Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Spring 2009 ________________________________________________________________________
F&ES 80046b Business and the Environment Clinic Meeting time: Tuesdays, 9 AM – 10:20 AM (plus individual team meetings TBD) Instructors: Maureen Burke (Bradford.Gentry@yale.edu) (Maureen.Burke@yale.edu) and Bradford Gentry
Collaborators: Bryan Garcia (Center for Business and the Environment at Yale), Julie Newman (Yale Office of Sustainability), client organizations, other faculty and staff at Yale as appropriate. In the Business and the Environment Clinic students will work in a team on a specific project. It will provide students with the opportunity to apply their knowledge of business and environmental issues to real-life situations faced by the University and other organizations. It will also provide a unique opportunity for students to manage a real-life consulting client engagement. Examples of projects include assisting in the development of a corporate environmental strategy or determining the impact of the pending carbon market on institutional operations at Yale. Students will make recommendations based on market research and financial analyses. The Clinic is open to teams of between two and four students each. Class sessions will alternate between lectures and meetings with an instructor to review work status, progress and plans. Students should expect to be in regular contact with teammates between meetings. The clinic is open to both FES and SOM students. The intent is to provide a “capstone” experience, calling for the application of skills and tools learned from previous classes. Pre-requisites for FES students applying to the clinic are at least one of the following courses (or equivalent experience): F&ES 50021 Financial Analysis for Land Management F&ES 80019 Entrepreneurial Business Planning F&ES 85030 Private Investment & the Environment F&ES 96006 Greening of the Industrial Facility F&ES 96019 Greening Business Operations F&ES 96112 Corporate Environmental Management and Strategy F&ES 94110 Public & Private Management of the Environment SOM students will need to have completed their first year at the school.
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Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Spring 2009 ________________________________________________________________________
The scope of the work for the clinic will include: 1) Development of a work plan with the client that outlines goals and processes; 2) Managing interim meetings with the client; 3) In-depth research and analysis; 4) Professionally written reports with findings and recommendations; 5) Oral presentation of findings and recommendations to the class -- and possibly to the client, depending on their preference and availability. Projects: Curtis Packaging is a private company in Connecticut that designs and makes high-end packaging. It is the first printing and packaging company in North America to be FSC certified, use 100% renewable energy and be 100% carbon neutral. The project will be to perform an updated carbon footprint analysis, develop a “green” scorecard, as well as look for additional opportunities to apply Global Reporting Initiatives to Curtis’ business. Fiji Water sources and sells natural artesian water from the Fiji Islands. It is the number one seller of imported bottled in the US. The Company seeks to minimize its environmental impact. For example, it is carbon negative in its operations. As a next step, Fiji would like to develop an overall “sustainability scorecard” it can apply to current and potential suppliers. The project will research existing scorecard models – and recommend a specific model for Fiji. Green Electronics Council has developed the Electronic Product Environmental Assessment Tool. This is a standard, a registry service and a verification system for electronic products. It has 30 subscribers – with more than 1,000 products. It is looking to expand its registry using partners. The project would evaluate potential partners, research similar types of business arrangements and make recommendations on how to structure mutually benefit business relationships. Nestlé Waters North America – based in Greenwich, CT – is a division of the global food company Nestlé S.A. It is the largest bottled water company in North America. Its labels include Poland Spring, Ice Mountain and Deer Park. The project is to research the market opportunity, and make specific marketing recommendations around, introducing a bottled water brand that directs all profits towards water resource projects. O, R&L is a CT based design and construction company. The Company encourages LEED accreditation for all employees and wishes to demonstrate to its clients its commitment to reducing their carbon footprint through green building practices. This project looks to develop the content for a green web page to educate and inform potential clients on O, R&L’s LEED capabilities, as well as the environmental benefits and potential long-term savings of green buildings.
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Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Spring 2009 ________________________________________________________________________
Pinchbeck greenhouse grew roses in Guilford, CT until recently, when it shut down because of competition from imported roses. It uses renewable biofuel to steam-heat the facility, as well as produce electricity for sale to the grid. The project will research the economic viability of using the greenhouse to grow other crops, such as produce for local sale. It will include in-depth research of the local market, customer and competitive environment. Proton Energy is a private Wallingford CT company. It designs and manufacturers systems that make hydrogen from water in a pollution-free way. Proton Energy sells these systems to utilities who use hydrogen as a coolant (not a source of fuel). The systems increase efficiency and reduce costs. Proton Energy is looking to develop a financial model that incorporates these savings, as well as the value of carbon credits, to use as a selling tool to prospective customers. The Unicorr Group is a family-owned corrugated packaging company with headquarters in North Haven, CT. It designs, manufacturers and assembles products such as corrugated paper packaging, point of purchase displays and plastic packaging. It is just beginning a corporate sustainability program. It is looking for a team to work with top management to develop a plan to assess the company’s carbon footprint – and to begin to measure it. www.unicorr.com Yale Club of New York is a members-only club in mid-town Manhattan. It has 150 hotel rooms, three restaurants, and a sports facility. It also does catering and custom events. The Club would like to increase the environmental friendliness of all its operations. This project will look at integrating local and organic ingredients into their food business. The analysis will be from the perspectives of: environmental benefits, access to supply and cost. Application Process: Attend the first class. Then, please email to Maureen.Burke@yale.edu your resume, along with one page explaining: 1. Your project preference or ranking of preference 2. Your background and/or interests that relate to your preference(s). The deadline for applications is Friday, January 16 at 5 PM. The instructor will review the applications and inform you of your acceptance and project assignment by 9 PM on Sunday, January 18.
