HEC Paris Institutional Content — Executive Education · October 18, 2024 · Published by the HEC Paris Editorial Team
As part of its Global Executive Master’s in Change & Sustainability, HEC Paris has published an article on the career of Thibault Lamarque, founder and president of Castalie, who was invited to speak to the school’s executives and leaders. In the article, the school presents Castalie a textbook example of sustainable disruption in a century-old market: the bottled water industry. An overview of the business model, impact metrics, and competitive vision illustrate how a leader is transforming an established sector through sustainability.
Key takeaways
- Thibault Lamarque, a former auditor at Veolia and later CFO at Alter Eco, founded Castalie 2011 to reduce pollution from single-use plastic water bottles.
- Castalie eco-designed water dispensers to businesses, cafes, hotels, and restaurants; these units micro-filter tap water and bottle it on-site in glass bottles, removing chlorine, particles, and heavy metals.
- Castalie prevented the use of 350 million plastic bottles since its founding, according to figures presented in the article (2024).
- In 2023, Castalie revenue of 17 million euros while maintaining a positive EBITDA.
- Castalie eco-design into its processes since 2013 in collaboration with CETIM in Lyon, including the refurbishment and recycling of water coolers at the end of their useful life.
- Castalie positioning Castalie in the bottled water alternative market, aiming to replace brands such as Badoit and Evian, and claims to be the market leader in sustainable premium water in France after ten years.
- Castalie international expansion (Germany, Benelux) and testing reverse osmosis systems for home filtration by private individuals.
- Through the NGO Made Blue, a Castalie contract Castalie access to water for a family of four in Ethiopia, where more than 350 million liters have been distributed.
Source: HEC Paris, Executive Education, October 18, 2024. Read the original article
