plementationSustainable Growth Opportunities

1/15/2009

Submitted By

Sairam Iyer -G08034

Manish Ballal- G08019

Sandeep Vadnere-G08036

Chain of Health Food Outlets

The Opportunity: Nowadays there is an increased awareness towards consumption of fat

free health foods as an alternative to conventional fat rich diet. The growth in this

awareness levels is primarily due to the fact that India is also becoming a victim of lifestyle

diseases such as Heart attacks, Diabetes, Obesity etc.

The Model: The company will primarily target the youth population in urban locations

where cognizance of the fact that Health foods should be the way of life is quite high. The

company will also plan to tie up with Gymnasiums and Dieticians to provide customized

offerings as per their protocol. The company will position itself in middle to high price band

and serve from small outlets as compared to having huge restaurants incurring exorbitant

capital expenditure.

The company can serve a host of health delicacies such as :

Salads

Wraps

Toasties

Soups

Rolls

Each item in a category will explicitly mention the nutritional info associated with the same.

The company will try to cater to the needs of the following :

The Lonely Rich Most of the lonely rich are tech workers these days, and most of those tech workers are Internet workers. Their life has become their website servers and code they write, and the people who help them to make the decisions in that world. They hang out with each other, but desperately want to get away from it and use the money they are racking up. Because this wealth has come fairly easily for them, it is particularly easy to separate them from their money again - they spend the most on drinks, appetizers and tips.

Young Happy CouplesThe outlet will have an atmosphere that encourages people to bring dates and to have couples arrive. It won't be awkward for others, and the company ‘s outlet does want to be a social place where people meet each other and develop a network. These young couples are generally very successful but balanced and won't be spending as much on drinks.

Dieting WomenThe organic food menu will always have a line of extremely delicious very low-fat meals. The company’s outlets will have tables of women meeting like they do in latest movies and soaps, to discuss all types of matters while feeling good about the food they eat.

Revenue Stream: The company will have its own stores in strategic locations such as city centres and will deploy the franchisee model for rest of the locations. This model will enable the company to generate steady cash flows and minimize risk.

Competition: It has been seen that many Five Star hotels have opened Salad Bars to cater to the calorie conscious customers. There are many small salad and juice outlets in metro cities in India. However, they do not provide a complete health food package and are fragmented in nature.

Hindrances and Challenges:

There are a number of challenges that have to be addressed before full-scale implementation of carbon control consulting can be achieved. These challenges include cost and resource concerns, technical issues and legal issues.

These can be described as follows:

Lack of awareness and Diet Consciousness: In India, people are still not aware of the perceptible benefits of a healthy diet. Evangelization on part of the company is required so as to make inroads into customers’ hearts and minds.

Taste : The company needs to make sure that the offerings are not perceived to be bland or tasteless. Lack of attention to Indian taste sensitivity will land the company in trouble.

Talent retention : Company needs to get talented dieticians, chefs and food experts on board to make the venture successful. Retaining and attracting these resources is a mammoth task.

Space to operate ; Getting a space to operate in city centers is a challenge in itself.

Conclusion:

The venture has a very high potential due to the increased westernization of tastes of the young urban population in India. However, the company needs to make sure that it razes the impediments mentioned above before it plans to take off with a high velocity.

Mobile Creches works at multiple levels to move closer to its vision of a "just and caring world". ALL have a stake in the future of the country and ALL must take responsibility for the future of those at the bottom of the pyramid - the most vulnerable, invisible, young children of India.

Mobile Creches

Their Mission:

To ensure holistic development of young children with a special focus on birth to 3 years.

To work with partners and communities to enable them to develop crèche and childcare arrangements.

To champion the cause of children's rights at all levels of civil society.

Mobile Creches Snapshot

Young children and their working mothers are one of the most vulnerable sections living in poverty, in India today. While the adults toil, young children suffer neglect and the older ones bear the responsibility of adult chores. Mobile Creches has been a presence in this landscape since 1969.

They provide Childcare Services at 25 day care centres at construction sites and in slums across Delhi, NOIDA (Uttar Pradesh), Gurgaon (Haryana), from 9.00 a.m. to 5.00 p.m., six days a week. They Ensure Childcare Services by setting up neighbourhood crèches, functionalizing public services, sensitizing corporate partners and advocating for right policies and programmes with the government. Their branches in Mumbai and Pune are, as of April 1, 2007, being run as independent organizations called Mumbai Mobile Creches and Tara Mobile Creches.

The Building Blocks

Daycare Services: It reaches out to 5,000 children in a year in the age group birth to 12 years at 25 Daycare Centers in Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida at construction sites, slums and resettlement areas. In Delhi, a staff of 132, most of them women, runs the programme comprising nutrition, health and hygiene, age-appropriate stimulation, educational activities, school admissions and support for the cognitive and all-round development of the child.

