In any industry, competition depends on five key forces (Porter, 1979): the bargaining power of suppliers, the threat of substitute products or services, the bargaining power of customers, the threat of new competitors and the industry jockeys for position among existing rivals. Kennedy Consultants applied Porter's 5 Forces to Dell to understand the industry and its dynamics. The bargaining power of suppliers is significant in the IT sector, and in particular in the IT hardware segment. Dell depends on its suppliers for its manufacturing processes, as the company only assembles the parts into the final product. Despite the large number of computer component suppliers, proximity to Dell's assembly line is a critical factor. To protect against the risk of high demand variability and combat long lead times, the company has developed a system by which suppliers keep inventory readily available in supplier fulfillment centers (SLCs) close to Dell factories, on based on demand quantity forecasts provided by Dell. Furthermore, as a dominant buyer, the company also holds power over its suppliers by imposing technological imperatives and shaping the geography of its supply base (Fields, 2006). Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an original essay With computer sales significantly declining and customer preferences shifting towards smartphones and tablets instead (Marketline, 2018; Passport, 2018), one major business, the computer segment, is seriously threatened by these emerging substitutes. Competition is increasing rapidly in the smartphone and tablet niches, forcing companies to reduce prices or improve performance. Furthermore, there is a wide choice for consumers when it comes to IT products, in areas such as personal computers, networking and storage services or data protection technologies. Customers therefore possess considerable bargaining power vis-à-vis market players, requiring Dell and its competitors to engage in an ongoing battle for market share. By further focusing on industry segments where it can achieve product differentiation, Dell can mitigate some of its customers' power. An example would be cloud computing, which offers the company an exciting opportunity to consolidate its position and further expand its customer base (Marketline, 2018). The company experiences intense rivalry from numerous competitors in all its business areas. In the business PC and server markets, its main competitors are Acer, HP, Lenovo, IBM and Toshiba. In the consumer electronics sector, it faces competition from HP, Acer, Apple, Sony, Lenovo and Asustek in the European markets (Marketline, 2018). We can argue that expected exit barriers due to large capital investments are contributing to the state of competition. In the IT sector and particularly in computer hardware, the threat of new competitors is not very significant due to a number of barriers to entry, including sunk costs, the breakthrough technological innovation required to enter the market and economies of scale achieved by large market players. These barriers can be overcome when competitors are able to introduce disruptive innovations. Key sustainability issues and dynamics The IT sector is subject to high energy consumption, carbon emissions and e-waste, accounting for more than 2% of human greenhouse gases according to the Global Action Plan (2018). The industry is energy intensive due to the processesproduction and use, but also due to the transport of materials. In 2018, Gartner Inc. reported that combined annual device shipments reached 2.2 billion units, demonstrating the global reliance on technology products. In particular, the consumer electronics industry recognizes the urgent need to make increasing commitments to environmentally friendly business practices. Research conducted by Greenpeace (2017) Examination of 20 of the largest consumer electronics companies by market share showed that the majority of companies seek to establish environmental sustainability by reducing waste, conserving resources and reducing product dimensions. Another report published by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA, 2008) found that the consumer technology industry focuses on eco-friendly packaging and recycling initiatives. There is currently no international label for sustainable IT products. However, companies proactively develop their own “green” labels. Evaluating the quality of these labels is a challenging task. In the consumer electronics sector, Greenpeace (2017) has developed a classification framework that provides some initial guidance. The leader of 2017 was Fairphone, a company that positions itself as the developer of the “world's first ethical, modular smartphone” (Fairphone, 2018). Their competitive advantages include reduced resource consumption and transparency throughout the supply chain. Apple is well regarded in terms of sustainability due to its efforts in using renewable energy in its manufacturing, as well as being the first company in the industry to commit to closing the loop in its manufacturing processes. Dell is ranked as the third "greenest" company and stands out for its reduced resource consumption, more sustainable product design and closed-loop use of plastic. The company's sustainability