My name is Sangha and I am currently based in Dublin for the last 5 years although I am originally from India and have lived elsewhere in the past. I am a research student at UCD and am currently planning to start my own business in the sustainability sector!

What sparked your interest in sustainable living and where did you start?

I have always lived relatively sustainably although it wasn’t a conscious decision as I am generally interested in reducing waste and living without harming the environment and other people. However, since I started getting more heavily involved in climate action last year I became aware of the alarming statistics around how behind countries are in meeting their climate goals, how entrenched the negative impacts of consumerism and capitalism are today, how much waste we generate as a society, how rampant greenwashing can be and how complex modern supply chains are to the point that businesses may have little control over what processes they can change. That made me more conscious of my own choices as a consumer of both products and services as well as information and I found new ways to improve my own lifestyle and influence others to do the same.

What is a sustainable change you have made that makes you really happy?

I have become much more aware of my day-to-day shopping habits and as far as these are available at a fair price point, I now choose loose and local food over packaged products that come from many thousands of miles away. I also choose other personal products more carefully such as shampoos that are chemical and micro-plastic free, and chocolate that is Fairtrade and sustainably sourced.

Are you tackling any sustainable changes at the moment you’d like to share or are planning to?  

I’m planning to start composting my food waste in the near future, but being a student and living in cramped spaces have not made this easy so far!

What would you like to see in a sustainable future?

I’d really like to see our environment being prioritised more in all the decisions we make every day. For me, eco-anxiety is real, and I try to communicate the importance of respecting and living in harmony with nature and using more nature based solutions to climate change if we want to achieve a sustainable future as I don’t believe technology alone will get us there. Take waste, for example. There is no way recycling can handle the amount of plastic waste we currently generate. The better option is to reduce plastic use to as little as possible and reuse it for as long as possible and importantly, properly segregate plastic waste when their life is over, being mindful of where our waste goes and not trashing the local beach on our weekend away.

If one of your friends told you they wanted to start living more sustainably, what would be your top tip to get started?

My top tip is to get started however little the steps we take might be. Small steps are often underestimated, and although it is true that we need big system changes to make sustainable living within reach of more people, we can already do a lot like for example, walking or cycling rather than taking the car for those of us that own a car, or prolonging the life of things we own for as long as possible and properly segregating waste as I mentioned before. If you’re already doing everything you can, consider educating others and inspiring more people to join the movement!

What keeps you motivated?

The fact that we haven’t got a whole lot of time to act. Governments and businesses can be locked into old and unsustainable practices for a very long time, but as citizens we have both the power and the responsibility to live as sustainably as the systems in place currently allow us to do so and demand better actions from them, and the more informed and active we are, the better we tend to be at influencing others.

And For a bit of fun and… really find out about you…What was your first concert or your first CD/Tape/Record you owned?

I attended my first live pop concert in Glasgow in 2014 where Justin Timberlake was performing. I had attended many classical concerts since I was a child.

Sangha’s favourite shop:

A big shout out to reuzi who are Ireland’s one-stop shop for eco-friendly, sustainable products and will support all your sustainable lifestyle choices!

Connect with Sangha on insta @sangha1405, Twitter @sangha05 and LinkedIn

Thank you Sangha!