As a certified B Corporation, sustainability's at the heart of our business
Having grown up in a family that specializes in paper production, from an early age, Kaushal understood the importance of innovation. Observing traditional methods, he realized there must be better and more efficient ways to produce paper. The need for a sustainable solution pushed him to find answers. The idea was simple yet effective- why cut down trees for paper, when agricultural waste could be used instead? After perfecting this method, he took it from an experimental idea to a working concept. While he cannot save the nearly 4 billion trees that are cut worldwide for paper, he aims to make his own contributions to a sustainable and carbon-neutral future.
Kaushal Shah setup envoPAP to make sustainable materials made out of the waste of agricultural fibers, which are sourced from India. The brand was started in 2015 and has made a revenue of £8 Million so far by exporting agro-based materials made in India across the world. Kaushal views sustainable development as a core business principle.
● Tell us a bit about yourself and what led to this idea.
I come from a family of paper producers in India, so I know the packaging world inside out. I moved to the UK in 2015 to study business at the University of Southampton. While attending a packaging conference in Germany, I first saw the growing need for fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) to improve their green credentials, especially through plastic-free packaging and knew that it’s the right opportunity to be tapped, which led to the idea. My home country of India generates a lot of agricultural waste, which includes sugarcane, each year. envoPAP was founded to make better use of abundant sugarcane waste to create high-quality, environmentally friendly and ecologically viable printing and packaging products.
● What’s the most valuable lesson you’ve learnt so far as an entrepreneur?
Learning to delegate work is by far the most important trait you have to acquire. I kept control of the majority of things until a very late stage and even when the company began to expand, I continued doing the tasks I’d always done because I wanted perfect execution. This soaked up much of my time and prevented me focusing on the bigger picture. Once I could entrust tasks to other people, I had a lot of free time for research and funding.