Department of Business

Course 2023-24
International Strategy, GEI

"Strategic business challenges in the face of climate change"

Group work Continuous Assessment (20%)

• Introduction to the challenge:

Little progress has been made since the signing of the Kyoto Protocol in 1997 despite a
commitment to limit and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by most industrialized countries.
This summer we have had temperatures of the highest that are remembered in weather, with
heat waves that have exceeded 40 degrees in many parts of the world. Added to this extreme
heat this winter is the absence of precipitation during this year 2024 causing one of the most
serious droughts in recent decades. In Catalonia, for the first time in history, water reserves are
below 16%. A situation that is repeated in Europe, where 64% of the territory is currently
affected by the same consequences of drought.
These are clear symptoms of climate change caused mainly by the burning of fossil fuels such as
coal, oil and gas. As a result of increased emissions, the Earth's temperature is between 1.43-
1.69 o C higher than at the end of the nineteenth century, and last year this value was 1.1o C. The
consequences of climate change include, among other aspects, water scarcity, severe fires,
rising sea levels, floods, melting of the poles, catastrophic storms and decreased biodiversity.
This winter’s events have highlighted the importance of the climate emergency and the need
for developed countries and their companies to make a special effort to mitigate its
consequences. In fact, the United Nations since 2015 has already established the 17 Sustainable
Development Goals (SDGs) as a universal call to protect the planet with a view to 2030. This
will involve many companies taking a strategic turn by taking measures to be more sustainable,
reducing emissions and energy consumption to try to curb climate change.
Thus, in this uncertain situation, many changes are foreseen and the emergence of new
technological and business opportunities. The change in general mentality regarding issues such
as sustainability, recycling, energy consumption, caring for the environment, etc. pushes
governments, universities, NGOs and companies in particular to take a more active role and
promote changes to respond to the challenges posed.

• Objective:

In this context, you are asked to carry out a consulting report on the strategic diagnosis of an
industry or sector, which includes an external analysis of the environment, as well as an internal
analysis of a real company within that sector. Once this diagnosis has been made, you must
consider the strategic guidelines of the business, rethinking its general strategy to deal with
climate change.

Choice of industry and company and creation of groups:

First, the teams will be formed (between 3 and 5 students per group) and once created, the
different sectors and companies to be analyzed will be assigned. No sector or company that has
not been previously validated by the teacher will be accepted.

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 Department of Business
Course 2023-24
International Strategy, GEI

Structure and content of the consulting report:

Introduction: Presentation of the team of consultants who prepare the report and basic
description of the industry (market size, segments, CNAE, etc.) and chosen company (name,
basic activity, turnover, number of workers, geographical area where it operates, etc.).

External diagnosis: the challenges that affect the sector in relation to climate change must be
identified through the external analysis that must include a PESTEL analysis, the analysis of the
competitive environment through the Porter 5 Forces model, as well as the identification of the
different segments of the sector. The environmental factors related to the change of scenario
that pose an opportunity or a threat to the sector should be noted.

Internal diagnosis: through the internal analysis of the chosen company, it is necessary to
examine how these challenges affect the company. Their strengths and weaknesses must be
identified from the value chain and the analysis of resources and capacities. The internal
diagnosis should include the description of the basic activities of the company, its competitive
strategy, competitive advantages over the main competitors, as well as its resources and
capabilities.

Strategic recommendations for the chosen company: Of all the aspects analyzed in the previous
sections (external and internal diagnosis), one or two specific challenges must be chosen and
the essential organizational and strategic changes that the company could apply to deal with
climate change must be proposed. You can rethink your business model by doing an analysis
through canvas. In the event that you have contacted the analyzed company, your feedback can
be included regarding the recommendations made.

References and sources of information used: include all references, sources and resources used
to make the report.

• Format of the Consulting Report:

The consulting report must be prepared in a maximum of 10 sheets so that the information
contained must be concise, direct, relevant, quantitative and visual, for example, using tools
such as Infographics. Don't waste space including superfluous and inaccurate information. Your
claims must be based on reliable qualitative/quantitative information. The sources of the data
and information used when making the diagnosis must always be indicated. At the end of the
report, apart from the 10 sheets, a section of bibliographic references must be included with no
extension limit.

• Stages and Delivery Process:

The work will be carried out in three different stages.

