Tell us about yourself
I am Racheal, I am from India and have been living in Dubai for more than five years now. Since my graduation, I’ve been working in the profession of CSR and Sustainability. I started my career in CSR at Engie (MESCAT) and currently, I am working in an energy logistics company, Tristar Group.
What inspired you to embrace eco-friendly practices and make a shift towards sustainability
I came to the UAE for my Master’s and fortunately it happened to be in the field of Global Governance and Sustainable development. The subject was totally new for me, but the day I learnt about it, it was like no going back
Eventually, it became a lifestyle to me. For everything that I now plan to buy, I first get conscious about it. That’s exactly where it all started.
What are the primary steps you take to integrate eco-friendly practices into your lifestyle?
Working in the profession of sustainability, I make sure that I am a doer of what I preach. My job role entails advocating for ecofriendly choices and thus I’ve integrated that choice to be a primary step in my life.
Share some of the most effortless yet impactful eco-friendly changes you’ve made in your daily routine.
Overall, I would lean on to “Being a minimalist”.
But to be honest, living in Dubai can spoil you easily. However, that’s where I learnt to take a look at the number of resources I really used.
A few things that I couldn’t replace, was my car, as my workplace is in a remote area. But for things like clothes and essentials, I have started adopting alternatives that are from a sustainable produce or have learnt to adopt the theory of conscious buying (buying less than needed).
What difficulties have you encountered while striving to live in an environmentally conscious manner?
I’m a born millennial and we’ve been blessed with everything on our fingertips, so at first to embrace the concept of choosing to live environmentally friendly came with a price. The cost of leaving behind a comfortable life and adopting traditional ways of living which felt a little difficult in the beginning.
Also, agreeing to the fact that living sustainably isn’t really cheap and its difficult to find the right alternative, but with the world moving rapidly towards it, it will eventually be easier to live like in the old times.
Describe a rewarding moment on your sustainability journey
Being in this profession itself is a rewarding moment as it is about using resources efficiently to save for the future generations. This subject being quite new, I am glad that I get an opportunity to advocate for it as an individual with experience.
What are some misconceptions about being eco-friendly that you’d like to debunk?
The misconception that I discredit is “sustainability is a trend”, rather I would say it’s a chosen lifestyle.
How do you plan on continuing your sustainability journey? What other aspects do you plan to change?
I wouldn’t want to plan a journey on living consciously, but I would make sure that my habits lead me to stay positive about making more ecofriendly choices in the future.
Lastly, how do you think we can ensure that eco-friendly options and choices are available and attainable for a diverse range of individuals?
Theres still a lack of awareness in this domain, so to understand better about day-to-day choices, ecofriendly living should be a part of academics and institutions that can further enhance its accountability. Also, I think it should be cheaper enough for common people to purchase with ease. That’s when imbibing sustainability will be for the greater good.