… taste, its beauty. Illy also has a dream that someday soon the coffee market might be transformed into something approaching the market for wine. Where connoisseurs discuss the fine points of various origin coffees and blends, where customers are willing to pay a premium for the finest examples of the coffee-making art, and the growers, roasters and baristas …
… company designed, manufactured, distributed, and serviced diesel and natural gas engines, for transportation, construction, and power generation. In addition to the engines, it … Cummins had prided itself on value-driven ethical standards. It operated worldwide under a formal Mission Statement: "We will demand that everything we do leads to a cleaner, … and development it created diesels that complied to evolving standards, ranging engines for pickup trucks to the largest earth movers. Rather than spend research dollars, many …
… the business. AXA’s business had grown rapidly over the previous decades. The company was formed in the 1980s through the merger of a few mid-sized French insurance firms. From the … in the United States, Europe, Africa, and Asia. AXA was hailed in the business press for savvy deal-making. The company took over struggling franchises and utilizing its strong … announced Ambition AXA, a five-year strategic plan to grow the company. The plan called for harvesting slow-growing businesses in mature markets, investing in emerging markets, and …
… financial backing, buy and erect the turbines, and begin generating electricity by 2010. For Walmart de México, becoming the wind farm’s off-taker accomplished a number of important … electricity at below the rates charged by Mexico’s state-controlled utility, shaving costs for the famously thrifty retailer. In addition, the project allowed Walmart de México to get … Walmart de México consumed in Mexico in 2010. The wind farm was just one part of the efforts Walmart de México was undertaking in the sustainability area. The company had pledged …
… had to decide how it was going to respond and how much it was willing to invest in its efforts to grow in the U.S. In Europe, the supply-constrained market during 2007-10 had … with some of the continent’s leading developers of solar projects. Trina supplied modules for a number of large, signature projects, developing a strong track record. Now, the … developing B2C channels to tap into the growing market of local contractors and do-it-yourselfers looking to add solar panels to their roofs. Trina had already partnered with …
… Like many countries, Australia has a large existing building stock that is responsible for a substantial percentage of its greenhouse-gas emissions. Given that it will take … institutions are reluctant to lend when any claim that they might make in the event of a default is junior to the property mortgage holder. This is why the Environmental Upgrade … institutions are reluctant to lend when any claim that they might make in the event of a default is junior to the property mortgage holder. This is why the Environmental Upgrade …
… On February 23, 2007, your investment banking firm receives an urgent call from James D. Marston, Regional … of the Texas Climate Initiative. You meet with him and learn that he needs help preparing for an unusual negotiation. Marston will be flying to San Francisco for a negotiating session with the private equity firms seeking to acquire Texas electrical …
… named Sealed signed a $5-million loan-financing agreement as a way to broaden the market for home energy-efficiency upgrades. In New York State, those upgrades face two key barriers … adoption. The first barrier is that a whole-home upgrade is a high out-of-pocket investment for a homeowner. Homeowners who make upgrades often have to pay cash outright or take out … use energy savings in their underwriting criteria. So the cost per project can be too low for significant resources to be dedicated to vetting each one. Plus, the methods of …
… founding partner of Blue Wolf Capital Management in New York. “What we’re looking for is something that has a solid business at its core, but that has enough other extraneous … that was used to create high-quality paper products. The mill had been run as a cost center for various public companies, and it had not made money in 40 years. In 2008 it was owned by … was looking to divest itself of all pulp and timber operations, and it had put the mill up for sale. Due diligence suggested that the mill had a good core business. The mill also …
… Ash award in policy innovation, the "Nobel of policy," upon the Connecticut Green Bank for its role in "sparking the green bank movement." The Green Bank used financial … subordinated debt, or warehousing facilities, the Green Bank lowered the cost of capital for consumers and businesses to install energy efficiency upgrades and renewable technology. It supported the banking industry in offering standardized products for consumers, and derisked larger stand-alone transactions. But back in Connecticut, …