Stage 1: Choice of industry/company and work plan.

- Presentation of the work by the teacher (February 14th, 2024)

- Creation of working groups and delivery of the proposal for the choice of industry and
company and work plan according to attached files (March 1st , 2024)
- Conformity by the teacher (Week of March 11th, 2024).

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 Department of Business
Course 2023-24
International Strategy, GEI

Stage 2: Elaboration of the work

- Group work and preparation of the consulting report (research and analysis of
information, interviews carried out, writing work, elaboration of figures, graphs, tables,
infograms ... etc.)
- Control follow-up of group work: Delivery of a first draft and a follow-up report of the
initial work plan (April 19th, 2024)
- Teacher feedback of the submitted draft (week of April 29th, 2024)

Stage 3: Final delivery and presentation

- Delivery of the final consulting report This report can be delivered in pdf or word
through the virtual campus or in other different digital formats such as the creation of
a web page (May 17th, 2024).
- Presentations (week of May 20th). The teacher will specify the visual format and the way
of making the presentations of the reports.
- The final grades of the work will be published together with the final grade of continuous
evaluation before June 12th, 2023.

• Evaluation of the work:

The note of the work is constructed from the following components:

Consultancy report: structure, coherence, writing, reflection and analysis, sources and 5
resources, interviews, company feedback, presentation, format, etc.
Work process: work plan, work organization, monitoring control, etc. (evaluation of 2
worksheets), individual contribution to the work.
Presentation: clarity of exposition, adjustment to time, support material, questions and 3
comments, contribution to the debate generated, etc.
TOTAL 10

Sources and bibliographic references on climate change:

https://www.un.org/es/climatechange/what-is-climate-change [ Accessed 31 July 2023]

https://unfccc.int/es/process-and-meetings/the-convention/que-es-la-convencion-marco-de-
las-naciones-unidas-sobre-el-cambio-climatico [ Accessed 31 July 2023]

https://unfccc.int/es/kyoto_protocol [ Accessed 31 July 2023]

https://www.undp.org/es/sustainable-development-goals [Accessed 31 July 2023]

https://www.mckinsey.com/business-functions/sustainability/our-insights/playing-offense-to-
create-value-in-the-net-zero-
transition?hlkid=9c1d005849cb42c29a759e002b37b0cf&hctky=13028842&hdpid=3b087ddc-
b594-43f7-80e0-7b52946da283 [ Retrieved 6 September 2023]

https://www.epe.es/es/espana/20220823/2022-tercer-ano-seco-siglo-xxi-14332668 [
Retrieved 2 September 2023]

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 Department of Business
Course 2023-24
International Strategy, GEI

https://www.miteco.gob.es/es/cambio-climatico/temas/mitigacion-politicas-y-
medidas/objetivos.aspx [ Retrieved 6 September 2023]

https://www.imo.org/es/MediaCentre/HotTopics/Pages/Reducing-greenhouse-gas-emissions-
from-ships.aspx [ Accessed 6 September 2023]

Library databases available at the UB:

Link to Databases : https://cercabib.ub.edu/discovery/dbsearch?vid=34csuc_ub:VU1&lang=ca

Statista: International database that includes more than one million statistics from 18,000
sources of information. It includes reports and trends in sectors, market and consumer studies,
statistical dossiers, surveys and infographics.

Sabi: Iberian Balance Sheet System containing detailed financial information on 2,600,000
Spanish and 800,000 Portuguese companies.

Factiva: Database of current affairs and business and economic information, resulting from the
collaboration between Reuters and Dow Jones. It includes full-text sources of information
(newspapers, commercial reviews, company reports) etc.

How to make a Consulting Report:

https://www.tipsempresariales.com/tips/redaccion-de-informes-de-consultoria-consultoria [
Retrieved 6 September 2023]

https://www.cuidatudinero.com/13115170/como-escribir-un-informe-con-formato-de-
consultoria [Consulted 6 September 2023]

https://consultordigital.org/como-hacer-un-informe-de-consultoria/ [Consulted 6 September

2023]

How to make an Infographic:

https://es.wikipedia.org/wiki/infograf%C3%ADa [accessed 2 September 2023]

http://www.ofifacil.com/ofifacil-infografias-que-es-definicion-como-se-hacen.php [consulted
2 Sep 2023]