Description
This case study, set in 2021, centres on the story of Tru Earth Environmental Products Inc. (Tru Earth), an innovative startup company that provided a range of eco-friendly household products. Alongside its development, Tru Earth faced challenges of balancing its commitment to sustainability with a growth-based marketing strategy. The case underscores this tension as realized through the goals of Tru Earth’s environmental and sustainability impact specialist, Mckenna Liski, and those of the marketing team. The tension ultimately led to Mckenna’s resignation, leaving Tru Earth’s chief executive officer (CEO), Brad Liski, to consider how Tru Earth could live its values and pursue its sustainability goals without being perceived as greenwashing in the eyes of customers.
This case is suited for undergraduate and graduate-level courses in sustainability and social responsibility, marketing and communications, and oanizational behaviour and strategy. It explores the challenges of managing a purpose-driven business that balances growth, environmental commitments, and organizational dynamics. After working through the case and assignment questions, students will be able to do the following:
- Analyze and understand the challenges of integrating sustainability into an organization’s growth strategy and authentically communicating sustainability claims while avoiding greenwashing.
- Analyze the organizational structure and its influence on sustainability commitments.
- Develop insights to aligning marketing and sustainability practices for mission-driven businesses.
- Examine the potential conflicts among business departments because of different strategic goals.
This case is part of our Sustainability: ESG and SDG Collection.
The case addresses the environmental and governance aspects of ESG, and the following SDGs:
Reviews
There are no reviews yet.