The Green Matter is a youth–led, research-and-solution-centric thinktank working in sustainability, economics, and climate change. It particularly focuses on the symbiotic relationship between environmental and economic interests.
The Team
The Green Matter was founded in July 2020. The founders Juhi Daga, Nikita Padda and Ayushi Kashyap are students at the University of Delhi and are extremely passionate about the cause of the organisation. With a team of around 20 people, including 4 other core members and interns. , it seeks to mobilise information that it collects from industry experts and its independent research. This, it presents on its knowledge-based platform accessible to its readers.
The Green Matter started in the middle of a pandemic, so during their initial period, things were quite tough for them. However, they felt that the need for what they offered to start this organisation as they wanted to address the severe crisis of climate change that had been impacting the world for a very long time. They feel that action in this direction was long overdue and their organisation is one of the small stepping stones towards creating a change.
Redefining Development
In the contemporary scenario, economic growth often happens at the cost of the environment, the irrevocable effects of which are gradually amounting to catastrophe. Hence, they follow the approach of “development with conservation” instead of the mainstream approach of “development v/s conservation.” This is based on the idea that sustainable growth is not a trade-off between economic and environmental objectives but it’s rather a healthy compromise. They stress the fact that development does not only encompass economic growth but also welfare.
Their aim is for society to realise that stable economic growth paired with a sustainable approach is not only attainable but the only way forward. With the help of compelling theories and practical solutions to climate-related risks, they hope to uncomplicate the path of “going green” in a large profit-driven world. They strive to bring the benefits of an environmentally conscious perspective to the forefront and stimulate dialogue among students and professionals alike.
Realising the Vision
Through their website and social media handles, they talk about topics such as E-waste and extended producer responsibility, nature-based solutions for urbanisation and disaster risk management, flooding and climate change, droughts, the economics of wildfires, natural capital accounting, green finance, ESG investing, carbon capture storage, environmental justice, zero-based budgeting, green bonds, greenwashing, doughnut economy, regenerative agriculture and many more. They also feel that climate change is one issue that is addressed by all United Nations Sustainable Development Goals and by working towards reducing it, they contribute to all the 17 UN Sustainable Development Goals. They have even created a series on their social media and website where they talk about how all the UN SDGs are directly or indirectly linked to the crisis of climate change.
Events
The Meltdown: The Meltdown is a series by The Green Matter which aims to stimulate a dialogue around sustainable development among students and professionals alike. In this series, they have organised webinars with eminent personalities on topics like Sustainable Entrepreneurship, conducted by Ms Ankita Shroff, Co-Founder at Sustain and Save and Ms Aarya Taupe, Board Member at Sustain and Circular Economy, conducted by Mr Piyush Dhawan, a German Chancellor Fellow. They also conducted a Zero Waste Living Workshop by Ms Mrudula Joshi, a sustainable lifestyle consultant.
Sustainable Development Bootcamp: Intending to create awareness on sustainability, The Green Matter had conceptualised a Sustainable Development Bootcamp to initiate a dialogue among young and inquisitive minds. This included the following three interactive and knowledge-packed sessions:
- Sustainable consultancy session with sustainability professional Sachin Joshi
- Sustainable finance session with Climate Finance manager Labanya Prakash Jena
- Sustainable architecture session with architect Natasha Das.
In their journey so far, the most significant learning that they have had is that there is a growing interest in climate change and sustainability among the youth but at the same time there is not only a lack of direction and motivation but also a paucity of organised resources when it comes to creating awareness and finding solutions and this is the gap that they are trying to fill. Their long term goal is to become a one-stop solution for all information and resources on climate change and sustainability. They also aim to help businesses become more sustainable by providing them with direction as well as resources in this field.
The Green Matter is a shining example for fellow youth how to want to be enablers of change. The team believes that the situation is much direr than we think. It’s high time we start revaluating our current patterns, keeping in mind the long term repercussions. Collective efforts along with perseverance can help to overcome these giant obstacles, a journey that the Green Matter team has embarked upon. And they are covering it one step at a time.
Article by Saloni Chona & Smita Mathur, Team ulaunch.
