climate action India

From reviving forests to reimagining cities, sustainability in India is being redefined by bold, everyday action. As part of Optum Presents The Better India Showcase, supported by the M3M Foundation, here are five changemakers leading the way.

In Delhi-NCR’s urban sprawl, Ramveer Tanwar — a former engineer — has been reviving dying ponds through community-led efforts. His initiative, Jal Chaupal, has helped restore over 80 wetlands across India, improving groundwater, biodiversity, and local pride.

A startup that turns waste into fuel. Another that designs cells to detect pollution. All led by students and young founders. The force behind them? Sustainability Mafia—a climate community that’s helping solve real-world environmental problems by showing youth how to build for the planet, from the ground up.

What do you do with a weed that grows back in 14 days and kills everything in its path? In Trichy, 25-year-old ecologist Sushmita Krishnan found an answer — she turned it into handmade paper and trained 150 women to do the same.

When Ramachandra saw trees being cut, he quit his job and started Green Morning Horticulture Services. Since 2010, it’s helped move 1.5 lakh trees to safety.

The Better India Showcase 2025 honours changemakers who build, teach, heal, and uplift, far from the spotlight. Join us this September as their stories of courage, care, and relentless action finally get the recognition they deserve.

Every monsoon, a government-run nursery in Udupi, Karnataka, offers indigenous saplings for as little as Rs 20, encouraging locals to grow native forests on their land. Here’s how Siva Sankar and his team at Magadha Vana used this initiative to transform their farm.

In a city with less than 8% forest cover, one patch of green still cools the air, recharges water, and shelters a near-threatened parrot. This is the story of Dol Ka Badh — and the people keeping it alive.

What if your next bottle wasn’t brand new, but a beautiful second chance? With India mandating 30% recycled plastic in all PET bottles, we’re closer to turning waste into wonder — one bottle at a time.

India’s cleanest city has found a new way to practise sustainability — by helping citizens donate, repair, and reuse old goods through its RRR (Reduce, Reuse, Recycle) Centre.