Adar Poonawalla Clean City Initiative

As the World embarks on a challenging journey towards Net Zero, waste management and citizens engagement is of paramount importance. And in waste management apart from the macro level issues, one of the mounting issues is the litter we see on the roads and public places. Most of the times we are ignorant and tolerate litter and trash around us as if it doesn’t make a difference. But the fact is that, one small step of picking up a plastic bottle, a chit of paper, a discarded household material or product and putting it into a bin will make a huge difference. Our culture emphasizes keeping our surroundings clean, our text books teach us ‘Cleanliness is next to Godliness’. Despite this we see people carelessly throwing litter especially in public places, others are bystanders as if it is not our responsibility. If we remain ignorant of the growing litter, it will add up to the already overburdened landfills, deface our public places, beaches, tourism sites, and add to the already c

  After a successful pilot project in the year 22-23 across various campuses, the Green Campus program has entered into the next phase bringing more enthusiasm amongst management, faculty and students for sustainability and green practices in their institutions. A Green Campus summit was organized at Symbiosis College, Viman Nagar recently to present the work done at various campuses so far and the way ahead. Aditya Pundir, Director India and South Asia for The Climate Reality Project India, Dr Erach Bharucha, Director  Bharati Vidyapeeth Institute of Environmental Education and Research ( BVIEER), Shivam Singh, Founder, National Coordinator for Youth, Climate Reality Project-India and Sathya Natarajan, Lead Volunteer, Adar Poonawalla Clean City .  (APCCI)  were present on the occasion. Representatives from various stakeholders and campuses including Symbiosis Viman Nagar, Ajeenkya DY Patil University (ADYPU),  SCMS, SIMS, SIT, Ferguson college, Poona College, Deccan Colle

Pune is blessed with surrounding hills, beautiful hill stations, forts and lakes . Nature has been truly kind to us with great climate and beautiful spaces in and around Pune. While there is a lot of awareness on keeping these places clean, we often forget the beautiful roads leading to these places. These are the roads which lead us to these beautiful places and give us memories of life. In past few years, rapid industrial growth has resulted in the city growing in population as well as size. The townships and residences are not restricted to the city itself, but there is a lot of development happening in the fringe areas, outskirts and even around Pune. No doubt, development brings prosperity but it also brings with it a lot of challenges. And one of the major challenges is waste management. These very roads leading to outskirts  which were once like a beautiful necklace decorating the city, are now witnessing dumping of litter on a large scale . A lot of people travel

Source segregation may sound a simple process to many, but it is way more important than we think. We are living in times where the use of the natural resources has risen substantially, consumption has increased multifold but recycling and reuse which are key to circular economy have not progressed with equivalent speed. The reason is lack of awareness. Increased consumption, increasing trash without source segregation has resulted in overburdened landfills. Such a scenario has ecological, social and economic ramifications.  While we embark on a journey of circular economy where whatever we consume is reused and recycled, it needs a more structured and multipronged approach. Policy framework, roadmap, and technological innovations will all happen at a macro level. This is important, but what’s needed the most is citizen’s awareness and engagement. As India progresses rapidly and the per capita income rises, so will the consumption. Whether it is increasing consumption of