Sponsored Projects

Founded in 2007, ArchPoint Group, is a privately held $200M global sourcing and distribution company in the United States consumer packaged goods (CPG) industry. With a primary focus in grocery retail, ArchPoint is one of the largest suppliers of private label (store brand) tableware products, including plates, cups, cutlery, and straws made of paper and plastic. With a robust portfolio of goods imported from 40 facilities across the globe, the company leverages a global manufacturing footprint for ultimate customer flexibility, cost management and risk mitigation.

Project: Sustainability is at the forefront of ArchPoint’s multi‐year business plan. Recognizing its products yield a high carbon emission level, the company’s plan is to draft the appropriate steps in 2022 to ensure the organization leads the industry for paper and plastic sustainability. By 2025, through transparency, performance, and cost competitiveness, the company wants to replace 20% of its current tabletop market share with sustainability sourced, produced, and distributed products. ArchPoint wants to attain a 100% “non‐greenwashed” initiative for these new products, meaning every product they develop within this initiative should attain: 50% minimum reduction of carbon emissions in overall product life cycle; sustainable sourcing from renewable materials; and be home compostable (and marine biodegradable, where applicable) according to ASTM standards. To achieve these goals, the company needs to identify ways to reduce carbon emissions across its entire value chain, including packaging, material, production, supply chain and waste management, to identify opportunities to reduce CO2e by at least 50% versus current offerings. The SGE Intensive team will make recommendations on the best way for ArchPoint to achieve optimal sustainability in the disposable tabletop category while also considering high product performance and cost competitiveness. The team will want to examine a variety of issues, including packaging options for tabletop (i.e., plates, cups, cutlery, and straws) goods; suitable materials for producing tabletop products; decarbonization of supply chain network (e.g., ocean containers, warehousing, domestic trucking, etc.); product compostability; and cost implications.

Clēnera, LLC is a privately‐held renewable energy company headquartered in Boise, Idaho. Clēnera acquires, develops, builds and manages utility‐scale solar farms and energy storage facilities throughout the United States. Combining breakthrough technology with a deeply integrated team approach, Clēnera provides reliable, affordable energy systems and helps its utility partners become clean energy leaders in their communities. Clēnera’s current operating portfolio exceeds 1.3 GW, with more than 14 GW of solar and storage assets in development.

Project: Battery energy storage is a necessary component for most utility‐scale solar projects currently being developed. It is essential because battery storage: 1) allows the asset to respond to market conditions in ways that solar alone cannot; 2) leverages the Investment Tax Credit (ITC) for the storage component; and 3) introduces additional revenue streams (e.g. capacity, ancillary services, etc.) to the solar project. The SGE Immersion team will analyze the standalone battery energy storage market to identify the most attractive markets, both geographically (i.e., CAISO, ERCOT, and PJM) as well as by customer type (i.e., utility/CCA, corporate and merchant), to assess the size of the market, the competitive landscape, relative market value, and medium‐ and long‐term market trends in order to identify the market opportunities and obstacles facing Clēnera. The team may consider utilizing real projects in Clēnera’s pipeline around which analysis can be focused.

Founded in India in 1983, Visaka Industries Limited is a publicly traded company that has multiple product portfolios. Visaka is a GreenPro certified (IGBC) organization developing sustainable products such as its integrated solar roof called ATUM. ATUM powers more than 500 buildings in India with an installed capacity of over 2 MW. ATUM is the only renewable energy solution that comprises a roof and solar panel designed to meet the consistent energy demands and can be managed via a smartphone.

Project: Visaka wanted to build on its success with ATUM in India and launch the product in the US market. Recent participation in industry expos in the United States had indicated there was interest in the product here. The SGE Immersion team developed a US market entry strategy for ATUM, which included a regional demand analysis, a competitive product benchmarking, an analysis of market opportunities and barriers to entry, and proposed a pathway forward for the company’s product.

The United Soybean Board (USB) is a governing body of farmer-volunteers responsible for directing the investments of the soybean checkoff, the portion of soybean revenues used to fund research and promotion efforts of the industry. Federal legislation requires USB to provide soybean farmers a return‐on‐investment (ROI) report every five years. FieldRise LLC, a company funded by USB, is dedicated to improving the application and availability of data to assist farmers in ensuring our food production system can meet everyone’s needs sustainably over time.