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Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Spring 2009 ________________________________________________________________________
Business & Environment Clinic –Class Schedule Classes will alternate between Lectures and Meetings with instructors. On lecture class days, teams will also meet with the instructors briefly. Class Tuesday, January 13 Tuesday, January 20 Tuesday, January 27 Proposed Class Introduction: Class logistics; Project descriptions Lecture One: Project management tips, writing style, Research sources (Burke) Lecture Two: Project management tools and strategies Guest lecturers: Kathee Rebernak & Kyle Whittaker, consultants from FrameworkCR, which specializes in corporate sustainability consulting. Tuesday, February 3 Lecture Three: Understanding the environmental aspects of the science/technologies used in operations Julie Zimmerman, Assistant Professor of Green Engineering, Assistant Director for Research at Center for Green Chemistry and Green Engineering and Paul Anastas, Professor in the Practice of Green Chemistry Tuesday, February 10 Tuesday, February 17 Tuesday, February 24 Lecture Four: Business Analysis (Burke) Lecture Five: TBD (Carbon Footprint Analysis) Lecture Six: Andrea Doane, Director of Corporate Giving and Community Affairs at United Technologies to talk about processes and challenges in developing a corporate responsibility report Lecture Seven: Building Custom Financial Projections (Burke) Lecture Eight: Applications of Financial Analysis Tools (Burke) Lecture Nine: TBD (Company analysis of energy investment) Lecture Ten: Making Policy Recommendations (Gentry) Lecture Eleven: TBD (Company discussing navigating policy issues)
Tuesday, March 3 Tuesday, March 24 Tuesday, March 31 Tuesday, April 7 Tuesday, April 14
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Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Spring 2009 ________________________________________________________________________
Tuesday, April 21
Final Presentations of Project Findings – to Class
Lecture One & Two: Course logistics and Project Management Tools. Project management strategies and steps: managing the client relationship, developing a project work plan, setting and keeping deadlines, organizing and scheduling workload and team. Sources of research. Lecture Three: Evaluating the Science Behind the Environmental Technologies/Services Involved. An assessment of technologies/services from the perspectives of effectiveness and efficiency. This will include a student-led discussion of what technology or science plays a role in their respective projects. Lecture Four: Business Analysis Tools. A discussion of how to evaluate the client’s business situation – through market, customer and competitive analysis. Lectures Five: Application of Business Analysis Tools A speaker TBD will talk about the objectives, processes and challenges associated with a company carbon footprint assessment. Lecture Six: Application of Business Analysis Tools A manager from UTC will talk about the objectives, processes and challenges associated with developing a company corporate responsibility report. Lecture Seven: Financial Models: A review of building custom financial models by projecting revenues, costs and capital expenditures associated with a project. Lecture Eight: Using Financial Analysis Tools: A discussion of the common financial return metrics used to evaluate business decisions. What are the strengths and weaknesses of the different approaches for these projects? Lecture Nine: Using Projections and Financial Analysis Tools: A TBD speaker will talk about the financial analysis behind an environmental investment. Lecture Ten: Making Judgments on Policy Recommendations Suggestions for how the students might decide what policy changes to recommend that their clients advocate, if any, in order to improve both the business opportunity and the broader sustainability benefits? Lecture Eleven: Speaker will talk about how policies impact his/her organization and how s/he work to influence policy changes.
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Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Spring 2009 ________________________________________________________________________
Student Obligations: Teams will develop a work plan for the client – summarizing the issues, work outputs and deadlines. They will develop an interim report and final report – first for delivery to the instructors and then for client review. They will also deliver an oral class presentation at the end of the class that summarizes the project and its results. Key Dates and Deadlines for Deliverables Project Research on Client: Two pages max on 1) What they do 2) their history, 3) where they operate/sell and 4) recent relevant news Client Meeting Draft Work Plan to Client Deliver Final Work Plan to Client Technology/Science Discussion Draft of Interim Client Report Draft of Final Client Report Oral Presentations of Report -- to the Class Send Final Report to Client Due: Tuesday, January 20
Week of January 20 Tuesday, January 27 Week of January 27 Tuesday, February 3 Tuesday, October 21 Tuesday, November 18 Tuesday, December 2 By Thursday, December 18
Student Grading: For teams of three or more, half of the student grade will come from the client’s and instructors’ assessment of the quality of the final report. The other half of a student’s grade will take into account their teammates’ assessments of the quality and quantity of the student’s work, as well as their overall contribution to the team. The way it works is:
O After delivery of the Interim Report and again near the end of the course, each person will
complete a performance appraisal report about the other members of their team.
O The professors will be the only people to see all of these reports. The sources of these
reports will be kept strictly confidential.
O The professors will consolidate all the performance appraisal input and disguise sources.
Each student will receive a detailed, individual performance assessment, including many comments about their perceived greatest strengths and areas needing improvement.
O The form of the “Team Review” report for the first appraisal is below.
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Yale School of Forestry & Environmental Studies Spring 2009 ________________________________________________________________________
Teamwork Evaluation Your Name: Team Member’s Name (“Appraisee”): Mark Box under the Number with an “X” Q1: In your opinion, what was the Appraisee’s overall performance on this case? Fair 1 As Expected 2 3 4 5 Great 6
Q2: What was the Appraisee’s quantity of work effort on this case? Fair 1 As Expected 2 3 4 5 Great 6
Q3: What was the Appraisee’s quality of work on this case? Fair 1 As Expected 2 3 4 5 Great 6
Q4: Please indicate the Appraisee’s three greatest strengths as a team member: 1. 2. 3. Q5: Suggest three areas the Appraisee could develop to improve future performance: 1. 2. 3.
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