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Sustainability
Latest Case Studies
Case Study
DSS+: Carving out a sustainability consulting leader

The case examines the entrepreneur-led carve out and buyout of dss+, DuPont’s safety and sustainability consulting division, by Gyrus Capital and dss+ management team. dss+ (formerly “DuPont Sustainable Solutions”) played a pivotal role in high-risk industries such as oil, gas, and chemicals, providing critical consulting services at a time when…

Finance Entrepreneurship Sustainability
By Benoit F. Leleux, Giorgio Pignalosa, Larissa Margot Bieler, Mojisola Onabanjo Akinkunmi and Nicolas Campodonico
Case reference: IMD-7-2639, © 2025
DSS+: Carving out a sustainability consulting leader
By Benoit F. Leleux Giorgio Pignalosa Larissa Margot Bieler Mojisola Onabanjo Akinkunmi and Nicolas Campodonico
Case reference: IMD-7-2639 ©2025
Summary
The case examines the entrepreneur-led carve out and buyout of dss+, DuPont’s safety and sustainability consulting division, by Gyrus Capital and dss+ management team. dss+ (formerly “DuPont Sustainable Solutions”) played a pivotal role in high-risk industries such as oil, gas, and chemicals, providing critical consulting services at a time when global regulatory pressure on operational safety and sustainability was intensifying. Gyrus Capital, a mid-market private equity specialist, came together with the management team to engineer the buyout, based on the firm’s strong and predictable revenue streams, long-term client relationships and specialized expertise in safety and sustainability consulting. What emerged out of the 2019 transaction was an independent sustainability consulting powerhouse with over 1,500 consultants around the world. By 2024, dss+ was still expanding rapidly in terms of staff and domains of expertise, not to mention geography, and had to respond to quickly evolving external and internal demands, with clients increasingly expected to be served globally on a full range of sustainability-related services. With a strong sense of purpose (saving lives and creating a sustainable future), a potent pitch line (Protect. Transform. Sustain), over 750 clients on 1,800 projects across 41 countries, a global team of 1,500 people and plenty of organic growth across 7 core industries, the company was clearly heading for the stars. Yet, new questions loomed: Was it time to start managing that wild growth, deepening competitive advantages and building functional moats? How would dss+ remain competitive? Was it time to put a few new initiatives on high octane fuel: Leadership? Digital transformation? Global growth? Some totally new ideas?
Reference IMD-7-2639
Copyright ©2025
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization dss+, Gyrus Capital, Inflexion
Industry Services, Environmental Services;Healthcare, Health and Medical Services;Services, Public Safety;Business Management Services, Consultancy
Available Languages English
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Case Study
Brookfield Asset Management Catalytic Transition Fund

Brookfield’s Catalytic Transition Fund is a case study in how the financial industry can spearhead sustainable development. Brookfield Asset Management announced an initial closing of $2.4 billion for the Catalytic Transition Fund, marking a significant milestone toward the target of raising up to $5 billion for deployment to clean energy and tr…

Finance Economics Sustainability
By Arturo Bris and Raphaël Jean Luigi Grieco
Case reference: IMD-2652, © 2024
Brookfield Asset Management Catalytic Transition Fund
By Arturo Bris and Raphaël Jean Luigi Grieco
Case reference: IMD-2652 ©2024
Summary
Brookfield’s Catalytic Transition Fund is a case study in how the financial industry can spearhead sustainable development. Brookfield Asset Management announced an initial closing of $2.4 billion for the Catalytic Transition Fund, marking a significant milestone toward the target of raising up to $5 billion for deployment to clean energy and transition assets in emerging markets. $1 billion of capital was provided by ALTÉRRA, the world’s largest private investment vehicle for climate finance based in the United Arab Emirates, with the purpose of mobilizing investment at scale to finance a new climate economy. The fund is focused on deploying capital into clean energy and transition assets in emerging markets in South and Central America, South and Southeast Asia, the Middle East, and Eastern Europe. This strategic partnership will help drive clean energy investment into emerging markets, where investment needs to increase sixfold over current levels to reach the $1.6 trillion required annually by the early 2030s in line with global net zero targets.
Reference IMD-2652
Copyright ©2024
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization Brookfield Asset Management
Industry Finance and Insurance, Private Equity
Available Languages English
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Case Study
Sea2see: Seastainable vision

