Sample Consulting Projects
A sampling of project types:
Strategy
A professional services firm recognized the need to utilize
CSR to improve internal policies to strengthen employee retention.
Additionally, the firm realized CSR could be a new product
offering for their professionals. Four of our students were
engaged to perform a study of these external and internal
environments and make recommendations about CSR leadership
opportunities for the firm. The client liaison reported directly
to the Chairman and CEO.
The project resulted in the blue-print for several of the
firm’s long-term CSR strategies and resulted in the
hiring of one of the students to implement the plan.
Metrics
A Fortune 500 apparel company that initially implemented
CSR primarily because of external pressure has transformed
themselves into a CSR leader. To increase the efficacy of
its CSR efforts, the company asked a group of our students
to develop a Scorecard that would track the company’s
performance in the areas of Ethical Sourcing, Environment,
CSR Reputation, Public Policy and Corporate Governance. The
students focused on the business case for incorporating metrics
into a CSR strategy, devised a Scorecard of the most relevant
metrics in the aforementioned areas, and benchmarked the company’s
performance against other influential companies in the CSR
sphere.
The final presentation was delivered to over 20 executives
from the Social Responsibility, Legal, Communications, Government
Affairs, Environment and Public Affairs departments, as well
as the company’s foundation. The project began an important
dialogue about measuring the impact of CSR efforts and is
a tool for future progress in this area. One of the students
from the project was hired as a summer intern to further explore
the area of Reputation and develop a multi-media communications
strategy for strengthening the company’s status with
regards to CSR.
Reporting
A Fortune 500 semi-conductor company that has been
reporting within the Global Reporting Initiative (GRI) guidelines
for the past several years engaged our students to provide
a third-party assessment of their Global Citizenship Report
under AccountAbility’s AA1000 Assurance Standards. The
students interviewed content owners of many areas of the company
including Environmental Health and Safety, Corporate Communications,
Technology Development, Public Affairs, and Materials.
The project resulted in a statement from the students summarizing
their assessment and highlighting areas the company can improve
their CSR reporting process. This statement was published
on the company’s website and has since been referenced
by AccountAbility as an example of AA1000 adoption.
Product
Development
A software company that develops widely accepted finance and
accounting programs utilized our students to develop a philanthropic
initiative to bring finance and accounting tools to high-need
communities.
The students’ hard work and ‘outside the box’
thinking allowed the company to accelerate the completion
of their project.
Stakeholder
Engagement
A Fortune 500 apparel company sought strategies to deepen
its relationship with local community stakeholders in Los
Angeles, one of their largest and most important markets.
Our students developed a local stakeholder engagement strategy
by interviewing numerous consumers and local retailers to
assess the needs of their communities. The strategy developed
was used as a model that will be replicated in other key markets.
Additionally, the students surveyed important consumer demographics
to gain insights on the company's target consumers.
Two of the students involved in this project used their experience
to obtain internships at Fortune 500 Consumer Products and
Technology companies in brand management and product development.
Market
Research
An international marketer, producer, and distributor of fresh
and processed food, engaged our students to conduct an opportunity
assessment of the natural and organic foods industry in North
America. The students were asked to make strategic recommendations
on expansion options, linked to the company’s CSR strategy,
into this market.
One of the students involved in the project has continued
to pursue her interest in organic foods by working at an organic
oil company. The client liaison from the project has since
been recognized for his efforts as corporate responsibility
officer and had been promoted to Treasurer and more recently
to Chief Financial Officer.
Marketing
A global professional services firm asked a group of our students
to develop a CSR communication strategy for their global business.
The students were instructed to consider stakeholder expectations
and benchmark recommendations on content and communication
channels. This project was intended to set aspirational but
realistic objectives in order to establish best practices
and long-term goals for the firm.
The firm has since published their first Annual Report, an
important first-step in changing how the firm communicates
CSR to their clients and stakeholders.
Supply
Chain
A Fortune 500 technology company sought help from a student
team to further its global citizenship leadership in supply
chain by developing a common Supplier Code of Conduct across
companies in the IT industry group. The students contributed
to creating a common electronic tracking and reporting tool
and identifying Code of Conduct content.
One of the students from the project obtained a summer internship
within the company’s Governmental Affairs department
primarily because of her in-class project experience.
Socially
Responsible Investing (SRI)
A Fortune 500 apparel company engaged a group of our students
to determine if there is value to be added to the company’s
asset management practice through the inclusion of Social
Responsible Investing (SRI) as part of its portfolio. The
students evaluated risk and reward characteristics that the
company could subsequently use as screen for selecting future
investments.
Ethics
A Fortune 500 consumer products company that experienced extreme
external pressure because of ethical missteps has since established
new ethical standards and internal compliance programs. Our
students were asked to evaluate the company’s new policies
with best practices in ethics and compliance.
One of the students was hired as a summer intern to implement
a number of the recommendations developed by the student team.
