CASE STUDY- OCTOBER 2008 Developing a Green Strategy for a National Chemical Company that Will Double Business in Five Years Despite When a provider of carbon-based chemicals recently went public, management received intense pressure from shareholders to post double-digit growth. But the company already had maximum market share. How do you increase revenue when you lead the industry? That is a question management asked Toffler Associates to answer for them. “At one point not very long ago,” said the Toffler Associates Engagement Leader, “this company could set and receive a premium price for its products because it was the very best in the industry, and no one could match its quality. To be the market leader and able to charge a high price is an enviable position. But, that situation started to change as competitors improved their products and began chipping away at our client’s customer base. We had to help them discover new products and services that complemented their core business and would allow them to compete in new markets.” WHY TOFFLER ASSOCIATES? Toffler Associates began by studying the company’s various business units to see if they contained any valuable processes or by-products that could be turned into opportunities. “Toffler Associates has a unique ability to see connections among drivers in multiple markets,” said the Engagement Leader. “We identify trends from various perspectives, study how they merge and how they impact our client’s core business, and, finally, show the customer how to capitalize on the merging events. For example, our client is integral to the steelmaking value chain. Legislation on global warming is going to restrict emissions and therefore have a negative effect on steel companies. In turn, our client’s product, and the revenue from it, will also be negatively affected.” This insight caused Toffler Associates to look for ways its client could develop environmental products or services that would allow it to enter the green market and turn a negative into a positive. Also, future environmental regulations would only continue to have a ripple effect that would restrict the carbon-based chemical company’s business, so it needed to start cultivating environmentally friendly commodities to offset its carbon ones. TWO NEW GREEN BUSINESSES “We found two processes at which our client excelled that would generate revenue in the green market,” explained the Engagement Leader. “One, they developed an efficient method to dispose of one of their carbon-based products when it reached the end of its lifecycle. This process actually generated energy, so we pointed out that they could sell this excess energy at a good profit. Two, another one of their carbon products required a lot of water in the manufacturing process. To save on water costs, they learned how to clean and reuse the water. Their process was so thorough that the recycled water is drinkable. Again, we pointed out the global need for potable water and the market potential of this water-cleaning process.” In addition, the products would give the company a reputation for being environmentally friendly. “These two new green businesses not only complement our client’s core business but differentiate them in the marketplace,” said the Engagement Leader. “When a customer has a choice of products to choose from, many will choose to support a green company. In addition, our client will not have the enormous start-up costs associated with launching a new business. The processes are already proven and mature.” These solutions were derived from Toffler Associates’ ability to discern factors in other markets and show clients how the factors can have second- or third-order effects in their business. DOUBLE-DIGIT GROWTH The company is implementing the strategy Toffler Associates developed, which is expected to help generate the double-digit growth demanded by shareholders. “We identified two new green services that our client can sell in new markets to a new base of customers,” noted the Engagement Leader. “They are currently a billion-dollar-plus company and our recommendations are projected to double their business in five years. Similar results are achievable by many companies, and are a testament to the power of identifying trends and drivers in different markets and seeing how to make them work in your favor.”

“We identified two new green services that our client can sell in new markets to a new base of customers.They are currently a billion-dollar-plus company and our recommendations are projected to double their business in five years.Similar results are achievable by many companies, and are a testament to the power of identifying trends and drivers in different markets and seeing how to make them work in your favor.” Toffler Associates Engagement Leader