ABB's Hydropower Sustainability Dilemma Case Solution And Analysis, HBR Case Study Solution & Analysis of Harvard Case Studies

This case is all about the multinational company ABB, the development of its own sustainability strategy, in supplying hydropower dam projects and its particular predicaments. The letter discussed the alleged violations of sustainability standards when building the Nam Theun 2 dam in Laos. Roscoe needed to assess what implication the letter had for ABB. ABB had a large stake in the outcomes of the project. As ABB had a well-developed sustainability practice in its core business, this type of communication from a big well-known NGO might affect the policies and practices in sustainability of ABB. On the one hand, the World Bank and also the Asian Development Bank had a big stake in seeing that the job was successful in its social and external facets.

On the other hand, ABB needed to think about the position of its stakeholders including customers, investors, media and NGOs. The business could face a standing risk linked to the job if ABB was correlated with a dam project which did not comply with international regulations outlined by the World Bank as well as the Equator Principles of financial institutions. This could result in adverse publicity and, potentially, loss of business. Adam so confronted two interweaved questions: Would the International Rivers' letter present a standing danger for ABB? What would this example mean for ABB's sustainability standards and objectives and would this must be recognized, and, if so, how?

PUBLICATION DATE: November 30, 2011 PRODUCT #: W11540-HCB-ENG

This is just an excerpt. This case is about STRATEGY & EXECUTION