Community Awareness and Mobilization Through meetings, street theatre, participatory research and issue-based campaigns they generate awareness on socio-economic-political issues affecting the community. Issues include, gender, importance of early care, school admissions, registration of births, infectious diseases, elections, etc

Training in Childcare - Their training promotes understanding on concepts of ECCD and builds the skills and knowledge necessary for care-givers in the community and Childcare Workers in organizations and state run facilities, in order to create quality childcare alternatives for working women.

Research and Documentation - They undertake development and dissemination of teaching aids, reference manuals and research documentation to share their experience and expertise in ECCD for children of the poor.

Networking and Advocacy- They build partnerships and a common platform for joint analysis and advocacy on issues that surround the young child. They work with NGOs, government and other grass root organizations to effect changes in policy, increase budget allocations for programmes and ensure better implementation on the ground.

Friend Raising & Fund Raising

At Mobile Creches "FR" stands for the two pillars of their existence - Fund Raising and Friend Raising - both of which are closely related. Funds are the basic fuel on which their bus runs and Friends helps them stay on track. Those who get involved, learn new things and have fun - exactly like the MC children!

Some of the ways of fund raising at MC are given below:

Run in a charity marathon and rediscover the athlete in you Watch a great play/movie at our fundraiser and spend quality time with friends Collect blankets from your neighbours and get to know the neighbourhood Work on a community project with your child and build his/her self-esteem Start an employee volunteer club and retain talent for your company

Volunteer Programme

Mobile Creches has a long tradition of volunteerism and volunteers continue to play a critical role in its growth. They always welcome a helping hand and put their heads together for a mutually satisfying experience.

The Right Fit for volunteering:

Student or Professional; Retiree or Someone-between-jobs; Homemaker or Spouse-at-a-lose-end-during-transfers; Young or Old .You are the perfect fit if you are passionate about issues, have a good work ethic and are willing to share your time and skills.

Donations

Apart from this another revenue stream is by way of corporate donations, other organizations and voluntary personal donations.

Sustainable growth strategies:

The current model in which Mobile Creches operates is in a way a non profit style. But the learning that MC has amassed over the years can be leveraged to enhance their model of operations going forward. One of the ways is to make this a profit making venture by starting a line of crèches in collaboration with major IT vendors. The basic underlying principle would be to charge a premium for their quality services offered in their new venture positioned as a premium luxury day care centre with relentless focus on quality and hygiene.

The following points work towards their advantage:

• The creche industry is at a nascent stage primarily due to the socio-cultural ecosystem prevailing in India.

• The entry barriers are low.

• The competition is not too high because of fragmentation of service providers.

• The substitute services are not well defined and are highly unorganised.

• As the no. of working mothers is increasing due to rapid growth in IT and ITES industries, the need for crèche facility providers is increasing at a brisk pace.

Modus Operandi:

• To tap other buzzing IT focused zones in Gurgaon, Delhi, NOIDA,Chennai and Bangalore such as Tidel Park, Ispahani Centre, Mahindra City etc.

• To use the closely knit network of IT savvy employees to spread the word of mouth. Social Networking websites, Company Intranets and Bulletin boards can serve as vehicles to maximize reach to the target audience.

• Corporate Discounts and Referral Schemes would be used to increase clientele.

• To venture out to other major IT hubs such as Bangalore, Pune and Hyderabad in a phased manner.

Competitive Advantages:

Basic Facilities

• Follow strict UK and US standards for crèche with respect to space, furniture, hygiene requirements.

• Trained staff to oversee the kids.

• Not more than 5 babies per attendee

• Medical facilities - In house Doctor facilities and tie up with hospital nearby.

Location

• Proximity to work place for the parents

Premium Services

• Live coverage on the Web

• Child care advice to parents by experts

• No restrictions on the timings of Pick and Drop of the kids

By establishing themselves in one of the IT hubs, they can slowly propagate to other locations by their proven track records. Their core competence would be the tremendous learning and experience that they have gained over the years, and since this profession is based on a credence attribute, it augurs well for Mobile Creches.

This approach will also let Mobile Creches follow its main focus by utilizing the profits for their social ventures. Mobile crèches can thus convert a basic cause into a sustainable profit making, and growing organization.

Basic features of the new Model:

Stringent Hygiene standards.Recruiting staff after rigorous tests, including emotional evaluation, full background scan.Feedback mechanism to offer each child personalized care.Tie-up with Nursing homes, physiotherapists.

What they follow

Risk Factors:

Some of the risk factors while considering this venture are given below:

Risk Factors Possible Mitigation Steps

Poor initial response • Advertising keeping in mind target customers and our core competencies;

• Use of own corporate donor network in IT companies

Reputation damage Zero tolerance for mistakes in hygiene, quality of services etc.

Crèche by IT companies Advertising, use of our own network etc.

Govt. regulations Flexibility to adopt to changing govt. regulations

Carbon Emission Management :

Sustainable Solutions for Environment:

The Opportunity: According to the Worldwatch institute , global emissions of carbon from

the combustion of fossil fuels was 9 billion tons. There is an increased pressure by the

governments across the world to reduce the carbon footprint.”Going Green” is the catch

phrase for organizations these days for branding and generating goodwill as well.

