LSC/UoS BA: Climeworks Case Study on Building Sustainable Organisation

This case study analysis delves into Climeworks, a visionary company aiming to combat climate change by capturing carbon dioxide directly from the air. The report critically evaluates the roles and responsibilities of its strategic leaders, Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher, in establishing a sustainable organization. It discusses strategic management concepts and tools, such as benchmarking, OKRs, and scenario planning, applicable to sustainability issues. Furthermore, the analysis explores the economic and ethical dilemmas faced by these leaders in balancing short-term objectives with long-term sustainability goals, including funding challenges and market selection. The study highlights the importance of sustainability in enhancing brand reputation and reducing operational costs, emphasizing the need for strategic leadership in driving sustainable business practices.

Building A Sustainable
Organisation

Contents
INTRODUCTION...........................................................................................................................1
TASK 1 ...........................................................................................................................................1
Critical evaluation of roles and responsibilities of Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher as
strategic managers .......................................................................................................................1
Discussion of the concepts and tools of strategic management which applicable to issues of
sustainability................................................................................................................................3
TASK 2 ...........................................................................................................................................4
Explanation of economic and ethical dilemmas which are faced by strategic leaders in
balancing their short and long-term objectives............................................................................4
CONCLUSION ...............................................................................................................................5
REFERENCES ...............................................................................................................................7

INTRODUCTION
Sustainability in regards with business can be understood as doing organisational
operations without impacting the environment, community as well as society negatively
(Abdelkafi and Täuscher, 2016). Sustainability helps business organisations in reducing cost,
improving brand value, developing innovative products and many more. Apart from business
activities, sustainability is considered as important as it improves the quality of life, preserves
natural system as well as protecting ecosystem in an effective manner. In regards with corporate
world, it is closely associated with holistic approach of an organisation initiating from
manufacturing to offering services or products to end consumers.
This project report comprises of an understanding of roles and responsibilities of two
strategic leaders, namely, Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher. It also discusses about the
concepts as well as tools in relation to strategic business management practices which are
applicable for solving the problems of sustainability. It also depicts an understanding about the
economic as well as ethical dilemmas which are faced by strategic leaders in balancing their
short-term and long-term goals.
TASK 1
Critical evaluation of roles and responsibilities of Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher as
strategic managers
It is imperative for strategic leaders to follow their roles as well as responsibilities in an
effective manner in order to adopt sustainable practices in an effective manner (Cavaleri and
Shabana, 2018). Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher have founded a start-up enterprise which
is named as “Climeworks” in 2009 (Climeworks (A): A visionary business to help stop climate
change. 2022) This enterprise is based on technological aspects which ensures to slow down the
massive issues in regards with climate change through capturing Carbon dioxide directly from
air. Their business idea is unique and have an potential impact on humanity in a strategic
manner. Major responsibilities of these two strategic leaders is to develop a robust technology
which influence humanity in a positive manner. It also comprises of reducing their operational
cost in regards with production as well as building a viable business model that captures as well
as sell carbon dioxide directly to desired market. Their role includes determining a well-
developed market for selling their end product, carbon dioxide. It also comprises of creating new
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markets for selling their end products. Their responsibilities also encompasses of making the
markets aware about the emerging technology they are using and its benefits to masses.
It has been observed that Climeworks took an approach which is multipronged in nature
while seeking markets for their end products which encompasses of emission reversal, fuel as
well as beverages. Varied other roles and responsibilities of strategic managers in relevance with
Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher are mentioned below:
Setting of directions- Set-up of directions as well as providing guidance to employees for
attaining organisational objectives is considered as major role of strategic leaders (Freudenreich,
Lüdeke-Freund and Schaltegger, 2020). They set a vision and also provides direction for
accomplishing it in a strategic manner with possible resources. Strategic leaders such as
Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher have followed their role in regards with setting of a vision
for Climeworks to be achieve. They set a vision for Climeworks that it is needed to address
uncertainties, identifying as well as leveraging market demands in a significant manner. Strategic
leaders have set a direction which encompasses of involving those companies who are in need
for carbon dioxide which is found to be beverage industry. Their mission behind this business
idea is to reduce the impact of climate change in an effective manner and adopt sustainable
practices in an effective manner.
Establishing proper communication channels- For accomplishing the desired goals in
an effective manner, it is desirable for strategic leaders to establish and maintain communication
channels in a proper manner (Hedstrom, 2018). This practice would help managers in clearly
defining organisational objectives to employees in an effective manner. Strategic leaders such as
Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher also put their efforts in establishing clear communication
channels for leveraging their organisational objectives in a proper way to varied stakeholders.
