Not so black and white: Grupo Inca’s black alpaca dilemma (A)

In late 2021, Puneet Chhatwal, CEO of Indian Hotels Company Limited IHCL, found himself grappling with a new challenge beyond the impressive growth numbers the company had achieved since his tenure began in 2017 sustainability. Having led IHCL, the hospitality arm of the Tata Group, through one of its most transformative periods, including a turnaround from losses to profitability and the addition of over 100 hotels, Puneet now faced rising stakeholder and regulatory demand for measurable ESG impacts. The case explores IHCL's journey to embed sustainability in all its hotels including those under development through Paathya, its comprehensive ESG framework. Paathya, derived from Sanskrit meaning 'path,' symbolizes IHCL's commitment to structured sustainability by setting ambitious goals, including eliminating single-use plastics, adopting renewable energy and certifying all hotels under global sustainability standards by 2030. The case explores the organizational challenges IHCL faced and examines how the company formalized sustainability in every aspect of its business from financial decisions and design to engineering and daily operations. A key focus is placed on the cultural shift that Paathya required, ensuring buy-in from employees at all levels, including general managers of individual hotels, who were pivotal in driving green initiatives. IHCL's rapid growth and vision of expanding to 300 hotels under an asset-light model, raises crucial questions: Can the company balance its aggressive expansion with its sustainability commitments? Will Paathya continue to resonate with the core of the company's operations amid changing global standards and leadership? The case concludes by examining Paathya's early successes and the challenges ahead. How can IHCL sustain its hospitality leadership while leading the charge on sustainability?

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