BARCELONA, JANUARY 2023. What started in 2016 as a humble entrepreneurial attempt to contribute to a more sustainable future had turned into a solid eyewear brand present in major Western markets. François van den Abeele was even more excited by the rapid development of the Sea2see Foundation, which he set up in Ghana. But success brought its ow…

Entrepreneurship Family Business General Management Global Business Marketing Sustainability
By Benoit F. Leleux and Thomas Brochier
Case reference: IMD-7-2564, © 2024
Sea2see: Seastainable vision
By Benoit F. Leleux and Thomas Brochier
Case reference: IMD-7-2564 ©2024
Summary
BARCELONA, JANUARY 2023. What started in 2016 as a humble entrepreneurial attempt to contribute to a more sustainable future had turned into a solid eyewear brand present in major Western markets. François van den Abeele was even more excited by the rapid development of the Sea2see Foundation, which he set up in Ghana. But success brought its own new questions and issues. From the start, he had relied on the superb craftmanship and dedication of an Italian frame manufacturer. Over time that relationship had turned into a mutual dependency: He was now one of its major clients but, reciprocally, had developed a key supplier risk. What if something happened to that relationship? Should he develop a broader set of suppliers and, if so, how could that be done without antagonizing a great working relationship? Recycling very much set the stage for the brand’s sustainability claims, but it also took massive amounts of time to manage. As other companies started to develop their own fishing net recycling supply chains, did it still make sense to invest so much time in the upstream phase or should he pour his energy into his beloved brand? Finally, maybe it was also time to revisit the growth/profitability dilemma and open up the capital to increase the speed of growth, all for the benefit of the environment as impact fed on scale.
Reference IMD-7-2564
Copyright ©2024
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization Sea2see
Industry Consumer Goods, Optical Products
Available Languages English
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Case Study
Should Unilever pivot from being purpose-led?

The case study delves into strategic transformation and leadership transitions at Unilever since 2009. Unilever has been an industry leader of business sustainability. Paul Polman was a pioneer who introduced the idea that, by addressing social and environmental problems, a company can unlock new growth opportunities. Polman launched a 10-year S…

Strategy Marketing Purpose Sustainability Diversity and Equity and Inclusion
By Goutam Challagalla and Samaja Penumaka
Case reference: IMD-7-2578, © 2024
Should Unilever pivot from being purpose-led?
By Goutam Challagalla and Samaja Penumaka
Case reference: IMD-7-2578 ©2024
Summary
The case study delves into strategic transformation and leadership transitions at Unilever since 2009. Unilever has been an industry leader of business sustainability. Paul Polman was a pioneer who introduced the idea that, by addressing social and environmental problems, a company can unlock new growth opportunities. Polman launched a 10-year Sustainable Living Plan with three objectives: to enhance health and well-being, livelihoods and environmental sustainability. Alan Jope followed in Polman’s path and launched a novel plan for the new decade called The Unilever Compass, focused on sustainability. Unilever took a strategic turn during Jope’s tenure and asked the brands to use their products to solve social issues. He called this “purpose-led branding,” which confused investors. They believed social branding would take the company’s focus away from growth. Tensions were high at Unilever and resulted in a change in leadership. The company wants to focus on growth, which raises questions about the future of corporate sustainability at Unilever.
Reference IMD-7-2578
Copyright ©2024
Copyright owner IMD Copyright
Organization Unilever
Industry Consumer Goods
Available Languages English
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Research Information & Knowledge Hub for additional information on IMD publications