Pioneering Family Firms’ Sustainable Development Strategies

This book describes the sustainable development journey of 15 business families committed to using their enterprises as a force of societal good. In turn, each family reaps benefits of high economic returns, while contributing to society and environment. The youngest family firm is in its 20s, while there are others over 100 years of age. Size, industry, locations vary. But all these business families share a deep shared commitment towards sustainable development, control over strategic decision-making in their firms and trans-generational continuity intentions. Family values embed their enterprises with a strong sense of purpose to achieve their chosen sustainable development goals. Professionalized systems and processes foster the development of capabilities, and partnerships with a variety of stakeholders ensure the simultaneous achievement of social, environmental and profitability goals.

Educators, students, policy makers and business families interested in sustainable development will find new understanding of family business through Pioneering Family Firms’ Sustainable Development Strategies.

Contents:

PART I INTRODUCTION
1 Pioneering business families committed to sustainable
development 2
Pramodita Sharma and Sanjay Sharma

PART II DESIGNED FOR SUSTAINABILITY
2 Sustainability comes naturally: Rocky Mountain Soap
Company, a purpose-driven family business 52
Pramodita Sharma, Sanjay Sharma and Alexa Steiner
3 Supreme Creations and Wings of Hope: A symbiotic care
of environment and society 76
Pramodita Sharma, Sanjay Sharma and Alyssa Schuetz
4 Biofilter: A Hungarian champion for the circular economy
and stakeholder capitalism 99
Caroline Seow and Maria José Parada

PART III TRANSFORMED FOR SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT
5 The evolution of a sustainable energy family business: The
case of Thermax 125
Kavil Ramachandran and Yashodhara Basuthakur
6 Kemin Industries: A sustainable future in focus 151
Justin B. Craig and Gary Bowman
7 Social capital as a pathway to sustainability at State Garden 175
Pramodita Sharma and Rocki-Lee DeWitt
8 Griffith Foods: Nourishing the world 203
Stuart L. Hart
9 Royal Van Wijhe Coatings: Sustainability over four generations 234
Judith van Helvert and Rosemarie Steenbeek
10 GMA Garnet’s circular economy: Jebsen & Jessen’s
leadership in environmental sustainability 252
Marta Widz and Vanina Farber
11 Tahbilk: A fifth-generation Australian family wine
business’s journey to sustainability 277
Michael Browne, Chris Graves and Francesco Barbera

PART IV INSTITUTIONAL LEADERSHIP FOR SUSTAINABILITY
12 The role of family values in institutional change toward
sustainability in the Bordeaux wine industry 304
Sanjay Sharma, Tatiana Bouzdine-Chameeva and Joerg S. Hofstetter
13 The Wallenberg family of Sweden: Sustainable business
development since 1856 336
Sarah Jack and Mattias Nordqvist

Index