S13E21: Scaling to 10X impact within a year, with Sebastian DiGrande (CEO, Plastic Credit Exchange)

We're continuing our season on "business as a force for good", Richard Medcalf speaks with Sebastian DiGrande, CEO of Plastic Credit Exchange (PCX).PCX was founded in the Philippines, one of the epicenters of the plastic pollution crisis, and the first in the world to establish a Plastic Pollution Reduction Standard and create a fully traceable offset platform to responsibly recover, process, or recycle plastic waste. Prior to joining PCX, Sebastian was the EVP of Strategy & Chief Customer Officer at Gap Inc..

In this conversation, you’ll learn:

How Sebastian came across his mission almost by accident, and why he believes in the power of serendipity.

The journey that allowed PCX to scale up their impact 4X impact in under two years, with now 100,000 tonnes of plastic diverted

The importance of harnessing the "jealous neighbor effect"

The "one conversation" question, and why it matters

Sebastian's journey into "the land of misfit toys and battered children": how he turned a "peripheral" team into a bold, strategic unit that would lead the way to a more competitive future for his previous firm.

Resources/sources mentioned:

https://pcxmarkets.com

https://pcxmarkets.com
The Impact Multiplier CEO Podcast(https://xquadrant.com/podcast/)

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For full show notes, head to https://xquadrant.com/sebastian-digrande

Timestamps:

0:00 Intro
03:35 Personal-professional change, passion for the environment

17:49 Building a team for a successful startup operation

21:13 How to manage plastic waste

24:27 How to use influencers to help your cause

30:56 Risk-taking culture 

34:05 Elevating suppressed talent to drive impact.