Explore Materials

This case describes how Kimberly-Clark is encouraging consumer recycling of flexible plastic film packaging, which is wrapped around many of its products, including paper towels, toilet paper, and more.

This case study examines Patagonia’s Durable Water Repellent (DWR) problem–DWR is a highly effective chemical treatment used to waterproof jackets but has by-products that are toxic and persist in the environment.

This case examines the challenges and opportunities faced by Levi Strauss & Co. (LS&Co.) as it attempts to help establish a cross-industry sustainability initiative to eliminate hazardous chemicals in the apparel supply chain.

Amyris has grown from a Silicon Valley startup to a global publicly-traded company who genetically programs yeast into chemicals used by more than 250 million consumers in over 2,000 brands.

Okta, a leader in identity and access management (IAM) software based in San Francisco, CA, has developed a unique and ambitious model for Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR).

The #MeToo movement brought global awareness to the magnitude of gender-related inequalities in the workplace, including unequal pay and the lack of women in the C-suite and boardroom.

Villy Wang founded BAYCAT in 2004 with the ambitious mission of ending inequality and racism through powerful storytelling. To accomplish that mission, she created a more financially sustainable nonprofit model. BAYCAT (Bayview-Hunters Point Center for the Arts and Technology) is run more like a business than a typical nonprofit.

After a successful financial turnaround during the 2008-09 recession, Ford must decide how much to invest in emerging technologies facing competitors like Tesla and LeEco. The (B) case provides an update following the dismissal of Fields and the appointment of former Steelcase CEO and Ford Smart Mobility (FSM) chair Jim Hackett as his successor. Faced with a drop of 37 percent in stock price, Hackett lays five themes to turnaround the company.

This case centers on BV as it seeks to raise $20 million for its first standalone fund between 2014 and 2016. Wes Selke and Rick Moss, the two BV co-founders, decided to raise Better Ventures Fund II.

This case examines Gap Inc. making history in 2014 by becoming the first Fortune 500 company to announce that it pays female and male employees equally for equal work.

In early 2000, Dean Richard Schmalensee of MIT’s Sloan School of Management needed to make a decision that would shape the future of the school for decades to come.

Environmental management had been an important facet at IBM dating back to the 1970s. The case describes the company’s efforts in creating and managing sustainable practices.

This note describes the coffee industry, the rise of the Fair Trade movement, and if and how Fair Trade coffee can be scaled up without compromising the economic and social standards that are at the heart of Fair Trade.

In 2008, Hannah Jones, Nike’s new VP of Corporate Responsibility, wanted the company to be a leader in creating sustainable footwear, and subsequently developed a strategy for working with the product units to do so.

Resolute Marine Energy (RME) founder and CEO Bill Staby and COO Olivier Ceberio believed their company’s wave energy desalination system could provide safe and affordable drinking water to water-stressed communities.

On a blue wall in large white letters was a quote from environmental activist and Nobel laureate Wangari Maathai: “No matter who or where we are, or what our capabilities, we are called to do the best we can.” How could Auerbach continue to do the best he could while scaling up his company?

In late 2008, Vermont City Electric (VCE), a municipal electric utility company, needed to determine which investments in demand-side management (DSM) programs to undertake in the context of the budget restrictions it faced.

This series of six cases (labeled A through F, UVA-E-0233 through UVA-E-0238) presents the various dilemmas that arose in the spring of 2001 when engineers at the Seattle-based Boeing Company, unhappy with management decisions, contemplated and undertook a strike, the first “white-collar” work stoppage in the history of American business.

This case presents the issues and dilemmas that Monsanto faced in deciding how to market its genetically modified products. It also covers patent issues, intellectual property, and licensing strategies.