In Case You Didn't Know

 

Malavika Gopinath (Batch of 2017)
Corp. Sustainability Specialist, ITC Ltd.
Work Profile: Corp. Sustainability & Environment Health Safety & Sustainability
Firm Profile: FMCG conglomerate with diversified presents in paperboards, packaging, tobacco & cigarettes, foods & beverages, Hotels, IT etc.

Higher Education and The Corporate

I did my Bachelor’s in Chemical engineering from BITS Goa. I chose this stream intending to do a Masters in Environmental engineering or an allied field. I was sure this was what I wanted to do since my teens. After my B.E, I continued to work on the project of which my B.E. Thesis was a part of Ashoka Trust for Research in Ecology and Environment (ATREE) in Bangalore. I was working on the water quality aspects & pollutant modeling of River Vrishabhavathy in Bangalore. During this, I realized that while being on the technical side of things is great, no on-ground action takes place unless the related policy gaps are also closed. Therefore, I joined M.Tech at IIT B. This was the best way to use the technical understanding that comes from my engineering background to understand the dynamics of policy, governance, and developmental issues in the world, and work as a bridge in ensuring that there is some difference being made on the ground. While I intended to work with some NPO or Foundation after my M. Tech, I spoke to the sustainability head at ITC Ltd. I genuinely felt that the Company has the right intent and approach to sustainability and the resources to make significant changes. This was the motivation for me to join a Corporate, despite not having thought about it beforehand. 

The Work

I work in the Corporate Environment, Health, Safety & Sustainability team of ITC Ltd. Being an engineer, I work on the safety aspects, including EHS Audits of Company facilities. This by itself has been a great experience, especially when you work in such a Company with such diversified businesses. 

My work on sustainability is quite elaborate- I handle water security, packaging & plastic waste management as well as climate risk management at the Corporate level. I also work on the Corporate Sustainability strategy, goal & target setting, implementation & monitoring aspects of this as well. 

Sustainability of the Environment: Why And Why Not?

The biggest pro of being engaged in the field of sustainability is the satisfying feeling of contributing in some way to address the environmental crisis looming humanity. However, your work will leave you gloomy on a lot of days since you may feel that not everyone cares about things that matter or the impact of the work you're doing is nearly not enough or fast enough to address the size of the problem.

Opportunities Galore!

 This field is definitely meant for the one who wants to directly contribute to addressing the climate crises or any of the major developmental issues that the planet faces. The coming years need solutions- faster and more impactful, that are based on scientific temperament and considering inclusive growth. There’s an immense opportunity in this field, as pretty much every company is strategizing its sustainability goals & targets for the coming decade, partly due to the tremendous pressure on ESG issues by investors. Therefore, this sector will grow, more than ever before, both within the country and abroad.