Need help finding cases related to social sustainability and social impact

Question

Hi, I'm practicing for a case interview, and know that the case topics will revolve around either DEI, human rights, social sustainability, sustainable supply chains, or social impact. I've tried searching on the internet to find some cases I can practice for these topics, but there aren't any. There's also no cases on PrepLounge for these topics. Can anyone recommend me any resources or give me any example cases for these topics. I've never done one of these cases and want to practice them to understand how to approach the problem and effectively solve it.

Thanks!

Answer 1

"Let's say you want to improve rural electrification in India. You are supporting a startup that is considering multiple alternative technologies. Which one would you recommend?

Social Startup wants to make sure we are using agriculture byproducts, are they believe it would make the model more sustainable. How would you compare different byproducts?"

This could be an introduction and follow up question to a real case focusing on social impact. What is interesting is that the skill set you need to have is the exact same. There may be no revenue on the case, and the key metric will be cost per person you help having access to electricity.

By the way, this is inpired in a real project I've done... Hope this helps! :)

Answer 2

Indeed, there aren't many.

What does help to know is that there aren't any 'specific' approaches that pertain only to social impact cases.

Meaning, you can prep with cases from any industry because what the interviewers care mostly about are your problem-solving skills (less so any specifics of social impact).

As a tip, you can also take a pharma case, for instance, and ask ChatGPT to convert it into a social impact case by retaining the types of problems but changing the context.

Best,
Cristian

Answer 3

hi!

For social sustainability and social impact cases, I would focus on strategy and operations angles like launching initiatives, improving ethical supply chains, or measuring DEI impact. Example prompts from my side:

Sustainable supply chain: A company wants to reduce labor violations overseas without raising costs. How should they proceed?
DEI initiative: A tech firm wants to improve gender diversity in leadership in 3 years. How should they design the program?
Social impact investment: A PE firm wants to invest in companies that generate measurable social impact. How should they evaluate targets?
Human rights risk: A food manufacturer sources cocoa from regions with child labor issues. How can they mitigate risks while maintaining supply?

Use a structured approach: clarify objectives, segment the problem, identify levers, analyze trade-offs, and recommend measurable solutions. For practice, check UN Global Compact reports or McKinsey/BCG social impact publications.

Alessa

Answer 4

Hi,

You'd have to build your own cases. I have a few social impact focused cases that I have built for my coachees, and you can definitely try to do the same.

Use ChatGPT to help generate prompts
Read reports or case studies from NGOs or organizations who have done this or related consulting companies
- You can also feed some of these into ChatGPT

Do note however that ChatGPT is still not great at logic - so some of the framework answers may not be actually fully MECE or the best way of breaking down a problem.

All the best!