Responsibilities
Create an effective corporate culture- It is the major responsibility of strategic leaders to
develop corporate culture of company in such a way which led employees to work with
enthusiasm and zeal (Morioka and de Carvalho, 2016). It helps them to reduce their employees
turnover in a strategic manner. Strategic leaders, Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher have
engaged workforce who share a sense of common purpose in regards with adoption of
sustainability practices. Due to this, Climeworks had little employee turnover as they essentially
focuses on investing in skills as well as continuous learning of their employees. For developing
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their corporate culture, Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher have introduced on-site yoga
classes, boot camps as well as social events for enhancing competencies of their employees in an
effective manner.
Arranging funds for doing the operations- It is imperative for entrepreneurs to arrange
funds for smooth functioning of their operations in an effective manner (Rezaee, 2016). This
financial aid led to enhance economic viability in an effective manner. Christoph Gebald and Jan
Wurzbacher have tried hard to arrange funds for their unique venture idea. They have realised
that traditional investors which favours social as well as financial returns does not have long-
term perspective as well as patience which is needed by this start-up. Climeworks required
unconventional approach in regards with vision as well as technology and market development
in a strategic manner. They target those investors who willingly believes in risk analysis for
creating an investment opportunity. They choose wealthy individuals as well as families as their
potential investors for their investments in an effective manner.
Discussion of the concepts and tools of strategic management which applicable to issues of
sustainability
Strategic management can be understood as a practice in regards with setting goals,
objectives, procedures for making an organisation more competitive in an effective manner
(Schaltegger and Wagner, 2017). It is considered as advantageous as it help managers in
discharging responsibilities in a strategic manner. It also provides a framework in regards with
decision-making process undertaken by strategic leaders. It essentially involves top management
which can handle long-term issues in a strategic manner. Varied concepts as well as tools of
strategic management which can be applied to the issues of maintaining sustainability are as
follows:
Benchmarking
It can be understood as a practice which aid in measuring performance of products,
services and procedures of an organisation which are considered as best in industry (Schaltegger
and Wagner, 2017). Benchmarking in regards with sustainability are considered as the ways
which critically evaluates the performance in respect to voluntary standards in an effective
manner. This tool can be adopted by Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher at their Climeworks
in an effective manner for measuring sustainable practices. Through this, they can also make an
apt comparison of their operations with the competitors in market. This can also be used by them
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in setting standards in an effective manner for making comparison in their internal practices.
This strategic tool is considered as helpful for them in managing their business operations in
respect to sustainability effectively.
Objective and key Results (OKR)
Objective and key Results is understood as goal-setting framework which is used by
individuals, organisations as well as teams for defining measurable goals and track their progress
(Schoormann and Et. Al., 2016). It provides guidance to organisations to be transparent in their
practices and align desired objectives in a hierarchal manner. This can be used by strategic
leaders such as Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher for making their business more
sustainable. Through this, they can set objectives for accomplishing such as reducing carbon
emissions from environment and curb climate change practices in an effective manner. By
adopting this tool, they can also measure if their objectives are streamlined with sustainable
practices or not.
Scenario planning
Scenario planning can be described as a practice whereby future assumptions are
identified and help in depicting how an organisation will respond to it in a strategic manner. It
aid organisational managers in forecasting specified uncertainties which can arise and influence
the enterprise in a significant manner. Uncertainties can affect business operations in varied ways
such as fluctuations in economic trends, dynamic market conditions, climate change and many
more. Strategic leaders such as Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher can adopt this concept as
this would help them in forecasting about the uncertainties which can arise in future. These
practices will help them to make necessary improvements in their operations and emerging laws
in relation to sustainability. Through this, they can assess the desired risks and can opt for better
options to mitigate them effectively.
TASK 2
Explanation of economic and ethical dilemmas which are faced by strategic leaders in balancing
their short and long-term objectives
Economic dilemmas can be understood as the problem regarding how limited as well as
scarce resources can be used for achieving organisational objectives in a strategic manner (Singh
and Vinodh, 2017). These dilemma arises as needs and wants are unlimited but for fulfilling it,
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resources are limited. Strategic leaders such as Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher also faced
economic dilemma while arranging funds for their operations. While arranging their funds,
initially they face issues due to identification and awareness of their unique business idea among
investors. However, they managed to overcome their economic dilemma as they received grants
from Swiss and German governments in a strategic manner. These funds not only help them in
enhancing their operations but also led them to hire new employees for scaling up their business
practices in an effective manner.
