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Adelaida Technology Capital
Adelaida Technology Capital
In July 2022, Ashley Sudjianto, a partner at Adelaida Technology Capital (ATC), had to make a recommendation to ATC's investment committee on how much money ATC should lend to CarboCaptor Inc., an emerging chemical-manufacturing start-up that had a patented, cost-effective solvent that captured carbon dioxide (CO2) from the air. In late 2021, CarboCaptor had been well on the way to launching a new
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Philips: Developing a Marketing Strategy for LED Bulbs
Philips: Developing a Marketing Strategy for LED Bulbs
Philips, the Dutch multinational conglomerate, is assessing whether to enter the business-to-consumer (B2C) LED lightbulb market in the United States. Philips has already been serving the business-to-business (B2B) market with moderate success, but it has completely ignored the B2C market. Now, a change in energy taxes and possibly additional regulatory changes have the company reevaluating that d
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General Motors Commits to 100% Electric Vehicles by 2035
General Motors Commits to 100% Electric Vehicles by 2035
This case is set in 2022, a year after Mary Barra, chair and CEO of General Motors (GM), set a goal to phase out production of gas-powered (internal combustion engine [ICE]) vehicles and only sell electric vehicles (EVs) by 2035. At the time of the announcement, no other large automaker had set a target date for exclusively producing EVs. GM said it would invest $35 billion over the next five year
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C-Power: Harnessing the Power of the Ocean
C-Power: Harnessing the Power of the Ocean
Despite the predictability and power of wave energy, by 2022, there was not a single industry-standard technology for converting wave energy to electricity. A new company, C-Power, had developed a product designed to generate levels of power from wave energy that could compete with solar, wind, and fossil-fuel power sources. In 2016, it began a contract with the US government to develop a reliable
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Where's the (Sustainable) Beef? McDonald's Quest
Where's the (Sustainable) Beef? McDonald's Quest
In 2006, the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations (FAO) published "Livestock's Long Shadow: Environmental Issues and Options," which, among other things, detailed the connection between livestock agriculture, particularly beef, and its adverse impact on the environment, including land, soil, and water degradation as well as the reduction of biodiversity. Raising livestock contri
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H&M, China, and Cotton: Sourcing a Solution?
H&M, China, and Cotton: Sourcing a Solution?
In December 2021, Hennes & Mauritz AB (H&M), the Swedish fast-fashion clothing retailer, found itself in a difficult position regarding its business in China, one of the retailer’s important markets. H&M was a member of the sustainability organization, Better Cotton Initiative (BCI), which in March 2020 had suspended activities with licensed farmers in the Xinjiang province of China because of all
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Climate Risk and Banking: Citi’s Net-Zero Future
Climate Risk and Banking: Citi’s Net-Zero Future
On her first day as the new CEO of Citigroup Inc. (Citi), Jane Fraser announced Citi’s commitment to net-zero greenhouse gas emissions (GHG) by 2050. The case examines the implications of such a decision, including the need to work both on Citi’s own operations as well as help transition those of its clients. The case allows for an examination of the green bond market, and separately, the market o
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Fairphone (A): Can a Start-Up Change an Industry?
Fairphone (A): Can a Start-Up Change an Industry?
Fairphone, a "social enterprise" that created the world’s first ethically sourced smartphone, had revolutionized consumers' and investors' expectations around environmental, social, and governance (ESG) responsibility in the electronics industry. The company was justifiably proud of all its accomplishments, but in 2017, Fairphone had been plagued with supply issues ranging from mining to component
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Fairphone (B): Is It Really Worth It?
Fairphone (B): Is It Really Worth It?
This case is a follow-up to "Fairphone (A): Can a Start-Up Change an Industry?" (UVA-OM-1712). Fairphone's goals to keep producing an ethically sourced smartphone were noble, but "doing well by doing good" could only be an idealistic slogan unless Fairphone could figure out a way to be profitable. The company needed money to invest in its supply chain, to buy component inventory, and to pay for i
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Regulations and Standards: Electronics Supply Chain
Regulations and Standards: Electronics Supply Chain
Standards and regulations exist to ensure supply chains are not exploitative of the people, environments, and materials with which they interact. This technical note concentrates on two aspects of the process for electronics supply chains: the responsible sourcing of raw materials and end-of-use recycling. It is recommended for use with a companion technical note, "Electronics Supply Chain Overvie
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Electronics Supply Chain Overview
Electronics Supply Chain Overview
Electronics are sophisticated products with an equally complicated supply chain. Within the consumer electronics industry, revenue is forecast at 1.82% annual growth, with user penetration climbing from an estimated 29.7% in 2022 to 36.8% by 2025. Because electronics are so popular (and potentially expensive), there is also a growing market for used electronics and their recycled parts. The growth
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iFixit: If You Bought It, You Don’t Really Own It
iFixit: If You Bought It, You Don’t Really Own It
This field-based case introduces iFixit, a small business with a mission to change consumer behavior around prosperity so that they would no longer toss away broken products. iFixit offered repair guides and the sale of parts and tools to make repairs on over 30,000 different devices—mostly electronic. iFixit’s business model was based on creating more value than it captured—repair was sustainable
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