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Case Study

CO2 2 H2O: Transition to sustainable energy

By Francisco Szekely, Daniel Bartel, Adam Lowmass and Arturo Pasquel

23 pages

December 2016

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Reference: IMD-7-1817

The case describes the challenges around sustainability within the Energy industry using Royal Dutch Shell (Shell) as an example. Two key challenges for Shell are explored: How to meet the demand for energy sustainably and profitably, and how to gain a licence to operate from society. Further, the case presents some negative views of Shell in the media; describes what is happening in adjacent industries, the investor community and with policy makers that will impact the energy transition; and concluded with what Shell, other oil and gas companies and policy makers are doing in relation to the sustainability and the energy transition.

Learning Objective

The case can be utilized to accomplish several learning objectives: 1) How sustainability topics affect business strategy, and vice versa; 2) How to manage through a major industry transition (using PESTEL to assess “new” vs “old” industry); 3) How the media and external communications policies impact strategic decision making; 4) Overall awareness of sustainability.

Keywords

Sustainability, Strategy, Macro Environment Analysis

Settings

World/global
Shell, Energy
2015-2100

Type

Published Sources

Available Languages

English

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Teaching note

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