Case Studies
HERproject: Investing in Women Workers for Health and Business Returns
The global economy has brought millions of women between the ages of 16 and 25 into employment in export factories all across the developing world. Because many of these women are migrants working long hours, they are often isolated from traditional support networks that can help them with challenges such as working conditions, proper compensation, and access to education, health care, and other social services. At the same time, there is a great opportunity to leverage their presence in global supply chains to improve the welfare of these women, many of whom are entering the formal economy for the first time.
Nestlé Waters North America: Strengthening Dialogue with Communities
As the largest producer of bottled spring water in the United States, Nestlé Waters North America (NWNA) faces a unique set of challenges related to managing a natural resource perceived by many as a public good. The company has faced criticism at its spring water sites in North America from community members who have two primary concerns.
Walmart: Improving Supplier Energy Efficiency
In 2008, Walmart committed to improving the energy efficiency of its top 200 suppliers’ factories in China by 20 percent by 2012. With the aim not only to benefit the environment but also to help suppliers become more competitive, Walmart sought to replicate the success it has had in Europe and the United States in increasing supply chain efficiency. In China, however, the company found that its suppliers often prioritize overall growth over increased energy efficiency. As a result, operations managers commonly lack the necessary incentives and know-how to achieve efficiency improvements. An additional challenge in China is the lack of a developed professional energy-efficiency industry to provide equipment and data-measurement tools that make this process easier in other regions. To help overcome these barriers, Walmart enlisted BSR’s help.
Pfizer: Focusing, Refining, and Aligning CSR with a New Strategy
In late 2008, Pfizer began a process to refine its CSR strategy to better support the company’s evolving business priorities and organizational changes. This presented a new opportunity to involve senior leaders and functions from across the company in guiding the company’s approach to CSR. The company also wanted to leverage its strong environmental, health, and safety (EHS) programs to build a leading environmental sustainability initiative that would connect to and support its other CSR strategies. Pfizer’s CSR leadership and its EHS team asked BSR to help guide the development of these new strategies, to support their global implementation, and to assist with its external reporting.
Hitachi: A Global Strategy for Social Innovation
In 2006, Japan-based Hitachi Ltd. committed to a new corporate strategy to stabilize business performance and create a foundation for long-term growth based on its vision of contributing to the solution of fundamental global challenges. The company had grown into 900-plus business units, serving diverse sectors, including power systems, appliances, transportation systems, advanced materials, construction equipment, data centers, and much more. Ultimately, Hitachi wanted to ensure that the new strategy aligned its businesses around the common theme of “social innovation,” and provided a platform for innovation and sustained growth. Hitachi asked BSR to help create a strategy for social innovation that would strengthen commercial performance and contribute to solutions to significant global challenges linked to sustainability.
