"Earth provides enough to satisfy every man's needs, but not every man's greed." As years roll by, human beings realise more and more clearly, the meaning of these words said by Mahatma Gandhi. While it is almost next to impossible to not use the resources of the environment to develop humankind, it is of utmost importance that the bounties of nature are used sustainably and its limitations are respected.

As the Head of Environment at a global chemical company, ensuring this is one of the main objectives of what I do.

Now, what is a typical day at work like, for me?

My company has sites in quite a number of countries where various types of chemicals are produced. I am responsible for the current operational environmental issues, managing legacy contaminated sites and planning the future sustainability initiatives of the company. Sustainability is our mantra.

For instance, if the company wants to buy a piece of land in say, Indonesia. I am one of the approvers of this decision, and I weigh the benefits of purchasing this land against the possible environmental liabilities that might be incurred at the time of sale of the land.

What are these environmental liabilities? They could be something like clean-up costs, which would be required to be incurred to restore the land to its original status at the time of purchase. Different countries have different standards which provide for the conservation of the environment. The regulations in some countries like the US may be more stringent in certain environmental standards than in some other countries such as say Indonesia. As part of my job, rather than only ensuring that our company just about complies with the regulations of each country, I am responsible to maintain and set our strict internal environmental standards for our operations all over the world. This involves knowledge transfer among different stakeholders and experts within the company from various regions, to ensure we maintain similar standards across our global sites.

This way, I have an immense sense of satisfaction since I am able to contribute to not just my company, but also to the planet.

Another part of my job description is to contribute to the sustainability report in the Annual Report of my company. This describes to our various stakeholders, the level of care and concern that we have to ensure that our company's practices are sustainable. For instance, to be listed on the Dow Jones Sustainability Index, which is a benchmark for analysing the sustainability of large public companies, is a really big deal for us.

Preparing training modules for the employees throughout the company is also another facet of my job profile. My company has a well received in-house training, which permeates to all employees from all departments. By designing environmental e-learning programmes for them and by offering workshops, I try to keep them motivated to be as sustainable as possible in their day to day activities. Sharing my knowledge and experience in this form also brings great joy to me.

So to summarize, I feel like I am the Greenpeace organisation of my company. People may at first not be open to some of my words and initiatives because they may not necessarily be in line with their operational objectives, but with some persuasion we arrive at common consensus. I try to constantly create win-win situations as energy savings for e.g. also contributes to major cost savings.

Attending 6 different schools at various places in India gave me a multitude of experiences that, by the end of my schooling, adaptability became my middle name.

I chose biology and math in class 11 in order to widen my options. After finishing school and a number of qualifying exams, an uncle of mine who is a Civil Engineer inspired me to take up the same. I completed my Bachelors in Civil Engineering from an engineering institute in Tamil Nadu affiliated with Anna University.

For my college mini-thesis in the second year, I had the opportunity of being mentored by a professor educated from IIT, and we collaborated to upgrade/increase the capacity of the existing wastewater treatment plant of our engineering institute. This was a topic which was less discussed back in the early-2000s yet so relevant in our times. In 2004, Chennai also witnessed the catastrophic Tsunami, which brought along with it more awareness on groundwater salinity, need for water management in coastal areas, etc. Soon after, I took up an internship at the Tamil Nadu Water Supply and Drainage Board, where I gained some knowledge on the water supply and groundwater management challenges in sensitive locations. Being an unconventional place for an internship, I was the object of ridicule for some of my friends who preferred the tech companies, but I steamed ahead because I was confident that I was gaining more expertise in a subject that I was truly passionate about.

Post my undergraduate education; I went on a family trip to Singapore and Malaysia, where amidst all the sightseeing, I managed to find out more about how effective water management is done on the island of Singapore that lacks any natural freshwater sources. This was when I realised my true calling was to do something of significance in this field, and not to pursue a comfortable job at a renowned IT Company that had offered me a job.

After getting back from vacation, I decided to pursue my quest to gain further knowledge in the field of water management. I had been following the work of a particular professor at the IISc, Bangalore, and I was really keen on meeting him. After months of trying to contact him, I was finally able to get an appointment with him. On the day of the meeting, I had to wait for 3 hours outside his door. Impressed by my persistence, and after some discussions, he offered me the role of a Project Assistant at the joint water research group established between Indian and French researchers, where I was assigned the task of modelling the groundwater of a forested aquifer using new software. I had to basically self-learn the software; in the meantime, I picked up some theoretical knowledge and field skills by interacting with other researchers in the group. I managed to get some initial results with which, I published a paper and also presented it at an international conference.

After this, I started applying for my Masters, and I was awarded scholarships to attend 3 different study programs, out of which I made the decision to take up the Euro Aquae Course, which is a 2-year M.Sc program which offers a joint degree from 5 European Universities. I believed this course was best suited to the skills I wanted to acquire and gave me the opportunity to live in 4 different countries in Europe. Following my masters' study, I got the Marie Curie Scholarship to pursue my PhD at the Swiss Federal Institute of Aquatic Science and Technology, where my thesis was focussed on the impact of river restoration (selective re-naturalisation of channelised rivers) on water quality. During this time, I also had the opportunity of doing a secondment at the United Nations Economic Commission of Europe at Geneva, where I gained knowledge on the political aspects of transboundary river basin management. Post completion of my Doctorate, I started looking for jobs in industry to apply my knowledge in practice, and you know the rest, from last week's newsletter.

After having had such myriad experiences along this unique unchartered path, my advice to you are, if you are confused at a certain point in time, it is not a cause for concern as it indicates that you are not happy with the status quo and you want to do something more. Being part of the internet generation, search for the numerous possibilities that exist out there and do not give up on your passion, irrespective of the opinions of the people around you.