World Environment Day 2025 focusses on ending plastic pollution. You are already plastic negative. How does it feel?
There are a lot of efforts that go behind achieving these kind of milestones. It feels great, obviously, because somewhere, you know, it’s an indication of what you have been able to contribute. But at the same time, it also gives you a kind of responsibility that, you know, come what may, you need to keep sustaining the ambition and the intent of meeting those ambitions always.
As much as we scale our businesses, we need to be conscious of our footprint on plastic, keep reducing that and address the waste, which is anyways generated, in a more responsible manner so that we ensure that the plastic that we use does not end up in the environment as a waste.
Many organisations are setting ambitious sustainability targets. What, in your experience, are the key enablers and potential roadblocks for large scale operations to achieve significant environmental improvements?
I think roadblock probably is just the mindset. Frankly, you know, it’s not a one-day journey. It is a continuing journey. You need to be persistent. And the perseverance is the key as sustainability is not a journey which ends in a day or is short term. It’s a continuous journey.
Every time you keep doing something, there are ways to keep improving. So setting ambitious goals makes basically you to look at, you know, what is that destination that you want to reach. But more important is the journey that you are taking. Setting short-term, mid-term targets on these journeys is very, very critical. And that’s what we have done.
I don’t think companies should restrict their ambitions. There are ways to get there. Sometimes you may have a lean period and then you would improve. Policies also play a big role in that. And there are supporting policies that evolve. But unless you set an ambitious target, you know, you don’t get the drive to move ahead and achieve those targets.
For individuals or organisations who are about to start their environmental journey, what will be your top advice?
I think individually it is, basically, both very easy and difficult. You need to constantly have that mindset but you can do very small things in terms of making those changes. Don’t think of how big is that impact because ultimately, you know, every drop counts when it actually falls into the ocean and that’s how, you know, you build numbers
But as far as the organisations and companies are concerned, I think, you know, if you’re looking at sustainability, it’s a very broad umbrella. You don’t need to do everything at one go and that can be very overwhelming for smaller companies especially. Look at what is material to you, look at what you are really making a major impact on and start with that area.
Looking ahead, what will be your message for the younger generation of environmental stewards on this World Environment Day?
I think, you know, that this generation is blessed with a huge advantage of having data and information at just a click of, you know, their mobile phones. So, be more aware about the choices you make. Be demanding in terms of what you want.
And when you do that, you keep that constantly in your mind that, you know, what we are consuming is not just for us. It has to sustain over generations. And, therefore, we cannot be selfish in doing that. So, being more conscious in having more information and using that knowledge in a meaningful way in terms of driving the small changes as a consumer will go a long way.
So, if I ask you, what are the three thoughts that come to your mind when we talk about sustainability?
I think, it is everybody’s responsibility. All of us are in it.
Second, I think it is a matter of survival for humanity now with climate change and its impacts, as these are.
And the third is, I think we owe it to our future generation. So, that’s the bottom line.
