Course Overview
Applications now open, due Tuesday November 7th, 11:59 pm.
Apply here https://chicagobooth.az1.qualtrics.com/jfe/form/SV_8cwFCJMF1UVmVjU
This lab course centers around several live consulting projects that allow students to consider the role of the firm in society by exploring the domains of corporate social responsibility (CSR), Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG), Sustainability, and more.
The Winter 2024 course will include three projects, sponsored by KraftHeinz, DuPont, and Allstate.
Class time will be about 50% project-based, complemented by cases, discussions, and guest speakers who extend learnings beyond the projects. There will be some attention to how students work as a team and what you learn from that experience.
By application only. Applications open 10/31/2023 and will be due 11/7/2023, so your participation can be finalized by the close of Phase 1 bidding on 11/13/2023.
Class sessions are required and will be in-person only with no remote option. Final presentations will be held during exam week. There will be additional required meetings with your client outside of class.
Since this is a Tuesday class, the first class meets in Week 2, on 1/9/2023, and attendance at the first class is mandatory.
Students will be divided into three groups that will work independently
2024 Projects:
Project A – Allstate:
Allstate exists to serve customers, create opportunity for our team, generate attractive returns for investors, improve communities, and make a difference in the world. The Allstate Foundation (https://allstatefoundation.org) and Social Impact team at Allstate (https://www.allstatecorporation.com) will be engaging with Booth students to develop strategies and tactics that envisions that Allstate should be known by consumers for its social impact as much as it is known today for its insurance products and services. Students will navigate ways to increase consumer awareness of the good work that Allstate and The Allstate Foundation do and increase its social impact by activating consumers to take action in three pillar areas: Relationship Abuse, Youth Empowerment, Racial Equity. Strategies and tactics will align with Allstate’s and The Allstate Foundation’s social impact goals.
Project D – DuPont
DuPont (https://www.dupont.com) makes essential innovations the world needs to thrive. From protective equipment, to delivering clean water and enabling smarter, faster electronics, DuPont uses science and innovation to make so many of the things people use every day. The Corian® Design business has been producing beautiful, functional countertops in public spaces, bathrooms, and kitchens around the world for more than 50 years. The business has a vision of being a fully circular business, and current production processes yield perfectly good material that is not sellable due to aesthetics. Meanwhile, to provide shelter to the world’s growing population, there is a need for more productive construction. The business is looking to a student team to explore upcycling Corian® Solid Surface to not only reduce the footprint of the business, but to increase the sustainability of one of the most significant carbon contributors in the built environment: concrete.
Project KH – KraftHeinz
The Kraft Heinz project is an opportunity to understand the company’s ESG strategy, exploring and recommending how it can be addressed in a brand-specific manner. Students will address the question: Within the desserts portfolio, which includes Jell-O, Cool Whip, Jet Puffed, and more, where should Kraft Heinz lean into brand-specific ESG and CSR initiatives in a bold manner that benefits the short and long term for the business, its consumers and our planet? Students will work to understand the company’s ESG strategy and the desserts business. Students will recommend potential new initiatives that could build sustainable value for the business and its stakeholders.
