Shreya Ghodawat: Championing sustainability with passion & purpose

From a childhood marked by an innate sense of environmental responsibility to becoming a leading voice in sustainable advocacy, Shreya Ghodawat’s journey is one of personal evolution and perseverance. 

I first met Shreya in Singapore over a cup of coffee back in 2021. She was navigating a career in sustainable finance, seeking more alignment with her work and ways to create a bigger impact. Eventually, she took a leap of faith to carve out her own path. Today, she stands as one of India’s key sustainability thought leaders, championing the plant-based movement, sustainable practices, and social justice.

Now an environmental campaigner, co-founder of a vegan events company and podcaster, Shreya is driven to change perceptions around conscious living, championing a holistic approach to sustainability that benefits people, animals, and the planet alike. We caught up again in Singapore to hear more about her inspiring journey.

What inspired your conscious journey?

I think I’ve had a strong sense of “sustainability” from a young age, though I didn’t understand what it meant at the time. I was the weird kid who would get upset with people—adults included!—for littering, not carrying reusable bags or wasting paper. There was an inherent understanding of what wasn’t right, and a strong urge to do something about it. If I forgot my own grocery bag, I’d juggle items back to my dorm, and I’d rather not drink than buy a plastic water bottle if I didn’t have a reusable one. 

My journey in sustainability began after watching Cowspiracy. I fully transitioned to veganism after realising the environmental impact of meat and dairy. This coincided with my love for backpacking and I became obsessed with finding vegan and sustainable activities during my travels. I continually looked up cruelty-free experiences and sustainable shops, often finding that veganism and sustainability went hand in hand. My background in sociology and gender studies helped me understand how these social issues are interconnected. The seeds of what I know now were planted during those formative years.

What does sustainability mean to you now?

For me, sustainability goes beyond the planet; it includes people, animals and our entire ecosystem. It’s about who we are and the life we sustain. It’s never been about compromise, sacrifice, or tokenism but a way of living that influences every choice we make and how we show up. It should be all-encompassing. 

I look at sustainability from different contexts and perspectives. Being here in India and having lived abroad for a decade, I understand its nuances as well. It’s been an interesting journey, but even 8 years in, I’m learning something new every day. Sustainability is a gift that keeps on giving. 

As an ambassador for SHE Changes Climate, you advocate for a socially equitable and gender-inclusive energy transition. What challenges do women in India face in the sector?

Women in rural India face significant safety issues due to lack of electricity. They spend long hours collecting firewood, which affects their health and limits time for education or income-generating activities. What’s more, they also spend long hours cooking, often using petrochemicals, which means they may be inhaling toxic fumes. This lack of access to modern energy solutions and training means there’s limited representation of women in decision-making roles within the energy sector.

Addressing these challenges requires a holistic approach, including education, training, promoting women to leadership roles, and ensuring their voices are heard in policy-making processes. It goes beyond just hiring more women; it’s about creating a supportive environment where they can thrive. Only by tackling these issues at every level can we hope to achieve a truly equitable and gender-inclusive energy transition.

You’ve recently co-founded plant-based community Meat Less Meet More. Tell us more about the venture and its mission.

After a long time of struggling to find vegan friends in Mumbai, I met my co-founder and now close friend, Amy Aela, at a friend’s birthday party. I mentioned I was in the sustainability space. When we discovered we were both enthusiastic vegans, we knew we wanted to come together and grow the community. We started hanging out more often, and during a trip to Bali, we came up with the idea to host lunches and dinners to bring people together around the cause.

Our goal is to make plant-based living attractive and change people’s perception of vegan food. We also thought starting Meat Less Meet More would help us find our vegan husbands who share our values through these events! Jokes aside, our mission is to change the bad reputation plant-based food and veganism has in India. Many people think it’s just bland food, but that’s far from the truth. We want to shift this mindset, create a safe space, and make activism cool and glamorous. 

The whole idea around plant-based living and everything we stand for stems from this. We want to create a kinder, more compassionate world, and that starts with what people eat. Like every business that succeeds, it comes from identifying and solving a personal need. Meat Less Meet More fills the lack of cool, community-centric vegan experiences. Amy and I really found our purpose.

Our mission is to change the bad reputation plant-based food and veganism has in India. Many people think it’s just bland food, but that’s far from the truth. We want to shift this mindset, create a safe space, and make activism cool and glamorous. 

We bring complementary skill sets and a clear vision to the table, aiming to make veganism or at least plant-based living mainstream in India. We need collective effort to achieve this and want to build a community that supports and amplifies these businesses and the voices of changemakers, ensuring the journey isn’t isolating.

Your podcast, Sustainable Tea with Shreya, has interviewed many interesting changemakers. What have been some memorable moments? 

Oh, one was definitely shooting with an LGBTQIA+ monk in a Buddhist temple in Tokyo, who ended up doing my makeup on set in the middle of the episode. It was an experience unlike any other. Just the setting itself—being in a monastery and conducting the podcast there—was surreal. I felt an instant connection to my guest, Kodo Nishimura, and knew I was meant to be there. I never expected to be so emotional or vulnerable, but some episodes, like the one with Charul Jaitly, co-founder of Mātiti Group and Mrs UAE International 2021 winner, brought out my own mental health challenges and body image issues on camera, things I had never mentioned before.

It’s incredible how much I’ve learned from the people I’ve met and how much I’ve grown as a person and as a podcaster since it began. I’ve gone from being really shy to not feeling that sense of anxiety in front of the camera anymore. I think I’ve come a long way, and I’ve realised the power of being vulnerable to allow others to be vulnerable too. Creating a safe space for people to open up and truly express themselves has been eye-opening. It’s also made me understand how sustainability means different things to different people.

The most exciting part has been the journey from shooting the first episode in Mumbai to filming across several countries. Some of the most memorable moments include shooting at Lake Como, against a stunning backdrop with Mary Robinson, the first female President of Ireland. There was also a chance encounter with Smriti Mandhana, one of the best and most beloved cricketers from the Indian Women’s Cricket team, on a flight that led to a podcast interview at her house in Sangli, