Sustainability Case Interview

Question

Hi,

I'm interviewing for a Sustainability Manager role at a PE firm focusing on carve-outs and operational transformation. I'm anticipating case interviews specifically centred around sustainability due diligence during investment decisions and operational sustainability improvements. I haven't been able to find fitting cases for this in the case library, can someone point me to any cases that may be relevant so that I can practice?

Thanks

Answer 1

Hi Will,

First of all, congratulations on the invitation!

I would be happy to share my thoughts on your question:

First of all, while I unfortunately cannot recommend resources, I would highly advise you to conduct case studies on acquisition and operational improvements in general.
Moreover, for the sustainability-specific part of these types of case studies, I think it is sufficient to have a solid understanding of what sustainability due diligences and sustainability-focused operational improvement measures might look like.
Lastly, I would advise you to consider reaching out to sustainability managers at competing private equity firms and asking them about their case studies to get a better understanding.

You can find more on this topic here: How to succeed in the final interview round.

If you would like a more detailed discussion on how to best prepare for your upcoming interviews, please don't hesitate to contact me directly.

Best,

Hagen

Answer 2

Hi there,

While the interviews for this role likely come with specialized cases in this area, your interviewers are more interested in your

Problem deconstruction and creativity (Framework and brainstorming)
Analytics (Charts and math)
Communication

Hence, the question is not “what cases you should prepare” but “what are the right skills to learn and how.”

You want to build the skillset needed for a consultant already before the interviews to get the chance of an offer.

The industry and context the case is placed in and your knowledge about it has about 10% impact on how you will perform. Your problem-solving, analytics, and communication have around 90% impact so know where to place your focus.

On top of that, you can still read industry briefs or even create them yourself with AI to learn about current trends and hot topics.

Cheers,

Florian

Answer 3

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