Yesterday, the Rotterdam International Case Academy had a special guest in their midst. Hans van Bochove, Head of Public Policy Center at Coca Cola, heard at the RSM STAR Case Competition that our students were solving the same case: ‘Coca-Cola’s Strategy for Tackling Water Stress’ and was keen about the solutions ‘our’ students came up with.

This is an amazing opportunity for the Agile Consulting students to present their bright ideas to one of the biggest and most well-known companies globally. And they took this opportunity with both hands. In only 15 minutes they were to consult Coca Cola on one of their biggest challenges: tackling water stress in vulnerable areas. As a large water consumer, Coca Cola realizes that their operation is affecting these areas. And they are more than willing to give back. But how?

3 teams were up to the challenge. Their ideas varied a lot but were all food for thought. Should Coca-Cola build desalination plants in the very salinized water of California? Or is a new and very promising moisturizing technique to save water the way forward? Another recommendation was to bundle forces with all kinds of stakeholders like farmers, NGO’s, tech-specialists, and other water-consuming companies to make the biggest impact together.

Hans van Bochove was enthusiastic about all the ideas and found elements that are definitely worthwhile to further build on. The Head of Public Policy then provided us with unique insights on the big dilemmas modern-day corporates are facing and what is already done to tackle this. We are proud of the students and the extremely fruitful and activating morning. And thankful for the Coca-Cola company, and especially Hans van Bochove, for making this happen!