Consumer activists have published a guide, which warns consumers about the use of enzymes in laundry detergents and of genetic engineering in enzyme production. Steen Riisgaard, head of the enzyme business at Novo Nordisk, is very concerned about the impact these warnings will have on his business. Steen is concerned because about 20 years earlier Ralph Nader published similar warnings about enzymes. As a consequence of those warnings the company’s sales plummeted and Novo had to lay off 700 people in Denmark. With the concern being that similar bad experiences are heading their way, what would you advice Steen and his team to do?
Do more with sustainability data
Summary
Many large companies have invested significant amounts of time and capital into sustainability reporting. In 2022, the European Union’s ambitious sustainability reporting framework, the Corporate Sustainability Reporting Directive, was projected t...
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Luxury’s growth problem: Can rarity and sustainability restore its appeal?
Summary
Earlier this year at Milan Fashion Week, Alessandro Sartori, artistic director of luxury menswear brand Zegna, presented a collection inspired by “a family closet,” emphasizing the emotional value of clothes passed down from grandfathers to grands...
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Closing the climate–economics communication gap
Summary
As the IPCC is in its seventh assessment cycle, bridging the gap between physical climate science and economics has become more urgent. Estimating climate damages requires a rigorous translation of physical hazards into economic losses, highlighti...
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True rarity, short supply chains, and made-on-demand models: What today’s luxury brands can learn from the pre-1990s
Summary
Luxury brands have witnessed three decades of unprecedented growth. In April 2023, LVMH, home to the likes of Givenchy and Guerlain, even briefly became Europe’s most valuable company. Since then, most luxury giants have lost momentum. Estée Laude...
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A bittersweet paradox: From zero child labor to human rights due diligence
Summary
What does a zero target measure? In 2016, Barry Callebaut launched Forever Chocolate with a pledge to eradicate child labor from its supply chain by 2025. For its 2021-22 financial year, the company reported over 25,000 cases of child labor identified and 2,844 remediated. In May 2023, it changed the target: By 2025, human rights due diligence would cover its entire cocoa supply chain and every identified case would be remediated. A Bittersweet Paradox: From Zero Child Labor to Human Rights Due Diligence uses this decision to examine how zero KPIs and impact metrics behave in practice. A zero KPI states an absolute ethical demand in a single number. That simplicity mobilizes action. It can also conceal the conditions that determine whether change lasts: persistent poverty in farming communities, limited access to education, and constraints that no single company can resolve alone. But Zero KPIs also set a measurement trap. Stronger monitoring uncovers more cases so improved visibility looks like deteriorating performance. A report of zero cases can say more about what an organization fails to see than about the children it has protected. The replacement metrics raise their own questions. Is abandoning zero child labor a retreat or an evolution in the sustainability strategy compliant with the new regulatory environment? Students work with the company's reported figures through the eyes of a sustainability manager, an investor, a child rights organization and a farmer cooperative, each reading the same evidence differently. The questions apply more broadly: to net zero emissions, zero workplace harm and zero discrimination. What exactly does 'zero' cover? Do incentives reward discovering problems? Who verifies that remediation lasts? Do indicators reveal progress or reward an attractive appearance of success?
Reference
IMD-2712
Copyright
©2026
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
Barry Callebaut
Available Languages
English
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Why CFOs should build resilience before they need it
Summary
Pirelli CFO Fabio Bocchio explains how disciplined capital allocation, sustainability investment, and balance-sheet strength build resilience.
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Holcim: Transitioning toward net zero
Summary
Holcim is a Swiss multinational company that manufactures cement and building materials. Excluding China, it is the top cement producer in the world. Holcim is also a top 50 CO2 emissions emitter. And it decisively put sustainability efforts front and center in its overall strategy. The case describes the integration of different sustainability initiatives into Holcim's overall strategy over more than a decade, a period during which the firm underwent massive transformations, including a merger with Lafarge, a major pivot from cement to construction materials, the sale of assets in key countries and a spin off of its North-American operations. The case pivots the discussion from the traditional question: 'What does Holcim do for sustainability?' to a more interesting one: 'What does sustainability do for Holcim?' It brings clarity to the different ways through which sustainability contributes to the firm's strategy: compliance, resilience and market advantage. Focusing on market advantage, it shows the vast repertoire of sustainability actions that can impact a firm's strategy and how sustainability can be leveraged to create value. It also reveals that not all sustainability actions are designed to have a sustainability impact.
Reference
IMD-2759
Copyright
©2026
Copyright owner
IMD Copyright
Organization
Holcim Group
Industry
Materials, Construction Materials;Materials, Cement
Available Languages
English
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Luxury’s next competitive advantage is sustainability and business transformation
Summary
Luxury’s approach to sustainability has hit a dead end. In Purposeful Luxury, I show that the top 100 luxury brands have started to conscientiously reduce negative impacts across the three ESG categories. But the results are largely insufficient b...
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Why sustainability lies at the heart of leadership
Summary
André Hoffmann explores how leaders can build resilient businesses by putting nature, purpose, and long-term value at the heart of their decisions.
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Sustainability reporting isn’t the same as risk preparedness
Summary
Sustainability reporting is now common among large companies. According to the OECD, firms representing 91% of global listed market capitalization disclose sustainability-related information. Yet we find that firms with strong reporting often assu...
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