Running a profitable, growing and sustainable business: Novo Nordisk (A)

Confrontation between China and the West at this weekend’s G7 summit will slow climate change mitigation and impoverish everyone, warns IMD’s Julia...

This practical book will help you transform your business from a linear ‘take-make-waste’ approach into one that is sustainable, circular, but also...

The current economic system is not fit for purpose. It is time for an “apocalyptic” approach with leaders moving from a fixed mindset to a growth m...

Fatbergs and grease waste from industrial kitchens are hardly the most enticing topics for a business school case study. Yet ZhanaSolutions, the start-up examined in this impact investment due diligence case, is all about grease waste. At least, on the surface. When one dredges deeper, the case reveals a compelling story about how to embed impact into decision making. It illustrates the risk, return and impact relationship - specifically, the added-value that impact investors can bring by investing in companies that generate a clear measurable impact, even when the risk-return profile could lead traditional commercial investors who do not consider impact to underappreciate the business opportunity. The ZhanaSolutions case looks at due diligence in the impact investing context. The protagonist, José Lozano, is the Latin American managing director of the Geneva-based impact investor AlphaMundi Group (AMG), an impact first but very commercially minded impact investor that invests in Africa and Latin America. In the case, Lozano and his team have completed the due diligence and are deciding whether to present a positive recommendation to the AMG Investment Committee to invest in ZhanaSolutions, The start-up, headquartered in Bogotá, offers a novel leasing model for its grease removal G-Trap technology to industrial kitchens in Colombia. Students assume the role of Lozano and will need to balance impact and financial considerations as they make a recommendation. Through the case, students can experience a real impact investing due diligence, explore the layers of considerations needed to build a compelling investment case and simulate how best to present proposals to an investment committee. The case underscores the idea that investable opportunities can be found in even the most mundane places.

Many factors dictate the non-financial value of family firms. Why would two similar firms with the same extent of family involvement choose differe...

Family businesses face unique challenges in adopting green practices, yet they hold significant potential for environmental leadership. This articl...

Atmospheric levels of greenhouse gases are at all-time highs. We have lost two-thirds of species in the past 60 years of industrialization. On Worl...

Business and nature conservation often appear to be at odds with each other. What if nature — and nature conservation — were the basis of a sound b...

CEOs face unprecedented pressure to address environmental concerns "now". Knut Haanaes, Julia Binder, and Bryony Jansen-van Tuyll explain why compa...