Project: Sustainability challenges vary widely by growing region and there is often a disconnect between sustainability efforts by farmers, portrayal of those efforts by marketers, and perceptions of farmers’ efforts among consumers. The SGE Immersion team worked with FieldRise to help the organization assess the feasibility of improving U.S. agriculture sustainability by conducting a market analysis of current data collection practices and technologies, as well as identifying the market opportunities, data collection products and services that align with sustainability agriculture goals and benefit farmers, processers, equipment manufacturers, and end consumers.

Resonance is global development consulting firm focused on market‐led solutions to address the world’s social and environmental challenges. The company works at the crossroads of the business and development communities to scale progress toward sustainable development goals.

Project: With new international standards and increased pressure from stakeholders, labor trafficking and modern slavery in company supply chains posed significant reputation and revenue risks, thus posing a major challenge to many global industries. Since 2017, Resonance had led efforts to combat human trafficking and improve worker wellbeing in supply chains through a portfolio of three Counter Trafficking in Persons (CTIP) projects funded by the United States Agency for International Development (USAID). Resonance believed they had an opportunity to leverage their capabilities to work directly with multinational companies and fill an existing gap in supply chain sustainability, position themselves as a leader in the CTIP space, and improve working conditions for millions around the globe. The SGE Immersion team developed a strategic plan for the company to better understand the competitive landscape, explore potential clients and their needs, and develop potential business models in line with the company’s overall strategic objectives.

Founded in 1980, Promotion In Motion is a privately-held company and one of North America’s leading makers of fruit snacks, fruit rolls, confections and other snack food products such as Sun‐Maid® Chocolate Covered Raisins, Welch’s® Fruit Snacks, Toggi® Fine European Chocolate Wafers, Original Gummi Factory® Brand Gummi FunMix® Candies, and more.

Project: As consumers have grown concerned about the environmental and social impact of their purchase decisions, the pressure on consumer product retailers and manufacturers to address those concerns have continued to increase. The SGE Immersion team helped the company explore how to take a more strategic approach to sustainability initiatives focused on business opportunities that could help drive profitable, long‐term growth for the company.

Launched in 2017, the Palau Pledge required visitors to the country to sign a mandatory pledge stamped in their passport to act in an ecologically and culturally responsible way during their stay. The Pledge immediately gained global attention for its ground‐breaking new methods of communicating, educating and enforcing conservation laws and practices and started a movement with other destinations and countries adopting similar Pledge programs.

Project: Although the Palau Pledge was largely considered a success, there were no concrete tools set up to measure the impact of the campaign. The SGE Immersion team developed a strategic impact assessment of the Pledge to understand whether and how effective it was at impacting behavior and maintaining the social, environmental, and economic viability of the nation’s tourism industry.

EDF Renewables is the global renewable energy affiliate of the French electric utility company, EDF Group. Present in over 20 countries, the company develops, builds and operates grid-scale renewable power plants.

Project: EDF Renewables was considering how Balance of Plant/Balance of System would evolve in the coming years in different US markets for both solar and storage. The SGE Immersion team analyzed the solar and battery energy storage systems markets, particularly in the context of the impact of the step‐down of the investment tax credit on demand from energy performance contracting, changes in local and federal regulations, international tariffs and trade wars, and labor availability.

Danone North America, a business unit of Danone, is one of the top 15 food and beverage companies in the U.S. with brands such as Activa, Dannon, Horizon Organic, Oikos, Silk, and Wallaby Organic. As a certified B‐Corps, Danone North America is the largest public benefit corporation in the world.

Project: Danone North America had a significant coffee creamer and plant‐based milk business in retail and away‐from‐home, but did not have a strong presence in the specialty coffee shop market (i.e., Starbucks, Gimme! Coffee) which wsd increasingly capitalizing on the plant‐based trend. Leveraging Danone’s strong plant-based product portfolio (i.e., almond milk, oat milk, soy milk), the SGE Immersion team developed a go-to‐market strategy for Danone’s plant‐based Barista products for coffee shop chains.

The University of Cauca (UNICAUCA) is a public institution within Colombia that was founded 180 years ago located in the city of Popayan located in the southern region of Colombia.

Project: UNICAUCA was interested in establishing a center of innovation for sustainable development which would serve as a base for the university, the community, the municipal and regional government, and the private sector to generate economic development in southwestern Colombia that preserves and leverages the area’s cultural assets and biodiversity. The SGE Immersion team developed recommendations for the business development strategy of the center to attract funding and promote regional economic growth in key sectors that included tourism, agriculture, healthcare, and pharmaceuticals.