Ethical dilemmas can be understood as situations whereby an individual is confused
about two conflicting moral requirements which needs to be considered by them in an effective
manner. This involves a choice or decision from which an individual needs to select one on the
basis of their rationality as per the given situation. Climeworks was involved into food and
beverage industry by selling their carbon dioxide to the companies subsisting in those sectors.
Fuel markets have opened up a new market for them to combine carbon dioxide with hydrogen
in order to turn it into substitute for fossil fuel. Strategic leaders such as Christoph Gebald and
Jan Wurzbacher were in ethical dilemma as they do not know which markets are suitable for
their operations in respect to government regulations. Industry disruption as well as innovative
strategies are needed to be develop for reducing the destructive effects of climate change but it
cost high for Climeworks. Christoph Gebald and Jan Wurzbacher are in ethical dilemma of
choosing their long term vision of being sustainable and neutralise the effect of carbon in a
strategic manner or incurs huge cost which reduce their profit margins.
These ethical dilemmas and economic dilemmas create issues for Christoph Gebald and
Jan Wurzbacher in maintaining a balance between their long-term as well as short-term vision in
a significant manner. Their long term vision is to curb the level of carbon dioxide emission in
global level from Earth's atmosphere by 2025 (Climeworks (B): Business modelling - creating
new market opportunities. 2022). for accomplishing this, they face ethical as well as economic
dilemmas in a significant manner.
CONCLUSION
From the above mentioned information, it has been assessed that sustainability is vital
aspect in business as it led to enhance brand reputation, improves credibility as well as reduce
operational costs in a strategic manner. Varied roles and responsibilities which needs to be
undertaken by strategic leaders comprises of arranging of funds, developing corporate culture,
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providing directions, developing proper communication channels in an effective manner.
Strategic management is regards with processes, ways which help organisational managers in
enhancing their efficiency as well as productivity in an effective manner. Ethical dilemma is a
situation whereby individuals are not in a position to make a strategic choice from the two
options.
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REFERENCES
Books and Journals:
Abdelkafi, N. and Täuscher, K., 2016. Business models for sustainability from a system
dynamics perspective. Organization & Environment. 29(1). pp.74-96.
Cavaleri, S. and Shabana, K., 2018. Rethinking sustainability strategies. Journal of Strategy and
Management.
Freudenreich, B., Lüdeke-Freund, F. and Schaltegger, S., 2020. A stakeholder theory perspective
on business models: Value creation for sustainability. Journal of Business Ethics, 166(1),
pp.3-18.
Hedstrom, G. S., 2018. Sustainability: What it is and how to Measure it. Walter de Gruyter
GmbH & Co KG.
Morioka, S. N. and de Carvalho, M. M., 2016. A systematic literature review towards a
conceptual framework for integrating sustainability performance into business. Journal
of Cleaner Production, 136, pp.134-146.
Rezaee, Z., 2016. Business sustainability research: A theoretical and integrated
perspective. Journal of Accounting literature.
Schaltegger, S. and Wagner, M. eds., 2017. Managing the business case for sustainability: The
integration of social, environmental and economic performance. Routledge.
Schaltegger, S. and Wagner, M., 2017. Managing and measuring the business case for
sustainability: Capturing the relationship between sustainability performance, business
competitiveness and economic performance. In Managing the business case for
sustainability (pp. 1-27). Routledge.
Schoormann, T. and Et. Al., 2016. Sustainability in business models–a literature-review-based
design-science-oriented research agenda.
Singh, A. K. and Vinodh, S., 2017. Modeling and performance evaluation of agility coupled with
sustainability for business planning. Journal of Management Development.
Online:
Vogel P. and Olynec N., 2022. Climeworks (B): Business modeling - creating new market
opportunities. [Online] Available through:
<https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/case-studies/case-studies/Climeworks-B-
business-modeling-creating-new-market-opportunities/>
Peter P., and Olynec N., 2022. Climeworks (A): A visionary business to help stop climate change.
[Online] Available through:
<https://www.imd.org/research-knowledge/case-studies/case-studies/imd-7-2083/
#:~:text=Climeworks%20(A)%3A%20A%20visionary%20business%20to%20help
%20stop%20climate%20change,-By%20Professor%20Peter&text=Christoph%20Gebald
%20and%20Jan%20Wurzbacher,CO2%20directly%20from%20the%20air.>
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