Feeling The Heat: Allianz And Wwf Pushing An Industry Towards Climate Change Action Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

IMD-2-0142 © 2009
Billington, Corey; Ionescu-Somers, Aileen; Braga Tania

This case documents one on the financial services industry, the efforts of two organizations that are leading and also the other a world-wide NGO, to roll out an initiative to hedge company impacts of climate change. It follows Allianz and WWF during their experience of building a partnership for action leadership and illustrates the challenges and barriers encountered during implementation. It gives a framework for discussions around the implementation “pain points” of ambitious strategies with long-term objectives, which include high uncertainties, risks and business opportunities. It opens the floor for an interesting discussion about how to take on the challenges of a changing business context and balance them against long term goals. Allianz along with WWF joint venture emerged from a collaborative knowledge-raising effort to an action-driven partnership with all the aspiration to lead the financial industry on the climate change issue by example. The partnership aims were to quantify climate change effects on financial services and use it as an innovation driver for products and services in insurance, banking and asset management business. In 2008, a year following the partnership was executed, points of tension in the operating level collected, mostly in regard to the government model and follow up on particular problems. In the exact same interval, the financial markets disaster hit.

This changed the business environment and driven Allianz to reconsider their strategy and employ WWF on discussing where, if and the way the partnership may be adjusted while keeping the core strategy. Learning ojbectives: 1) Comprehend the challenges of rolling out sustainability strategies. 2) Exemplify the predicaments of adapting to a changingbusiness circumstance while staying on course with long term aims, especially in difficult business circumstances. 3) Exemplify the obstacles and success factors of corporate sustainability partnerships. 4) Change the standard understanding of company obligation in pushing forward the agenda for action on climate change and other “mega-issues”.