Australian Company Plastic Collective

PLASTIC COLLECTIVE CASE STUDY By Course Name Professor’s Name University City, State Date of Submission Background to the Case 1.1 Background of Plastic Collective Plastic Collective is a pro-environmental company which was founded by Louise Hardman in 2016 to prevent the disposal of plastic waste into the ocean. Louise came about with the idea after having witnessed a turtle undergoing a slow and painful death as a result of eating plastic. The company’s mission is to prevent further deaths of aquatic life by reducing plastic disposals in the ocean. Plastic Collective achieves its mission through their training programs and portable equipment which transform plastics to valuable items that can be sold for profit. Louise’s company plays a huge role in the market since its recycling machines enable users to transform the plastics to valuable items which, when sold, contribute to improving the livelihood of the communities as well as contribute to the overall economy. Plastic Collective is a privately-owned company that has partnered with other organizations such as Coca-Cola, to empower the communities that reside in Australia. The company mainly targets low-income earners since they are most likely to gain an interest in the machine to make extra money. Aside from that, the organization also targets millennials and Generation X and Z since they make up a majority of the country’s population. Plastic Collective targets these groups to offer them their training and educational services. 1.2. Importance of the Company in the Broad Context. The company’s existence has created jobs for over 70 individuals, who are spread across the firm’s eight offices. Aside from the employees, the company has also created jobs for hundreds of individuals through empowerment and the provision of portable recycling machines. Empowerment is closely related to economic growth, and in the case of Plastic Collective, social empowerment has offered communities access to markets and services which has led to their participation in economic life (OECD 2012, p. 12). From a legal standpoint, Plastic Collective practices sustainability laws which are part of the growing importance of preventing climate change. Additionally, the development of recycling machines such as the shredder proves the company’s importance in sustainable development. The invention of the shredder indicates that the company relies on innovative technologies to achieve its mission and objectives. On a political scale, Plastic Collective has managed to influence the government’s decisions in dealing with plastic pollution. The Senate in Australia recognized the harmful effects of plastics on marine life which had a significant effect on shipping and fisheries, as a result, the government introduced community awareness campaigns and cleanup programs (Commonwealth of Australia 2016, p. 50). Plastic Collective contributes to these strategies by initiating their awareness campaigns and empowering the community through the shredder program. Community empowerment forms part of Plastic Collective’s social responsibility. Empowering the communities, especially those living in the coastal villages, helps to improve their living standards by offering them a means of earning money while at the same time, contributing to environmental sustainability. Demonstration of the Body of Knowledge Addressing the main sustainability and environmental issues faced by developed nations requires the implementation of compatible approaches. 2.1 Plastic Collective’s Sustainability Related Strategies Plastic Collective has gone about handling the issue of plastic disposal by applying two eco-friendly strategies. The first strategy involves the development of machinery for converting the plastic waste to useful products, whereas, the second is the development of awareness campaigns and educational programs. The development of machinery was facilitated by the company’s availability of resources such as skills and appropriate funds. According to Lubin and Esty (2010, p. 48), strategy development requires the adoption of open-source approaches which engage outsiders. Similarly, Plastic Collective engages the communities in Australia in the program to help achieve their overall mission. The implementation of the strategies is influenced mainly by the stakeholders. Pressure from stakeholders is a major concern for any organization (Kassinis and Vafeas, 2006, p. 145). For Plastic Collective, the founder, Lousie, was able to successfully initiate and develop the shredder machine because of her influence in the organization. Moreover, the support from other stakeholders such as Coca-Cola and other organizations also influenced the implementation of the strategies since the funding from the partnerships enables Plastic Collective to create more machines. Sustainability Strategy These strategies are in line with the company’s mission to empower individuals and enable them to transform plastic waste into valuable products. The company’s mission is directly related to sustainability since the main aim is to establish a clean and waste-free environment. The company’s sustainability strategy is based on three pillars, which include empowering individuals, coming up with innovative designs, and developing effective equipment and tools. So far, the company has managed to work simultaneously on the three elements of the triple-bottom-line as well. The triple bottom line is based on three fundamental elements, which include profit, social equity and environmental quality (Arowoshegbe, Emmanuel, and Gina, 2018, p. 92). Plastic Collective has empowered communities and provided them with shredder machines for recycling plastic materials. Through support from corporations, Plastic Collective has also managed to create more machines and reach more communities across Australia. The implementation of the strategies also requires the company to adhere to the principles of sustainability. Judging by the first principle of process and cost, companies should avoid over-exploitation of resources by balancing consumption (Eccles, Loannou, and Serafeim, 2014, p. 2836). This has been achieved by Plastic Collective through their adherence to their mission of providing value to the society rather than profit making. Marketing, on the other hand, requires changing the perceptions of the consumer regarding the product. According to Kumar and Christodoulopoulou (2014, p. 8), promoting a product’s effectiveness is a useful marketing strategy. Plastic Collective has done so by demonstrating the effectiveness of the shredder machine in various competitions and campaigns, including the Australian StartCon pitch competition. The company’s leadership has also played a key role in sustainability. Louise has spearheaded most of the campaigns run by the company, meaning that the managers are actively involved in implementing the company’s strategies. Moreover, managers are required to focus on the core concepts of sustainability (Matten and Crane, 2005, p. 178). For Project Collective, these concepts are centered on reducing plastic waste in the oceans, and this has been achieved through a focus on technology and innovation, to develop the shredder machine. 2.2. Sustainability Related Issues Faced by Plastic Collective The issues faced by Plastic Collective can be determined using the ESG framework. The framework is useful since it assesses how the company’s core business and the issues presented by the ind...