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Case Study

Cycle: Picking the right waste stream

By Ulrich Steger, Oliver Salzmann and Aileen Ionescu-Somers

11 pages

October 2002

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Reference: IMD-2-0095

Cycle is a Belgian metal recycling group mainly focusing on the recycling of zinc which is recovered from manufacturing and processing operations (process scrap). Its geographical focus is Western Europe. An environmental incident and stagnating financial performance lead to a change in top management. The new CEO Vernier initiates a major restructuring program to cut cost and improve environmental management. Associated with other metals, the zinc industry faces increasing scrutiny from regulators (e.g. EU zinc risk assessment). Moreover, several EU directives on end-of-life legislation are drawn up to prevent waste at source. Vernier achieves the financial turnaround in a tightening European zinc recycling market. In the annual meeting, he has to defend its decision to expand geographically (i.e. extend Cycle’s activities to the recycling of process scrap in the US) instead of broadening the current business model to the recycling of post-consumer scrap (i.e. picking an additional waste stream) in a favorable European business environment.

Keywords

Metal Recycling, Corporate Strategy, Corporate Sustainability Management

Settings

Europe, United States of America
May 2001

Type

Published Sources

Available Languages

English

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