You are the CEO of Widget Corp., a large company that manufactures widgets for the global market. Widget Corp. was recently the subject of a less than flattering profile in a national magazine, which criticized the company for the climate impacts arising from its supply chain. The shareholders of Widget Corp. are not pleased, and the Board of Directors has demanded that you prepare a memorandum for the Board's review outlining your plan to repair Widget Corp.'s image by implementing new sustainability practices for the company.

1. Please prepare a cause map analyzing the root causes of climate change. Your cause map should be sufficiently detailed to demonstrate to the Board that you have given this some real thought. (Note that you are not being asked to map the causes of the unflattering profile in the magazine.)

2. Based on the root causes that you've identified, draft a memo to the Board outlining three proposals to improve the sustainability of Widget Corp. Remember that the Board answers to the shareholders, who tend to be focused on profit above all else. Your proposals should be ideas that would be reasonably acceptable to your profit-driven shareholders, and your memo should present them in a way that your shareholders will be receptive to. Above all else, the Board is going to want to know how your proposals will impact the bottom line, and you should provide an explanation that addresses that concern.

3. For each of your three proposed countermeasures, anticipate at least one objection that you're likely to hear from the Board, and explain how you will respond.