The Model: The company can help organizations maximize their Carbon Value by

implementing Greenhouse Gas Management plans and going Carbon Neutral, thus

minimizing business risks stemming from climate change. It can guide clients through the

process of mapping, reducing, offsetting and reporting their emissions, simultaneously

uncovering extraordinary business opportunities that foster a green image while

maintaining profitability. The company will have insights into clean technologies for greater

Energy Efficiency drawn from a deep well of knowledge resulting from tireless, meticulous

research. In collaboration with the clients, the company can strive to turn those insights into

on-the-ground sustainable development by using innovative financial solutions like CER-

backed financing and debt-equity sharing, making otherwise expensive technological

changes possible by attracting greater investment.

The company can venture into :

Carbon advisory :

The company can aim to become a leading Carbon Advisory firm providing services

in Climate Mitigation area. It can provide solutions for both Compliance & Voluntary

market. It can focus on projects in diverse areas such as Renewable Energy, Waste

Management, Energy Efficiency, Plantations, HFC 23 destruction, Transportation, etc

across many Asian countries where pollution related problems have reached

alarming levels.

Project Conceptualization: The company can help its clients identify and evaluate

various potential CDM projects. These prospective projects can be evaluated based

on CDM guidelines/cost-benefits analysis and Various Technology Options.

A. Facilitating CDM Process: The company can Facilitate entire CDM process both

Pre-Registration and Post-Registration including Project Design Document (PDD)

preparation, supporting Validation Process, Obtaining Host Country Approval,

supporting Registration process, Preparation of Monitoring Report, and

Facilitating Verification & Issuance Process for CERs. Aid in procuring clean

technology equipments at very competitive delivery and price terms

Carbon Asset Management: Carbon credits are like an asset which needs to be

managed with considerable financial expertise. Carbon market is evolving rapidly

with appearance of forward contracts, options, derivatives, and securitization.

Because of the company's financial expertise, it can structure deals for a forward

contract for CERs sale, minimizing the downward risks for the CER prices. The

company's role can include

Tracking the overall market dynamics for carbon credits (drivers such as demand

supply balance across the globe, regulatory issues, country specific trading guidelines

etc..) to understand right timing of sale , as well as most beneficial deal structure.

Identification of high quality buyers and markets for price optimization and getting

offers from them.

Analyzing the offers received by the client or (EVI on behalf of client) and helping the

client arrive at appropriate deal structure, acceptable pricing etc.

Appropriate terms of sale including assurances/guarantees given assurances

received, contingent risks etc, to get appropriate risk-reward equation. The company

can tailor its services to match the client’s requirement and help them make the

following key decisions:

o Type of sale: Spot or Forward

o Type of Delivery: Off-Take (Non Guaranteed) or Guaranteed Delivery and

o Type of Selling Structure: Fixed, Floating or Hybrid

o Facilitation in development of Emission Reduction Purchase Agreements

(ERPA).

o Developing structured transactions for carbon credit derivatives etc which

are in nascent stage

B. Voluntary Market Services

These Services Include Carbon Foot-printing, Documentation, Validation &

Verification of the project activity based on various Voluntary market standards such

as Gold Standard, Voluntary Carbon Standard (VCS), VER , Community Climate & Bio-

Diversity (CCB) and Sale of the VERs in International Market.

Carbon Finance and Technology :

o The company can provide an assured technical package that can be delivered

within defined cost targets, achieves desired efficiency and is implemented

within committed time frames

o Quasi equity financing (up to ~50%+) using carbon credits

o An option of putting up a ‘waste’/alternate fuel based power plant for

meeting captive needs/IPP. The energy business is not the core for most

clients.

o The flexibility for the developer to use the technical and financial resources

for main business if they can help it.

Carbon Neutrality :

o Carbon Foot-printing

o GHG Management Plan

o CDM Feasibility study

o Sourcing offsets for balance GHG emissions

o Reaching Carbon Neutrality

Revenue Stream: The Company will charge a consulting fees to the clients . It can also work with clients on a profit sharing basis.

Competition: Entering into this business would be a blue ocean strategy because the company is essentially entering an uncharted territory rather than competing in an existing market. However, there are few companies like EVI who are making their presence felt in this space.

Hindrances and Challenges:

There are a number of challenges that have to be addressed before full-scale implementation of carbon control consulting can be achieved. These challenges include cost and resource concerns, technical issues and legal issues.

These can be described as follows:

Lack of awareness about the Carbon Management process : If organisations do not become aware about the importance of the Carbon Management process and if the company is not able to evangelise the target group enough, it may not be able to sustain the initial momentum in the market.

Change in the market scenario : Emergence of a disruptive technology may provide organizations with an alternate way of pollution and carbon emission control.

Talent retention : As the carbon management is an emerging and upcoming field, it may prove to be difficult for the company to attract and retain quality talent.

Conclusion:

Carbon management and carbon credits can provide a long run sustainable solution provided the company overcomes the initial hindrances and evangelizes the target organizations about the potential benefits for the environment and their respective balance sheets.