Growing up in a farming family in a remote village in Tamil Nadu, I learned the self-sustaining nature of rural agricultural practices early in my life. I saw organic composting, seasonal crop rotation and water irrigation systems for efficient water conservation.
When we moved to the city 15 years later, we made our first home garden growing a few vegetables and flowers, using food waste to produce organic fertilizer. We harvested rainwater and encouraged our neighbors to follow suit. About five years back, I joined a group of friends who run tree planting campaigns within Chennai called “Pasumaibhoomi Arakatalai.” Since then, we have planted around 14,000 trees.
Sustainability at work
I joined McKinsey 10 years ago as an external contractor supporting office services out of the Chennai office. Since joining, I have worked in different roles and teams in Chennai and Bangalore. At present, I’m part of the Bangalore shared services team.
In my role, I work on several sustainability initiatives, ranging from creating a plastic free cafeteria, to switching to LED lights, and reducing water consumption by installing water saving nozzles. I also helped install a smart air handling system to preserve energy.
In December 2019, along with two other biking enthusiasts, I undertook an EPIC road trip to distribute seed balls through the south coastal part of India. We rode 3,500 kms in 10 days. The journey originated in Bangalore and made stops in Chennai and Trivandrum where we shared our insights on sustainability with local colleagues. We distributed 4500 seed balls along the way.
About me:
I’m an office services manager in Bangalore. I lead the office services team for shared services and McKinsey Digital. Prior to joining McKinsey, I worked in real estate and administration operations at firms like IBM, Wipro and Accel IT Academy. I earned a Bachelors in labor management from University of Madras.
Outside of work, I am passionate about road trips on my Royal Enfield bike. I have biked across most of South India. My friends and I love taking a break at the end of each year and going on road trips. This year, we are planning a trip across the northwestern part of the country – 4000 kms across Karnataka, Maharashtra and Rajasthan. We will continue in our endeavor to improve the green cover of India and are looking forward to another round of seed ball distribution.
Learn more about sustainability at McKinsey.
