Shakti Balasubramanian Yadav is an Indian social entrepreneur pioneering circular-economy solutions that bridge environmental health with social equity. As the Founder of Buy Food with Plastic India, he leads an initiative that provides nutritious meals to communities in exchange for plastic waste. Under his leadership, BFWP India's Mumbai manufactory has successfully diverted over 100,000 plastic bottles from landfills.

A former Team Leader at the Tata-mentored startup Goodfellows and a recognised TEDx speaker, Shakti holds an MBA in Marketing. In 2025, he collaborated with Harvard University faculty as a Research Contributor, providing key insights for a study on social entrepreneurship and impactful business models. His climate leadership includes roles as an adelphi Research Fellow at a leading Berlin-based think tank in Germany, a 2023 IFA Cross-Cultural Fellow of the Institut für Auslandsbeziehungen (IFA)—where he represented India among 46 countries—and a BeVisioneers Mercedes-Benz Fellow, where he engaged with sustainability initiatives in collaboration with Mercedes-Benz’s recycling and innovation teams.

In addition, he is a member of the World Economic Forum’s Global Shapers Community, contributing to youth-led global dialogue on sustainability. He also mentors students from underserved communities through the Eklavya India Foundation, helping them access global education and opportunities. As a Strategic Advisor to IndieJeanous, he supports the growth of a circular fashion brand focused on upcycling and women-led production. He has also contributed to impactful initiatives such as Liter of Light, working on large-scale sustainability efforts.

In 2024, he was invited as a guest speaker at the Indo-German Centre for Sustainability (IGCS) Summer School, hosted by RWTH Aachen University in Germany, where he spoke on social entrepreneurship. As a Climate Leader at the EarthON Foundation, he continues to leverage global platforms to advocate for the circular economy and community-led innovation addressing pressing environmental and social challenges. Recently, Shakti was awarded the prestigious Queen Elizabeth Commonwealth Trust (QECT) 100 Young Leaders Award for 2026, selected from across all 56 Commonwealth nations to represent India. He was also selected as India’s delegate to present Buy Food with Plastic India at the 4th BRICS+ Youth Innovation Summit under the theme of Sustainable Development and Green Innovation, where his project was awarded 1st Prize, opening pathways to global platforms, including international fellowships and youth leadership programs.

Shakti’s climate leadership is shaped by a global perspective developed through travel and engagement with innovators across multiple countries, allowing him to refine localized solutions. Building on this experience, he has mobilised resources and raised funds in Switzerland and Germany to strengthen BFWP India's financial resilience and scalability, connecting European sustainability markets with grassroots development in India.