Primary data was collected through interviews with the protagonists, Alvin George and Sooraj Verma. Secondary data was collected from research papers and websites to support and strengthen the case.
Siddharth, along with Professor Sooraj Verma and Alvin George, founded Carbon & Whale (C&W), a cleantech start-up, in 2022 with a mission to convert plastic waste into valuable products. In two years, the company has prevented 10,000 kg of plastic waste from polluting landfills and oceans. Their products were born of circular innovation, with an extreme vision of transforming discarded plastic into functional furniture that could last 15–20 years. They manufactured interlocking tiles and benches through in-depth research into plastic conversion technology, but little did they realise how challenging it would be to sell their products to end users. They were unable to sell their products to the target customers because the customers felt the prices were higher than those of traditional products. Due to this scenario, the founders had to reinvent their business model using Business-to-Business (B2B) sales strategies. They were unable to sell their products but generated revenue through advertising on the benches. Though they could generate revenues, Alvin, who was in charge of business development, was not satisfied. He wanted to take his products to end users and strengthen his Business-to-Consumer (B2C) value chain, thereby achieving the company’s goal of addressing plastic waste. Alvin has to prioritise and integrate strategies centred on the three Ps – People, Planet and Profit – for C&W to balance short-term business pressures and create long-term value for the organisation and society.
The case can be taught to MBA students in courses on “Social Entrepreneurship”, “Strategy” and “Sustainable Businesses”. It can be presented as an illustrative example of how the interests of business and society can be synergistically synthesised for the benefit of all stakeholders.
