MSLS team wins International Paper, Staples and Net Impact Case Competition

Huge congratulations to Spud Marhall, Lea Thuot, Andrea Altmann, Wyeth Larson and Matt Lobach, 2010 graduates of the MSLS programme for winning the International Paper, Staples and Net Impact Case Competition.  >Read the announcement on the Net Impact website

From the official announcement: 

"In an attempt to increase national recycling rates, International Paper, a global paper and packaging company, and Staples, Inc., the world’s largest office products company, partnered with Net Impact to “leverage some of the world’s top students to apply their business and process expertise to address an issue with significant environmental implications,” said Mark Buckley, vice president, Environmental Affairs at Staples.

Out of this collaboration, teams of Net Impact MBA students were challenged to create a closed-loop recycling program between the companies to improve both their environmental performance and bottom line. 

Andrea Altmann, Wyeth Larson Matt Lobach, Steve Marshall, and Lea Thuot from the Blekinge Institute of Technology in Karlskrona, Sweden won for their plan, which proposed solutions to increase the efficiency of delivery routes and communicate real-time recovery rates for the companies. Some of their innovative ideas included offering discounts to top recyclers and increasing transparency of reporting recovery information.

For the students, the chance to work with the collaborating organizations was perhaps among the most rewarding element of the project. "The competition gave us the opportunity to work with two organizations that are interested in implementing sustainability initiatives into their businesses, as well as make some great connections with the Net Impact network," said Blekinge team member Lea Thuot. "It  was a great way to practically apply the theories, frameworks, and methodologies of our Master's program in Strategic Leadership towards Sustainability."

Teammate Steve Marshal agreed, adding: “Sustainability challenges will never be solved in an instant or by any one individual.  They require creativity across numerous disciplines, leadership by industry experts, and strategic foresight from practitioners to find the most appropriate long-term solutions. Working alongside Staples, International Paper, and Net Impact reinforced this need and demonstrated the crucial importance of collaboration. The culmination of our work done over the last few months will lay the groundwork for how to constantly challenge and improve company practices and begin closing the loop on paper fiber."