Accenture
The problem
Recently Accenture started an initiative to combat the negative effects of palm oil production. Palm oil is used in a large variety of food and self-care products and is the main ingredient of biofuels. The unique physical characteristics of the substance and the fact that the African palm tree grows it’s fruit efficient from which the palm oil is extracted, causes the demand for palm oil to be high.
Oil palms are originally from Western Africa, but can flourish wherever heat and rainfall are abundant. Today, 80 – 90% of all palm oil globally is produced and exported from Indonesia and Malaysia, and many inhabitants and farmers in Indonesia and Malaysia depend on the palm oil industry. The current way of producing the oil is however linked to major issues, such as:
- Deforestation
- Indigenous rights abuse
- Climatological effects (CO2 emission and soil depletion)
- Loss of biodiversity
- Animal cruelty
Strategy Accenture
The Accenture project team found an academic team working on producing a substance that has the same physical properties as palm oil. The production process of this substitute utilizes a yeast to produce an oily end product which can act as a substitute for palm oil. The research team recently found a way to scale the production process, however, a good business perspective and business plan for the implementation of the substitute is absent.
The Accenture project team aims to make an impact in both the business and implementation domain in order to accelerate the implementation of the product. The desired support from the intern will mostly focus on the business case. Some working assignments (e.g. contact with SME’s) will also be part of the internship.
Currently there are already two interns working on the implementation domain focusing on the legal aspects of implementing the substitute (e.g. policy & regulation on palm oil in Europe) and on biotechnological aspects (e.g. investigation of usability of co-products).
We are looking for an enthusiastic master intern who wants to participate in the research an build a business plan.
Research topics
- Market (Size, growth, key trends)
- Pricing / profitability (mechanism, pricing levels, profitability of large palm oil companies)
- Customers (key customers / key purchase criteria)
- Scale / size (What scale and size does the envisaged company need to achieve to start serving its customers)
- Substitutes today (are there any and are there any key non palm oil products today that are starting to eat into the palm oil market and act as a real alternative)
- You are a Master student, in the final year of your graduation from University;
- You have affinity with business and innovation models;
- You have affinity with sustainable topics;
- You are a team player with excellent communication skills;
- You are fluent in Dutch and English;
- You can work independently;
- High level of motivation and drive;
- Eagerness to learn.
Within Accenture we offer you a work environment with a focus on your personal development, in which you will get a lot of responsibility. You work together with talented colleagues from all over the world on challenging projects for the highest ranked international businesses.
- You will be guided by a team of experienced consultants;
- You will receive a compensation and a laptop;
- You will gain knowledge and expertise of Accenture;
- You will gain experience within a large international consulting firm;
- You will expand your professional network.