A team of 6 students worked on developing a growth strategy plan for the City of Austin’s Green Business Leaders (AGBL) sustainbaility program, which recognizes local businesses for the sustainable business practices they implement. Actions come from many areas: energy, water, transportation, community involvement, health and wellness, waste, and communication.

Company/Division/Operating Group Description:

The Austin Green Business Leaders (AGBL) program recognizes local businesses for the sustainable business practices they implement. Actions come from many areas: energy, water, transportation, community involvement, health and wellness, waste, and communication. The program currently has over 130 business members, including Whole Foods Market, Intel, Dell, and Snap Kitchen. The backbone of the program is a scorecard, which tallies green business actions taken and recognizes businesses at Silver, Gold, and Platinum levels.

Business Issue to be Addressed:

The AGBL program has potential to grow and the City of Austin is looking to partner with McCombs, which will give MBA students a chance to network with local businesses and to learn best business practices for sustainability in a real-world setting. Businesses gain the advantage of having a consultant to guide them through the program and help them identify new sustainability opportunities. In addition to managing the program, students will be asked to work with stakeholders to create and implement a growth strategy plan for the coming semester that expands recruitment and further engages members.

Specific Scope for this McCombs Project

• Work with stakeholders to create and implement a growth strategy plan with benchmarks for spring, summer, and fall 2015 that expands recruitment and further engages members
• Collect and analyze data from AGBL participant scorecards and conduct site visits to verify program compliance
• Manage AGBL member services requests, questions, and troubleshooting.
• Communicate with new and potential businesses about the program and send monthly update to current member businesses
• Give a client presentation at the end of the term summarizing accomplishments and observations from working in the field of sustainability