Planet Positive People

Businesspersons, policy makers, international governments, civil societies and environmentalists globally are emphasizing on and implementing practices for sustainable living and development. The United Nations has 17 Sustainable Development Goals that have been set up to ensure equitable distribution of resources and that people globally enjoy peace and prosperity.

Organizations are taking conscientious steps to reduce their carbon footprint. Back in late 2017, tech giant Google purchased 3 GW of RE capacity by means of Renewable Energy Certificates. Apple, Facebook, Hewlett Packard, ABInBev and Adobe are among the biggest names making waves in the energy sector for their Renewable Energy commitments.

At Hero Future Energies, in our bid to find solutions to the climate crisis, we currently provide energy solutions in wind, solar, battery storage, wave energy – all of which could replace fossil fuels, and we have plans to deploy these solutions in energy-hungry nations.

But what makes me extremely happy is to see people across India take the lead in sustainability. Indian locals working at the grassroots have brought about change in their community, their surroundings. The passion of these ‘Planet Positive People’ drives others around them to jump in for their cause. They fight constraints to find innovative ways of living sustainably. I’ve often talked about many of these drivers of change on my twitter, and I honestly feel that these are the stories that people should be talking about more and more. They’re not just initiatives, they are immense opportunities

26 year-old Garima Poonia left behind her dream of pursuing a Master’s in Development Studies from a prestigious University in the UK to make one of the Andaman Islands waste-free. Her initiative, ‘The Kachrewaale Project’ is changing the way Andaman Islands is handling its waste, which was once burnt and dumped on trenching grounds.

Similarly, Dhaval Thakkar, a middle class local from Deesa, Banaskantha, in the northern part of Gujarat came up with an inventive idea of making a solar stove, which is not just capable of reducing cooking costs by 80% but also cut down environmental issues, which had marred his community.

Another example of sustainable management of resources has been set by the people of Whitefield in Bengaluru where its residents collect the RO water and use it to wash cars, water plants, and clean parking lots. Because of this initiative, they manage to save 500 liters of water every day.

I think it is important that these initiatives and the people behind them be publicized widely. We live in a hyper-connected era and innovations often take on an exponential growth curve. Moreover, what will actually enhance the efforts of these individuals are policies that support these indigenous innovations. Because that is how the impact of these products can be scaled to reach everyone.

All these examples exhibit one thing in common: the will to do something for their surroundings. While initiatives by big corporates may go big on renewables and sustainability efforts, these initiatives by individuals will have a much larger impact in the longer run. Why? Because this signals a change in attitude – where all change begins.