Sponsored Projects

The International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI) works to improve food security and reduce poverty in developing countries through research for better and more sustainable use of livestock.

Project: In developing countries, the provision of reliable information on prices, product availability and quality, diseases outbreaks, conflict, and forage availability can make a significant difference in market participation and service delivery, not only for producers and small‐scale traders but also for government and development agencies tasked with emergency response. Despite the recognized value of such information, the emergence of a cost‐effective, sustainable method of sourcing and disseminating good quality reliable information is very challenging. ILRI had developed a digital platform structured around a suite of linked mobile and web‐based applications, dubbed KAZNET, which was meant to incentivize citizen‐contributors to collect and update market information to populate a database from which a range of information products and custom‐made analytics could be generated and disseminated to a suite of paying clients. The SGE Immersion team evaluated and developed a commercialization strategy for KAZNET meant to attract private sector interest and investment and ensure sustainability of a more extensive livestock market information system. You can read more about this project here.

Enel Green Power North America (EGP‐NA) is part of the Renewable Energies division of the Enel Group, a multinational power company and a leading integrated utility player in the world’s power and gas markets.

Project: In recent years there had been a rapid increase in the number of commercial and industrial (C&I) businesses purchasing energy directly from renewable energy project owners. Selling to C&I customers could be quite different than selling to a utility and required that renewable project owners refined and reexamined their strategy to access the customer, as well as their risk appetite. To help EGP‐NA better understand the key drivers for C&I deals and uncover new trends, the SGE Immersion team conducted a market assessment of potential customers and industry competitors with a focus on how EGP‐NA could most effectively compete in an increasingly crowded market.

eBay is an e‐commerce multinational that operates both business-to-consumer and consumer-to-consumer marketplaces, giving sellers the platform, solutions, and support they need to grow their businesses and thrive.

Project: eBay’s Global Impact team was looking to increase its influence with millennial consumers through messaging about its social impact and responsible business activities. The group produced content that highlighted eBay as a platform for empowering small businesses, creating opportunity for sellers of diverse backgrounds, and promoting charitable giving through its eBay for Charity program. The SGE Immersion team benchmarked what other companies were doing with respect to social impact messaging directed at millennials; analyzed how Global Impact messaging resonated with a millennial audience; and recommended channels through which the messaging could be most effective for increasing the company’s overall impact on distributed economic development.

Corning Incorporated is one of the world’s leading innovators in materials science specializing in glass and ceramics. Corning’s markets include optical communications, mobile consumer electronics, display technology, automotive, and life sciences vessels. Corning’s industry-leading products include damage-resistant cover glass for mobile devices; precision glass for advanced displays; optical fiber, wireless technologies, and connectivity solutions for state-of-the-art communications networks; trusted products to accelerate drug discovery and delivery; and clean-air technologies for cars and trucks.

Project: Corning’s Global Supply Management (GSM) works with the company’s suppliers to provide quality materials and services at the lowest total cost. Increasingly, there was pull from customers, as well as Corning divisions, to provide competitive advantage via strategic supplier sustainability initiatives. While GSM had participated in positive activities around sustainability in the past (e.g., supplier diversity, supplier safety, supplier environmental sustainability, and supplier social responsibility), the efforts had been unstructured, inconsistently measured and without a focused strategy for success. The SGE Immersion team analyzed GSM’s activities and initiatives, division requests, as well as industry best practices, to develop a short- and long-term strategy and roadmap for sustainability.

Cornell University is dual public and private Ivy League research university in Ithaca, New York. As the federal land-grant institution in New York State, it is responsible for making contributions in all fields of knowledge in a manner that prioritizes public engagement to help improve the quality of life in the state, the nation, the world.

Project: Across the US, there was a growing need for integrated and collaborative energy system planning that would anticipate and tackle the stresses associated with intensified climate change conditions in order to create a more resilient communications and power infrastructure. Researchers at Cornell were looking to demonstrate efficacy of demand response to facilitate the integration of intermittent sources of energy at meaningful levels that would aid in reducing the need for substantial new electric storage capacity, improve reserve generation response with flexible dispatch, create a more robust distribution network, and support the evolution of sustainable communities. In collaboration with Verizon, they were examining the integration of intermittent renewables with algorithm‐controlled ground source heat pumps (GSHP) at scale, which could begin to reduce climate change intensity and the dependence on fossil fuels. The SGE Immersion team conducted an assessment of the commercialization potential of algorithm‐controlled GSHPs in order to determine what product features potential customers would value, how the product might be adopted and diffused in the marketplace, and which segments may be the most valuable to target for future commercialization.

