Strategic Activism: The Rainforest Action Network 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 Strategic Activism: The Rainforest Action Network case study

At Oak Spring University, we provide corporate level professional Net Present Value (NPV) case study solution. Strategic Activism: The Rainforest Action Network case study is a Harvard Business School (HBR) case study written by David P. Baron, David S. Barlow, Ann M. Barlow, Erin Yurday. The Strategic Activism: The Rainforest Action Network (referred as “Ran's Ran” from here on) case study provides evaluation & decision scenario in field of Strategy & Execution. It also touches upon business topics such as - Value proposition, Corporate governance, Joint ventures, Policy, Social responsibility.

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 Strategic Activism: The Rainforest Action Network Case Study

The Rainforest Action Network (RAN) worked "to protect the Earth's rainforests and support the rights of their inhabitants through education, grassroots organizing, and nonviolent direct action." RAN accomplished its mission by organizing campaigns to redirect corporations away from the destruction and exploitation of nonsustainable forest resources. RAN worked with other nongovernmental organizations, student groups, and indigenous forest communities. Founded in 1985, RAN had 10,000 members and an annual budget of $2 million in 2003. Over time, the scope of RAN's campaigns had broadened. RAN sought to stop the logging of old growth forests, protect fragile ecosystems, and reduce the threat to forests and the environment due to climate change. RAN's three campaigns in 2004--the Old Growth Campaign, the Global Finance Campaign, and Jumpstart Ford--focused on these objectives. In April 2003, RAN's board of directors appointed as executive director Michael Brune, the former campaigns director for the organization. Brune and the board of directors began a review of RAN's strategy and mission in light of the expanded scope of RAN's campaigns. RAN had limited resources and was stretched to conduct three campaigns. What changes to RAN's strategy, structure, and resource base would be required if it were to expand its mission, for example, to include natural systems such as clean air, clean water, and the climate?

Case Authors : David P. Baron, David S. Barlow, Ann M. Barlow, Erin Yurday

Topic : Strategy & Execution

Related Areas : Corporate governance, Joint ventures, Policy, Social responsibility

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Calculating Net Present Value (NPV) at 6% for Strategic Activism: The Rainforest Action Network Case Study

Years	Cash Flow	Net Cash Flow	Cumulative     Cash Flow	Discount Rate @ 6 %	Discounted Cash Flows
Year 0	(10016929)	-10016929	-	-
Year 1	3446204	-6570725	3446204	0.9434	3251136
Year 2	3971768	-2598957	7417972	0.89	3534859
Year 3	3958468	1359511	11376440	0.8396	3323606
Year 4	3247761	4607272	14624201	0.7921	2572531
TOTAL			14624201		12682132

The Net Present Value at 6% discount rate is 2665203

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

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. Ran's Ran 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 Ran's Ran 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 Strategic Activism: The Rainforest Action Network

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 Ran's Ran 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 Ran's Ran 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	(10016929)	-10016929	-	-
Year 1	3446204	-6570725	3446204	0.8696	2996699
Year 2	3971768	-2598957	7417972	0.7561	3003227
Year 3	3958468	1359511	11376440	0.6575	2602757
Year 4	3247761	4607272	14624201	0.5718	1856918
TOTAL					10459601

The Net NPV after 4 years is 442672

(10459601 - 10016929 )

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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	(10016929)	-10016929	-	-
Year 1	3446204	-6570725	3446204	0.8333	2871837
Year 2	3971768	-2598957	7417972	0.6944	2758172
Year 3	3958468	1359511	11376440	0.5787	2290780
Year 4	3247761	4607272	14624201	0.4823	1566243
TOTAL					9487032

The Net NPV after 4 years is -529897

At 20% discount rate the NPV is negative (9487032 - 10016929 ) so ideally we can't select the project if macro and micro factors don't allow financial managers of Ran's Ran 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 Ran's Ran has a NPV value higher than Zero then finance managers at Ran's Ran 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 Ran's Ran, then the stock price of the Ran's Ran 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 Ran's Ran 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.

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.

What can impact the cash flow of the project.

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.

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 Strategic Activism: The Rainforest Action Network

References & Further Readings

David P. Baron, David S. Barlow, Ann M. Barlow, Erin Yurday (2018), "Strategic Activism: The Rainforest Action Network Harvard Business Review Case Study. Published by HBR Publications.