Rashneh founded one of India’s most respected environmental organisations. From renewable energy to afforestation and community education, her leadership has driven climate projects that set the pace for sustainability across the nation.

Name: Dr Rashneh Pardiwala

Degree course: MSc Environmental Protection and Management, PhD Effects of Atmospheric Nitrogen Deposition on Heathland Ecosystems

Year of graduation: 1997, 2001

At the moment

What is your current role, and how did you get there?

I am the Founder and Director of the Centre for Environmental Research and Education (CERE), a Mumbai-based environmental organisation which I started in 2002, within six months of having completed my PhD from the University of Edinburgh. In Edinburgh, I studied climate change and researched the effects of global warming.

Being the full-time working Director of CERE involves long-term organisational planning to achieve mission goals; determining, developing and supervising core programmes; establishing strategic partnerships, monitoring financial and administrative operations, recruitment of consultants and reporting to the Board of Trustees.

What inspired your interest in this field?

I always preferred the outdoors even as a child and my earliest memories are of going on long walks into the wilderness with my father. I was always fascinated by the wonders of nature and through my school years, I was innately drawn to the subject of biology which I found to be the most logical of the sciences. During my undergraduate programme in Life Sciences, I closely studied and observed the devastating impact of India’s development goals on the environment – forests were disappearing at an alarming rate, every river was being polluted and the quality of air in cities was appalling. I soon realised that I wanted to specialise in the field of environmental protection and management but few Indian universities offered a good integrated program and hence, I chose to study at the University of Edinburgh.

Career journey

What were some key milestones in your career journey?

The key milestone of my career has been the growth and impact of my organisation CERE in each thematic field of environmental sustainability and climate change mitigation ranging from renewable energy to urban afforestation and rainwater harvesting and waste water treatment to our corporate Carbon Map & CapTM initiatives, as enumerated below:

• Switch on Solar (SoS) project aims to help charitable schools, hospitals and institutions to transition to renewable energy through the installation of roof-top solar panels. Under this vertical of CERE, 64 institutions​ have been solarised in the past five years, 81 million units of electricity has been generated​, leading to 67,974 metric tons (MT) of carbon dioxide being avoided​ and Indian Rupee (INR) 868 million saved.
• Urban Afforestation Project (UAP) in cities across India has seen the planting of 312,180 trees with a native species variety of 214 species, at 132 locations with a sequestration potential of 73,914 tonnes of carbon dioxide.
• Rainwater Harvesting (RWH) projects capture and save 501 million litres of water annually with an estimated financial savings of INR 2,425 million annually.
• Environmental Education projects have made CERE a pioneer in this space. CERE has developed several e-learning programmes and has published 29 titles used as prescribed curriculum textbooks by schools across India. CERE has sold over 100,000 books and the Human-Nature Interaction module run by for the National Council of Educational Research and Training (NCERT) has reached over five million primary school teachers across India.
• Carbon Map and CapTM programme is one of the most successful corporate carbon management programs run by CERE for the India corporate sector which helps companies earn profits by reducing their carbon footprint.

How did your time at the University shape your professional path?

The University of Edinburgh played a major role in shaping my professional trajectory by teaching me at a young age the importance of scientific rigour in all research, instilling in me the ability to become an independent thinker and to keep questioning, widening my network across countries and finally making friends for a lifetime.

Can you share a standout achievement or moment you’re proud of?

Today, in a span of 23 years, CERE is one of India’s leading, most innovative and respected environmental organisations working in every sphere of environmental sustainability. I feel extremely proud of having successfully steered the organisation for 23 years and creating emulative, scalable sustainability models for climate change mitigation for the country. CERE has successfully designed and implemented sustainability projects that are innovative, multi-layered and profitable for all stakeholders including corporates, governmental departments or local communities. CERE projects range from renewable energy, rainwater harvesting to afforestation and carbon map and cap solutions. CERE’s work has been widely emulated and drives policy change as these ensure benefits like carbon offsets, education, financial gains, community goodwill and legal compliances to all its stakeholders. Every award that the organisation and I personally receive reinforces our commitment to save our planet and encourages us to work even harder to change the “business as usual” models and re-shape those to mitigate the effects of climate change.

Industry insights

What trends or innovations are shaping the future of your industry?

The greatest challenge faced by most environmentalists at the moment is that the pace of climate change is much faster than the pace of change required by every nation across the world in order to significantly reduce global warming and meet science-based targets. The situation is dire but this creates new opportunities to pursue “green” in every sector, industry or career in order to achieve truly sustainable development that is in sync with nature.

What trends or innovations are shaping the future of your industry?

Environmental sustainability is no longer being discussed as an ideology and has moved from the margins to the centre of political, business and social development discourses. Sustainability is now recognised as an economic imperative and has in fact, become a stand-alone business powering many start-ups to work in the space of innovative cleantech. Market forces like global compliance standards are moving climate change mitigation forward but a lot more needs to be done at a faster pace.

Alumni wisdom

What do you wish you had known at the start of your career?

I wish I had known at the start of my career that being an environmentalist doesn’t mean enjoying a life of solitude, researching in exotic locales surrounded by nature. Reality is often the stark opposite where one needs to negotiate hard with government and policy makers, convince senior management in corporate boardrooms and spend endless hours spreading awareness amongst local communities and manage human resources in order to save the planet. It’s harder managing people than the planet!

What advice would you give to students or alumni looking to enter your field?

The only advice I could offer from personal experience is that working for the environment is often a lonely and thankless job that requires years of unwavering grit, determination and passion before any impact can be seen at ground level. However, thereafter it is an enriching, soul satisfying experience worth the sweat, blood and tears.

Are there any books, podcasts, or resources that have influenced you?

I have been greatly influenced by the endeavours of pioneering naturalists such as Sir David Attenborough whose natural history programmes I grew up watching, Rachel Carson, Dr Jane Goodall, Wangari Maathai and in India by Sunderlal Bahuguna, Medha Patkar and Kitayun Rustom whose work inspires generations to follow suit.

More

🔗  Centre for Environmental Research & Education (external)

All opinions expressed in this article are those of the individual and do not necessarily reflect those of the University of Edinburgh.

The University of Edinburgh is not responsible for the content and functionality of any linked external websites and nor does a link imply any endorsement.