Target is the second‐largest discount store retailer in the United States with 1,803 stores and is a component of the S&P 500 Index.

Project: The “Better‐For‐You”, or BFY, products category had grown tremendously in the past five years. Nielson’s 2015 Global Health and Wellness Report revealed that 88% of consumers were willing to pay more for healthy products and Target’s customers were increasingly seeking BFY products. Millennials were driving the demand for healthy choices and healthy lifestyle, making them the key players in this consumer segment. The SGE Immersion team evaluated and recommended ways to market and inspire BFY products and solutions for Gen Z and Millennial consumers. The team evaluated how Target could promote aspirations that encourage BFY lifestyles; reframed the narrative on what BFY living could mean; and created new, different and seamless store/online experiences that would inspire BFY choices.

Launched in 2015, Proyecto Terra, focuses on providing solar energy to residential and commercial consumers in Mexico through two main products that generate revenue: 1) renting of the solar system; and 2) sales of solar systems.

Project: Proyecto had grown quickly, but having its entire business in Mexico exposed it to significant country (including regulatory) and currency risk. Diversification of that risk would make the company more attractive to international players/utilities as a future investment (potential buy‐out). It could also offer the company the opportunity to realize higher yields due to higher electric tariffs in other regions. Proyecto believed its business model was replicable in other countries in Latin America. The SGE Immersion team assessed expansion opportunities in the region, taking into account a number of critical factors such as the solar insolation of the country, electricity tariffs, local electricity market/regulations, local fiscal regulation, culture, business environment, and the local competitive environment in order to provide the company recommendations on how best to prioritize the potential new markets.

Las Vegas Sands is a leading global developer of destination properties in Las Vegas (The Venetian® and The Palazzo® which are part of the largest LEED certified building on the planet), Bethlehem, PA, Singapore, and Macau.

Project: While Las Vegas Sands Corporation actively pursues sustainability as a core component of its business operations, the organization was challenged to determine the best way to unite the vast array of initiatives and sustainability features that exist globally across their property portfolio and at the corporate level. Gaming, an integral part of their business model, often presents a challenge in messaging because it is can be seen at odds with sustainability principles. In consultation with both the Las Vegas Sands corporate sustainability team, as well as the Sands Bethlehem sustainability and marketing teams, the SGE Immersion team developed a proactive, forward‐looking environmental sustainability branding and marketing strategy for the Sands ECO360 program. Utilizing existing best practices (including best practices in gaming and hospitality sectors), the strategic analysis provided recommendations on how to best design and implement such strategy that could be aligned with the overall Las Vegas Sands brand and property brands.

The Hain Celestial Group is a leading organic and natural products company with operations in North America, Europe and India and consists of 57 brands that include Arrowhead Mills®, Celestial Seasonings®, Earth’s Best®, Garden of Eatin’®, JĀSÖN® and Westbrae®.

Project: The Westbrae® brand was founded in the 1970s targeting the vegetarian market, but over the last few years it had suffered due to competition from private labels and major brands getting into natural and organic foods. As the Natural and Organic market became more mainstream, it was increasingly difficult for niche brands like Westbrae to maintain its past success. The SGE Immersion team explored Westbrae’s emphasis on the vegetarian market to determine whether or not it was limiting growth and what opportunities there were to expand in other categories. They conducted an in‐depth category and channel analysis, as well as consumer research, to provide analysis and recommendations for the strategic direction for the Westbrae® brand.

WGL is a leading source for clean, efficient and diverse energy solutions, with activities in 30 states. The company, dedicated to providing innovative energy answers, is headquartered in Washington, D.C. Known in the region for its subsidiary, Washington Gas, WGL is also the parent company of WGL Energy, WGL Midstream and Hampshire Gas. Together, these businesses provide WGL’s customers diversified energy resources, including: solar power, natural gas, wind, electricity, and carbon offsets.

Project: WGL was a leading provider of clean and efficient energy solutions to its customers. However, with rapid change coming to the energy sector, it was not clear which energy solutions should be prioritized for investment. The SGE Immersion team benchmarked peer activity, how different investments were being rewarded in the marketplace by investors, and why, in order to make recommendations to WGL as to how the company should prioritize its own clean energy investments.