Yash Premchandani is a Sustainability Consultant and former student in the Master’s programme in Sustainability Engineering and Management at Linköping University in Sweden. Last year, he participated in the International Circular Challenge which was organised as part of the ScaleUp4Sustainability project. We spoke to Yash Premchandani about his motivation to participate and his experience with the challenge.

How did you find out about the challenge and why did you decide to take part?

Yash Premchandani: I got to know of the opportunity to partake in the Circular Challenge through one of my university instructors. He had sent us some information prior to the challenge which convinced me to particate – on the one hand, because it sounded like a fun activity and on the other, because it would enable me to make a small contribution to sustainability. So I took the plunge!

What was the task of the challenge and what did you specifically do there?

Yash Premchandani: As the name suggests, the challenge took a circular economy focus. When the challenge was kicked off, three very interesting but different companies presented their circular business case to us and elaborated on their experiences and challenges. What they all have in common is their mission to increase their circular business practices. My team and I were matched to DSM Niaga, a Dutch company that redesigns products for circularity, their ultimate mission being to design out waste completely. Their products include carpets, mattresses and furniture panels, which belong to the top 10 bulky waste items worldwide, according to DSM Niaga. They also place a big focus on promoting the return of recyclable products.

The challenge we were provided was how to further expand into the student market and make the DSM Niaga mattresses interesting for the young generation. My team and I tried to develop an idea that would allow for the company to stay profitable while expanding into new sectors. We suggested that first, the company expands into the hotel sector by setting up new contracts with a range of hotels. Once the hotels decided to return the mattresses they had acquired from DSM Niaga, these mattresses would be recycled again and sold to universities. In this way, DSM Niaga could cooperate with the university marketing to educate the students about the recycled mattresses in their student dormitories. In this way, resource efficiency would be promoted while at the same time raising student awareness around recycled products.

What was your experience like? What was particularly fun and what was particularly challenging?

Yash Premchandani: Overall, it was a really interesting experience for me. As a student, you are usually a bit more idealistic. The experience of working together with a company helped me to see the kind of constraints and challenges companies face. There are so many different factors to take into consideration. Transitioning to a circular economy is a long process and you need to take many small steps and consider different ways of how to go about it. You really have to find the right balance between incorporating ecological and social factors into your decision, making a contribution to the Sustainable Development Goals, while at the same time ensuring economic viability. It was super interesting to experience this first-hand in the challenge process. At the same time, it was an inspiring experience, because it made me realise how much impact a single business can achieve when it successfully scales. You basically realise how small contributions can make a huge difference.

“I’m happy I got the opportunity to interact with impact-oriented companies and understand their missions, their strategies and to get behind their thought processes. It has definitely made me better understand the entrepreneurial mindset. Those are insights you will never get out of a theoretical class.”  – Yash Premchandani

Was there a special highlight for you?

Yash Premchandani: My personal highlight was seeing that a lot of new companies are starting up with the purpose of first and foremost making a contribution to the different Sustainable Development Goals. That was new and exciting for me to see. I’m happy I got the opportunity to interact with these impact-oriented companies and understand their missions, their strategies and to get behind their thought processes. It has definitely made me better understand the entrepreneurial mindset. Those are insights you will never get out of a theoretical class.

Whom would you recommend to take part in this kind of challenge and why?

Yash Premchandani: I recommend this challenge-based format to any student, really! Right now, every company around the world is faced with the challenge of how to move towards more sustainability. So regardless of your field of study, whether you come from engineering or the social sciences, you will be dealing with sustainability at some point in your professional life. Being exposed to the topic early on in your studies and learning about it in a practice-oriented environment is an eye-opening experience. Also, you get to meet new people, develop your connections and open up to different perspectives. I think all students who get the opportunity to participate in a challenge-based activity should just go for it!