Environment Canada Net Present Value (NPV) / MBA Resources

Introduction to Net Present Value (NPV) - What is Net Present Value (NPV) ? How it impacts financial decisions regarding project management?

NPV solution for Environment Canada case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Environment Canada case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by Paul Boothe. The Environment Canada (referred as “Minister Wildlife” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Strategy & Execution. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Government.

The net present value (NPV) of an investment proposal is the present value of the proposal’s net cash flows less the proposal’s initial cash outflow. If a project’s NPV is greater than or equal to zero, the project should be accepted.

NPV = Present Value of Future Cash Flows LESS Project’s Initial Investment

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Case Description of Environment Canada Case Study

In late January 2011, the assistant deputy minister of Environment Canada is contemplating the final report of the joint review panel conducting the environmental assessment of Total E&P Canada's $10 billion oil sands project, the Joslyn Mine near Fort McMurray, Alberta. Although the report advised that the project would be in the public interest only if - and it was a big if - adverse effects on species at risk were fully mitigated, she was aware that both the company and provincial officials did not agree with the need for further wildlife protection measures. Further, behind the scenes, the industry lobby group, the Canadian Association of Petroleum Producers, opposed any offsite protection of habitat that might be seen as a precedent for future projects. The federal government's priority was jobs, and the assistant deputy minister would soon be under pressure to advise the minister on whether to authorize the project to proceed. Without a mechanism to ensure that threatened wildlife would be protected, she could not recommend approval. She needed to find a solution that would work both for the environment and the project.

Case Authors : Paul Boothe

Topic : Strategy & Execution

Related Areas : Government

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Environment Canada Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10028712)	-10028712	-	-
Year 1	3447461	-6581251	3447461	0.9434	3252322
Year 2	3953161	-2628090	7400622	0.89	3518299
Year 3	3943423	1315333	11344045	0.8396	3310974
Year 4	3230519	4545852	14574564	0.7921	2558874
TOTAL			14574564		12640469

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2611757

In isolation the NPV number doesn't mean much but put in right context then it is one of the best method to evaluate project returns. In this article we will cover -

Different methods of capital budgeting

What is NPV & Formula of NPV,
How it is calculated,
How to use NPV number for project evaluation, and
Scenario Planning given risks and management priorities.

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Capital Budgeting Approaches

Methods of Capital Budgeting

There are four types of capital budgeting techniques that are widely used in the corporate world –

1. Internal Rate of Return
2. Payback Period
3. Net Present Value
4. Profitability Index

Apart from the Payback period method which is an additive method, rest of the methods are based on Discounted Cash Flow technique. Even though cash flow can be calculated based on the nature of the project, for the simplicity of the article we are assuming that all the expected cash flows are realized at the end of the year.

Discounted Cash Flow approaches provide a more objective basis for evaluating and selecting investment projects. They take into consideration both –

1. Magnitude of both incoming and outgoing cash flows – Projects can be capital intensive, time intensive, or both. Minister Wildlife shareholders have preference for diversified projects investment rather than prospective high income from a single capital intensive project.
2. Timing of the expected cash flows – stockholders of Minister Wildlife have higher preference for cash returns over 4-5 years rather than 10-15 years given the nature of the volatility in the industry.

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Formula and Steps to Calculate Net Present Value (NPV) of Environment Canada

NPV = Net Cash In Flowt1 / (1+r)t1 + Net Cash In Flowt2 / (1+r)t2 + … Net Cash In Flowtn / (1+r)tn
Less Net Cash Out Flowt0 / (1+r)t0

Where t = time period, in this case year 1, year 2 and so on.
r = discount rate or return that could be earned using other safe proposition such as fixed deposit or treasury bond rate. Net Cash In Flow – What the firm will get each year.
Net Cash Out Flow – What the firm needs to invest initially in the project.

Step 1 – Understand the nature of the project and calculate cash flow for each year.
Step 2 – Discount those cash flow based on the discount rate.
Step 3 – Add all the discounted cash flow.
Step 4 – Selection of the project

Why Strategy & Execution Managers need to know Financial Tools such as Net Present Value (NPV)?

In our daily workplace we often come across people and colleagues who are just focused on their core competency and targets they have to deliver. For example marketing managers at Minister Wildlife often design programs whose objective is to drive brand awareness and customer reach. But how that 30 point increase in brand awareness or 10 point increase in customer touch points will result into shareholders’ value is not specified.

To overcome such scenarios managers at Minister Wildlife needs to not only know the financial aspect of project management but also needs to have tools to integrate them into part of the project development and monitoring plan.

Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 15%

After working through various assumptions we reached a conclusion that risk is far higher than 6%. In a reasonably stable industry with weak competition - 15% discount rate can be a good benchmark.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 15 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10028712)	-10028712	-	-
Year 1	3447461	-6581251	3447461	0.8696	2997792
Year 2	3953161	-2628090	7400622	0.7561	2989158
Year 3	3943423	1315333	11344045	0.6575	2592865
Year 4	3230519	4545852	14574564	0.5718	1847060
TOTAL					10426874

The Net NPV after 4 years is 398162

(10426874 - 10028712 )

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 20%

If the risk component is high in the industry then we should go for a higher hurdle rate / discount rate of 20%.

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 20 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10028712)	-10028712	-	-
Year 1	3447461	-6581251	3447461	0.8333	2872884
Year 2	3953161	-2628090	7400622	0.6944	2745251
Year 3	3943423	1315333	11344045	0.5787	2282073
Year 4	3230519	4545852	14574564	0.4823	1557928
TOTAL					9458136

The Net NPV after 4 years is -570576

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9458136 - 10028712 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Minister Wildlife to discount cash flow at lower discount rates such as 15%.

Acceptance Criteria of a Project based on NPV

Simplest Approach – If the investment project of Minister Wildlife has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Minister Wildlife can ACCEPT the project, otherwise they can reject the project. This means that project will deliver higher returns over the period of time than any alternate investment strategy.

In theory if the required rate of return or discount rate is chosen correctly by finance managers at Minister Wildlife, then the stock price of the Minister Wildlife should change by same amount of the NPV. In real world we know that share price also reflects various other factors that can be related to both macro and micro environment.

In the same vein – accepting the project with zero NPV should result in stagnant share price. Finance managers use discount rates as a measure of risk components in the project execution process.

Sensitivity Analysis

Project selection is often a far more complex decision than just choosing it based on the NPV number. Finance managers at Minister Wildlife should conduct a sensitivity analysis to better understand not only the inherent risk of the projects but also how those risks can be either factored in or mitigated during the project execution. Sensitivity analysis helps in –

What will be a multi year spillover effect of various taxation regulations.

Understanding of risks involved in the project.

What are the key aspects of the projects that need to be monitored, refined, and retuned for continuous delivery of projected cash flows.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

What are the uncertainties surrounding the project Initial Cash Outlay (ICO’s). ICO’s often have several different components such as land, machinery, building, and other equipment.

Some of the assumptions while using the Discounted Cash Flow Methods –

Projects are assumed to be Mutually Exclusive – This is seldom the came in modern day giant organizations where projects are often inter-related and rejecting a project solely based on NPV can result in sunk cost from a related project.

Independent projects have independent cash flows – As explained in the marketing project – though the project may look independent but in reality it is not as the brand awareness project can be closely associated with the spending on sales promotions and product specific advertising.

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Negotiation Strategy of Environment Canada

References & Further Readings

Paul Boothe (2018), "Environment Canada Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.