Hyderabad-based real estate developer Organo, led by Nagesh Battula and Vijay Durga, aimed to disrupt the market with their third project, Organo Damaragidda, focusing on eco-friendly living in Telangana. Following the success of their previous projects, Naandi and Antharam, Organo faced challenges in reaching their target audience for Damaragidda. This case study talks about how they navigate the difficult path of marketing a niche product to new market segment.

The case is set in 2021 and explores the journey of Chiranjeev Restaurant and Foods Pvt. Ltd., located at Koregaon Park, Pune. It has evolved sustainable business practices, delivering innovative organic food products from farm to table to its customers at the restaurant over the last 25 years. The case underlines Malaka Spice's efforts to mainstream sustainability in the restaurant ecosystem by challenging the current food system followed by fine-dining restaurants in India. Malaka Spice, led by the founder Praful Chandawarkar and his experienced management team, has implemented a circular food system by incorporating natural farming practices, enrolling local suppliers, having an integrated supply chain, training staff to efficiently use the produce, composting waste and feeding the compost back into the soil, and closing the system's feedback loop. The case explores critical events in Praful's personal life and the entrepreneurial journey that persuaded him to pursue a mission to bring prosperity to all, including the restaurant's employees and the planet's ecosystem. Malaka Spice's culture is rooted in the Indian management thought process inspired by the sutras from Kautilya's Arthashastra (ancient Indian treatise on economics, statecraft, warfare, etc.). The principles derived from the sutras led to unconventional practices within the organization. During the COVID-19 pandemic in 2021, the management team empowered the employees to start their own enterprises while continuing to be employees of the restaurant chain. They were trained to source materials and supply them to the restaurant. Malaka Spice influenced the competition to adopt its best practices and created an environment of trust to promote the cross-learning of ideas within the hospitality industry. Finally, the case delves into green solutions that the Malaka Spice team designed and prototyped to tackle the climate crisis proactively.

The vision of Anand Mahindra, Chairman of the Mahindra Group, in spearheading climate leadership in India, focusing on the proactive steps taken in steel manufacturing by Mahindra Sanyo Special Steel Limited (MSSSPL) through science-based targets is presented. Case set in 2021, when businesses in India and countries around the world were recovering from the unprecedented setbacks caused by the COVID-19 pandemic. At the October 2021 COP26 Glasgow Summit, India had committed to achieve net zero by 2070, further reinforcing the need for corporates to take massive steps in reducing their carbon footprints. Anand Mahindra and Anirban Ghosh, Chief Sustainability Officer at the Mahindra Group, believe that there is an opportunity for the Group to do more to mitigate the impacts of climate change. The case illustrates the risks posed by climate change to businesses and the business benefits of setting science-based targets that can spur increased innovation potential, greater resilience against regulatory uncertainties, improved credibility among the new generation of investors, customers, employees, and other stakeholders, as well as better competitive advantage. Three years after committing to the SBTi, climate-induced challenges had become even more critical, necessitating swifter action to cut emissions across the value chain. The case discusses GHG emissions across 3 scopes, highlighting the value chain activities that contribute to Scope 1, Scope 2, and Scope 3 emissions. MSSSPL has committed to reduce their emissions by 35% by 2030. Some of the measures adopted by MSSSPL to meet their GHG emissions reduction commitments to the SBTi such as improvements in raw material usage in various manufacturing processes, energy-efficient technologies to cumulatively reduce specific electricity and oil consumption, water use management, and waste management measures through a circular economy strategy. What more needs to be done by the company to keep up the momentum?

This case illustrates the efforts of the Mahindra Group's Agri Business and Farm Equipment divisions to drive sustainability-oriented action aimed at improving the lives of rural communities and preparing them to adapt to the impacts of climate change. It briefly describes the far-reaching consequences of climate-related disasters in terms of loss of food and nutrition security; livelihood; crop production; and losses in manufacturing, especially in developing countries such as India that are highly reliant on agriculture. The approach adopted by the Mahindra Group to tackle challenges in agriculture, such as water scarcity, food wastage, and energy-intensive practices, through affordable and energy- and resource-efficient technology is discussed. There are intense deliberations among the leaders of the Mahindra Group businesses about the way forward and concerns regarding climate-friendly innovations, which, from the perspective of the Chairman, ultimately translates into creatively reconciling the conflict between environmental goals and profitability goals. The Chairman and the Chief Sustainability Officer are firm in their belief that there are immense business opportunities in aggressively implementing sustainable practices. The leadership of the Mahindra Group is deliberating on how they can collaborate with rural communities and devise ways to improve farm-to-market linkages, reduce the costs of farm inputs, and scale up energy-efficient technology.

In February 2021, the managing director of The Shakti Plastics Industries (Shakti) was facing challenges related to the Indian government’s announcement of a complete ban by 2022 on single-use plastic—a key item that Shakti had been recycling through technological innovations over the previous few decades. The company was eager to support the government’s vision of enabling a circular plastics economy. However, changes in the regulatory landscape were likely to impact millions of people who were directly or indirectly employed in the unorganized Indian plastic waste sector. The time frame for plastic waste processors and manufacturers to adapt to the changes was short, particularly during the pandemic-induced resurgence of single-use plastic in the form of medical waste. Moreover, there were several other challenges, including price volatility of plastic waste, influenced by disruptive intermediaries in the supply chain; low awareness levels among consumers about waste segregation at the source; and a lack of eco-friendly alternatives to single-use plastic. Shakti needed to make decisions to maintain and advance its competitiveness in the plastic waste recycling sector, in line with the government’s proposed vision for a circular plastic economy.

In February 2021, the managing director of The Shakti Plastics Industries (Shakti) was facing challenges related to the Indian government's announcement of a complete ban by 2022 on single-use plastic-a key item that Shakti had been recycling through technological innovations over the previous few decades. The company was eager to support the government's vision of enabling a circular plastics economy. However, changes in the regulatory landscape were likely to impact millions of people who were directly or indirectly employed in the unorganized Indian plastic waste sector. The time frame for plastic waste processors and manufacturers to adapt to the changes was short, particularly during the pandemic-induced resurgence of single-use plastic in the form of medical waste. Moreover, there were several other challenges, including price volatility of plastic waste, influenced by disruptive intermediaries in the supply chain; low awareness levels among consumers about waste segregation at the source; and a lack of eco-friendly alternatives to single-use plastic. Shakti needed to make decisions to maintain and advance its competitiveness in the plastic waste recycling sector, in line with the government's proposed vision for a circular plastic economy.