strategy originated from an accumulation of stories, in which Dell focused on narrow areas of sustainability that it interacted with frequently. This ultimately gave birth to the “Legacy of Good” campaign (Dell EMC, 2017). Dell has identified five areas where it could have a significant impact using its technological capabilities: net positive impact, supply chain, environment, community and people. Dell is reducing negative ecological impacts and fighting climate action through several initiatives such as innovating the open source "Ocean Bound" plastic supply chain, investing in renewable energy, and cleaning up coastlines with the goal to become more eco-efficient, i.e. reducing the overall ecological impact per unit of production (Dyllick and Hockerts, 2002). Additionally, Dell is setting ambitious goals to measure its progress, such as regenerating resources while giving back 10x to global systems. On a social level, Dell has taken various actions to improve the social problems facing our planet, with a focus on communities and people. The company has addressed several areas of sustainable development, improving quality education through the “Youth STEM Learning” initiative, as well as contributing to social well-being through precision medicine technology in the early treatment of diseases. Dell has also helped develop adequate infrastructure for industrial innovation, clean water, sanitation and affordable clean energy in India, where Dell has its second largest research hub (The Economic Times , 2018). Additionally, Dell reports the progress of these initiatives in its annual “Legacy of Good” CSR report in a way that appears to be very transparent and detailed. When evaluatingthe impact of Dell's sustainability strategy, we use some key academic frameworks to establish the value of sustainability, evaluate the effectiveness of Dell's policy through academic typology, and position Dell within planetary systems. Creating value through sustainability By modeling the different actions and policies that Dell has implemented over the years as a response to the sustainability issue, you can visualize Dell's value capture and creation model. The Sustainable Value framework, developed by Hart and Milstein (2003), positions sustainability initiatives according to spatio-temporal parameters in order to understand how these tools create fundamental value for shareholders. Figure 1 maps Dell's current initiatives along this framework. The bottom right quadrant classifies initiatives in terms of internal space and short-term effects. These types of initiatives generally relate to the reduction of waste, pollution and consumption. Dell initiatives that fall into this category include the Gold Recycling program, which focuses on increasing the energy efficiency of products to reduce the carbon footprint of both production and product use, and the Ocean initiative and partnerships Plastics. The latter is one of the largest and most impactful initiatives, creating value for Dell by reducing packaging and material costs, as well as developing networks with other sectors and companies to expand the infrastructure for recycling both plastic and new packaging (Dell, 2018). The program was started through a partnership with other technology companies and an NGO that brought awareness of the issue to Dell. The Gold Recycling program, through a partnership with Goodwill, is another industry-leading initiative, making Dell the first OEM to recycle gold for its products (Werner et al., 2017). Furthermore, Dell's innovative use of mushroom caps as packaging represents an overlap between future impact and short-term impact metrics (Dell, 2018). This innovation has significantly reduced the company's packaging costs and represents an opportunity to set a standard for new eco-positive business decisions. The lower right quadrant contains initiatives with short-term impact and focused on the company's externalities. These activities typically involve transparency in supply chains, as well as honest and forthright reporting to legitimize the company (Hart & Milstein, 2003). Dell falls into this quadrant with efforts to require suppliers to comply with international regulations on the extraction of conflict minerals, namely tin, tantalum, tungsten, and gold, otherwise known as 3TG (Dell, 2018). This compliance has thus far allowed Dell to operate in more stringent markets where the supply of these conflict minerals is monitored, as well as improving the company's reputation. Additionally, Dell sets aside a portion of capital to assist in the event of natural disasters (Dell, 2018). Market research shows that companies that receive disaster assistance and are exposed during disaster relief increase public opinion, suggesting that they have benefited from this exposure (Thomas and Fritz, 2006). Looking at the initiatives located in the top left quadrant of Figure 1, shareholder value is generated by actions taken to improve the development of future capabilities within the company. For example, Dell's efforts to improve the energy efficiency of its products have led to a reduction in energy consumption in both the production and use of Dell technologies. Dell's commitment to transitioning to renewable energy sources has.