Bain's clients seek our expertise to help them become more environmentally responsible. Since 2000, we have worked on more than 150 sustainability cases in almost 25 countries. We help our clients in the private, public and social sectors become "greener"—we help them pollute less and share the value of environmental efficiency.
We also work with them to refine their strategies and organizations, embedding environmental awareness in their business plans and making the changes stick. In short, we help make sustainability sustainable.
A greener forest
Since 1970, more than 600,000 square kilometers (232,000 square miles) of Amazon rainforest have been destroyed. In 2008, Bain partnered with Fundação Amazonas Sustentável (FAS) and the government of the state of Amazonas in Brazil to prevent deforestation by turning Amazon communities into "guardians" of the forest. Through three pro bono cases, Bain has helped FAS raise a permanent R$60 million fund to benefit local Amazon communities. FAS provides local residents with a monthly "forest allowance" as long as they don’t cut down trees or threaten biodiversity in other ways.
Recognizing that FAS might not be able to fund these forest allowances through philanthropy forever, Bain also set out to identify sustainable ways to increase local communities' income. Natural rubber, certified wood and nuts were chosen as three highvalue opportunities to commercialize. Through the combination of fundraising and new business development, Bain has helped increase FAS’s reach from only 1,500 Amazon families in 2008 to more than 7,500 today.
A greener car
Bain has worked with numerous clients around the world as they seek to develop electric vehicles. In 2010, Bain conducted a pro bono study in Beijing with The Climate Group. The study highlighted the importance of working with original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) and other parties to pave the way for electric vehicle development.
Bain has also worked with manufacturers to make electric vehicles more affordable for consumers and more profitable for producers. We partnered with a German premium manufacturer to better assess how to bring electric cars to market. Because electric cars are currently about 50 percent more expensive than traditional ones, we identified other profit pools that could help level the playing field. Among our suggested innovations: a subsidy from energy suppliers in exchange for the right to use car batteries for storing excess power and Internet-based services for authorization and payment at public power charging stations.
A greener sector
Since 2009, Bain has been helping green business expand in Mexico. New Ventures Mexico, the country's main green-business accelerator, asked for our help in growing Las Páginas Verdes (LPV), its directory of green businesses in Mexico. Bain consultants helped LPV refine the criteria for inclusion in the directory, pursue new sources of funding and ultimately exhibit greener practices itself by changing from a paper directory to an online one.
Since Bain's involvement, circulation has grown from 90,000 to more than 300,000, and the number of listed businesses has grown almost 200 percent from 1,000 to 1,900. Bain also advised LPV on developing related initiatives, including its annual EcoFest, the largest "green" festival in Mexico, which brings together more than 20,000 attendees to raise awareness about green business practices and sustainability.
A greener city
Bain has worked with the City of Chicago's Department of the Environment (DOE) on pro bono cases every year since 2006 in an effort to help turn Chicago into "America's Greenest City." Click on the timeline below to learn more about each case.
"Your work with the Department is a prime example of the kind of impact we can generate when local government and private-sector companies combine their resources. I thank you for your dedication and the progress you have helped us make."
- Richard M. Daley, Former mayor, city of Chicago
