Desika Prabakar - I Truly Wanted to Have My Own Unique Touch and Contribution to the Field With Innovation (Sustainability Consultant From India)

I usually quote LIVE GREEN-LIVE KIND-LIVE YOU as it's what made sense to me on so many levels. To live green in our everyday lives does not necessarily mean investing time and money into products that are eco-friendly but staying kind and being a better version of You with the choices we make. Ultimately, to make choices that’s benefitting both us and our environment.

 

1. Tell us more about your background, story, and journey.

I am fortunate to have an upbringing that witnessed growth from the ground up. With next to nothing in hand, the transition from a rural farming background into city life was an uphill battle. But my parents never made me see the light of it. After 15 years of blood and sweat in the sales and marketing field, my dad’s big break to work with global brands changed everything for us. It was later he established his own business and that was the moment I realized the drive within me to build something of my own. 

My love for the environment was a given, coming from a family in the business of plastic recycling. My uncle, IIT alumni, runs a factory converting PET bottle wastes into T-shirts and my dad reprocesses industrial plastic wastes into value-added products.

However, I truly wanted to have my own unique touch and contribute to the field with innovation. Biotechnology was one of the perfect choices that led me to be a part of several innovations in sustainability. Particularly, carrying out my final year project at the National University of Singapore opened up my career in environmental biotechnology. To work on natural adsorbents to purify industrial wastewater, in such an advanced technological landscape was absolutely inspiring.

 Later, after my degree, I got the opportunity to join a startup focusing on using bio enzymes to degrade plastics. Working there as the Head of Research, certainly demanded very many diverse skills, from management to troubleshooting to analytics. It was a great learning experience that equipped me to go on to certify a sustainable hygiene product. As, part of a rural development program, I worked at IIT Madras to produce an eco-friendly sanitary napkin made from beverage industrial waste.

 Following this, I was grateful to be promoted as a Project Head, wherein I worked with brands like Tata and successfully transferred an economical bioplastics production technology. 

Parallelly, being a technical content writer, immensely aided my depth of knowledge in various fields. From scientific journal publications to market research to product reviews, each of the works gave me distinct learnings. The journey so far is superbly exciting, enriching, and educating every step of the way. More importantly, the satisfaction and focus to create real-time impact towards environmental upliftment is the absolute motivation for me every day.

2. How do you explain "Sustainability Consultant" to someone who doesn't know it?

In simple terms, sustainability is leaving behind a world for our future generations by living and consuming responsibly. More recently, “Sustainability” has become the buzzword with every business striving towards it. In terms of responsibly utilizing our natural resources, economic growth, preserving and protecting our land and oceans, infusing eco into our urban life, accounting for and reducing our emissions, all underlie the field of Sustainability. 

As a consultant, I work with companies to provide them a path toward setting and achieving their sustainability goals. For instance, if a company is producing a particular type of fabric; a suggestion to replace a certain percentage of the fabric with recycled alternatives would help in cutting down the overall carbon emissions of the company. Additionally, from a social perspective, providing awareness and training to employees and workers on safety, waste disposal and workplace harassment, etc. also forms part of the sustainability framework.

3. How does one go about pursuing a profession in sustainability consultation?

Experience! Being a consultant means exuding depth in every frame of the domain. So, to begin working on ground-level environmental projects would be the perfect start. To also understanding the various sub-fields and choosing one that motivates you is vital. As relevant experience can be gained specific to that field which would accelerate one’s career path as a sustainability consultant.

Further, to have worked with startups, corporates, and universities was a big part that shaped my career. I would suggest gathering such varying exposure to attain an edge in thinking, planning, and implementing one’s individual projects in the future.

4. What kind of experience do you have translating the theories into eco-industrial practices?

The milestone moment of any career is to put your work into practice rather than having it on the shelves. Fortunately, coming from a family business background sort of programmed my mind to think in a commercial sense. With both startups and corporates, there lies pressure to translate concepts into products/technology. While, with universities, more focus is laid on research, predominantly. 

However, it is my learning that a techno-commercial mindset is a key to converting a concept into a marketable product in any working culture. Only when we can picture the end-use or applicability of the product/technology we can work backward to effectively optimize the same. One of my major experiences was during the bioplastic technology development, wherein the concept was to simply infuse a nano-additive to the bioplastic in order to enhance the properties. Yet, we realized this technology was not commercially viable.

 Hence, we changed the route to optimize the technology in a way that is economical and can be immediately taken up by the market. After several cycles, we were able to achieve a product/technology that made complete commercial sense and it was successfully transferred to Tata Steel.

5. Share an example where you recommended methods to protect the environment or minimize environmental damage from industrial production practices.

I usually quote LIVE GREEN-LIVE KIND-LIVE YOU as it's what made sense to me on so many levels. To live green in our everyday lives does not necessarily mean investing time and money into products that are eco-friendly but staying kind and being a better version of You with the choices we make. Ultimately, to make choices that’s benefitting both us and our environment. For instance, one of our classic Indian habits of completely cleaning out our shampoo bottles by rinsing them out with water actually eases the process of recycling them. 

Even taking a bucket bath instead of long showers cuts down your water consumption. But to go one step further and to actually segregate our wastes to wet and dry goes a long long way in waste management. It is easier said than done, but when we start doing it, that sense of satisfaction is certainly fulfilling.

 Other suggestions for more motivated eco-enthusiasts would be, to opt for products with natural ingredients so hazardous chemicals do not mix in our waterways. When we actually begin reading the ingredient list of the products we buy, it would completely transform our habits and choices for the better.

Another crucial aspect I would like to point out is that it does not mean a product is ecofriendly when it's being marketed so. Greenwashing is a term where companies simply claim their products are eco-friendly but in reality, there are not. As a consumer, we, unfortunately, fall for it sometimes. 

Initially, in my opinion, the bamboo toothbrush was a great option but then I learned that it’s not the case. The number of resources and energy to produce a bamboo toothbrush that is disposable is actually more polluting than a plastic toothbrush which is recyclable as per research. So, it is important to make informed choices than fall for marketing gimmicks.

6. What are your thoughts on human behavior and climate change action?

I believe that we have finally started realizing the wrath that we created and are gearing towards fixing it. Several countries have come together and proposed ambitious targets to reduce their carbon emissions and climate change impacts. Yet, in order to achieve the same, an insane amount of accountability, transparency, and efforts are needed from businesses, corporates, and individuals alike. Policies are a great start but practical implementation needs to take the upper hand and once every mind is set to these goals, then definitely, we can live sustainability for the betterment of ourselves and our planet.

7. Is working in this domain financially rewarding?

Undoubtedly, a career in sustainability is financially rewarding. As more action toward sustainability is being mapped by countries, the demand for a skilled workforce is rising. Thereby, to embark on a career in sustainability is positively rewarding in terms of work satisfaction, an opportunity to create impact, and economic perspectives. I would definitely be more than happy to provide any guidance within my capacity to young entrepreneurs or eco-enthusiasts who are interested in the domain. As even a small step can have a great impact on our environment.

Feel free to drop me a mail at desika001@gmail.com

Or you can reach me on LinkedIn 

- Desika Prabakar

- Interviewed by - Sugandha Dhanawade