Plum & Phy boss a big Bezos fan, has quotes by Amazon boss in his office

Shankar Prasad, the founder of Plum & Phy, knows that climate change is something all brands need to look at seriously.

From company to consumer, everyone has a role to play.

Prasad tells ET Panache what can be done to reduce your carbon footprint and also, which leader inspires him

What do you think a beauty brand's role is in being ethically sound?A good beauty brand is more than just about great products, smart packaging and interesting sound-bytes. Good brands end up even shaping how people think, and to that end I feel we have a responsibility for a) being transparent, b) being educative and c) pushing the agenda forward on things like sustainability and safety. And the ability of social media to host these conversations is a great thing for beauty brands with an ethical approach.

What are some things that consumers do to reduce their wastage of plastic containers? Apart from recycling, buying bigger bottles as they are easier to recycle etc.
Besides recycling empties, consumers can a) buy higher sized packs, b) avoid packages that come with false bottoms or double walls, c) use recyclable plastics as much as possible, d) buy refills. A lot of the responsibility for this also lies with the brands.

You know all the aspects of your business. You even write the content. Why is it important to know all levels of a job? How has it helped you in running a company?
Knowing all aspects of the business helps in a) identifying the right people for the job, b) understanding what constraints are preventing an optimum from happening, c) faster interactions with external service providers because we can get to the point straight, d) inspiring the team to run harder because they have someone on the team who is running as fast as them.

The downside, however, is of a) being hands-on on too many things, b) thinking that my way is the best way, and c) not having the bandwidth to keep oneself updated of latest developments, and the worst: d) not realizing that one’s not up-to-date. So I am increasingly growing comfortable with people taking up and doing things that I may not have a complete understanding of.

Who is one leader you look up to for inspiration and why? What is something he or she has said that has stuck with you?
I’m a big fan of Jeff Bezos because he’s created a consumer-centric tech organisation that’s also very good at brick-and-mortar stuff like running fulfilment centres and doing deliveries. You can rarely find a business that’s as good at all of these aspects, and that too on a global, replicable scale with clearly established category leadership.

The sheer vision and clarity of thought, as well as the speed and scale of execution, is quite something to comprehend. I have a few favorite Bezos quotes on the office walls, but one that’s really useful to remember is: “We’re not competitor obsessed, we’re customer obsessed. We start with the customer and we work backwards.”