every year. Through existing and planned demonstration projects Shell Hydrogen is currently building up experience in connecting these production nodes with retail infrastructure; bringing hydrogen out of its industrial settings into the everyday lives of people, to places where consumers can access it as a fuel for their vehicles.

Project: This project focused on the identification of opportunities for the hydrogen supply industry and the automakers within the mobility value chain. Both industries need to define a healthy business model to be able to successfully migrate to a hydrogen world. The dilemma is as the chicken and egg problem: no vehicles without a hydrogen supply infrastructure, and no infrastructure without vehicles. Students examined options for cooperation, business model innovation, and analogies from other industries that could serve as salient examples of transformation and change.

Plebys, the initial external professional investor in WaterHealth International, is a venture development and management company that builds sustainable, technology-based enterprises that address the critical needs of underserved markets globally.

Project: The Plebys management team was planning to raise a new investment fund (Plebys II) that would invest in technology-based ventures targeting BOP markets. These technologies were expected to address significant problems in the target markets related to health (potable water, waste water and sanitation, medical grade water, agricultural water and micronutrients) and energy (micro utility power) with a remote services model. Raising a fund of approximately $100 million from Limited Partners (e.g., endowments, multi-national corporations, overseas development organizations, and other institutional investors) required the Plebys management team to address a number of key issues, one of which was the quality of potential deal flow for the fund. The SGE Immersion team undertook a systematic review of “shelf technology” available in university and MNC research organizations to build a shortlist that would be suitable investment candidates for the fund and also developed a template for screening potential technology acquisitions.

Herman Miller creates work environments through the design, manufacture and distribution of furnishings, interior products, and related services. Through problem-solving research and design, the company seeks to develop innovative solutions to real needs in working, healing, learning, and living environments. Net sales of $262,000 in 1923 grew to $25 million in 1970, the year the company went public; net sales in fiscal year 2006 were $1.74 billion.

Project: This project focused on helping the company better understanding whether it could truly generate competitive advantage by developing and bringing to market products that meet a specific design protocol. Students provided recommendations on how the company could continue to lead its industry utilizing sustainability as a strategic organizing framework.

Environmental Credit Corp. (ECC) is a leading supplier of high quality environmental credits for emerging global financial markets.

Project: Large institutions were increasingly purchasing carbon offsets or “green credits” as a way to reduce the environmental impacts of their energy use. With multiple options and new programs appearing almost weekly, it became extremely challenging to determine which system had the most impact per dollar, and which provided the most tangible, as well as intangible, benefits for participation. The SGE Immersion team analyzed and prioritized the various options available using Cornell as a proxy institution.

Dow Corning Corporation is the world’s largest producer of silicone and is comprised of three business units: Core Products, Specialty Chemicals and Advanced Technologies and Ventures (ATV).

Project: Global coal demand was expected to increase over the forthcoming decades. Power generation was the fastest growing sector for coal demand, reflected by rapid growth in electricity demand which was driven by economic development and population growth. This was largely driven by China and India which had significant reserves. The US also had significant reserves and the current administration was investing significant research and development into clean coal technology. Coal was less dependent on petrochemical imports and would meet the required growth in energy production as those countries pursued or sustained economic growth. Coal is a plentiful resource and is therefore the most economic fuel choice in many cases around the world. However, its use has raised environmental concerns, one of which is related to increasing carbon dioxide emissions or clean air. This has driven the need to identify potential options to mitigate global CO2 emissions. Clean Coal Technology had been positioned as a “cleaner” alternative for the production of power. The SGE Immersion team assessed the coal market to understand how clean coal technology was expected to impact this market from a global perspective. The assessment included a full market analysis, a competitive map for relevant products/services, and a situational analysis with identified gaps and opportunities.

Dow Corning Corporation is the world’s largest producer of silicone and is comprised of three business units: Core Products, Specialty Chemicals and Advanced Technologies and Ventures (ATV).

Project: The SGE Immersion team evaluated the strategic options available to Dow Corning in the area of sustainability and made recommendations to the company’s ATV business board. This included: an assessment of previous and current major corporate sustainability efforts, an evaluation of the business impact of the identified programs, a competitive assessment of both silicone and non-silicone competitors used to identify potential sustainable competitive advantage that could be achievable by adopting an appropriate sustainability program, and an analysis of how and why such a plan could deliver a competitive advantage for the Dow Corning brand.

Cherokee Investment Partners specializes in the acquisition, remediation and sustainable redevelopment of brownfields. Since 1990, the company has acquired more than 500 properties while protecting sellers, future owners and communities from the risks and liabilities associated with environmental impairment. Cherokee formed its third institutional fund in 2002, a dedicated brownfield fund comprising $620 million of equity, enabling it to purchase, clean up and redeploy contaminated real estate. Cherokee currently invests in properties throughout North America and Western Europe. In conjunction with placing capital and generating returns for investors, Cherokee provides solutions for sellers and the cities affected by their contaminated sites. Cherokee typically acquires assets for cash and indemnifies the seller from environmental liability through the use of insurance policies and other customized risk transfer methods. Portfolios can contain both clean and environmentally impaired properties; after acquisition, they remediate and reposition the properties for reuse. Cherokee accepts projects that traditional investors often reject and actively looks to transform communities where urban blight and environmental contamination impede economic growth and community redevelopment.

Project: This project focused on an analysis of strategies to capture operational cost savings resulting from sustainable design or green building. The project team was asked to identify strategies and suggest new, innovative strategies to transfer green building design benefits to the landlord or owner.

BP is one of the world’s largest energy companies, providing its customers with fuel for transportation, energy for heat and light, retail services and petrochemicals products for everyday items. BP has transformed: growing from a local oil company into a global energy group; employing over 96,000 people and operating in over 100 countries worldwide. Profits in 2005 were $19.3 billion on $262 billion in revenue.

Project: This project was focused on a proposal for a multi-stakeholder project to enhance BP’s business objectives and reputation by enabling sustainable villages, using for-profit business models wherever possible. Students examined BP’s role and distinctive contribution to the project within a global partnership that would focus on developing and delivering replicable sustainable villages in areas that would include housing, infrastructure, transport, educational models and food production.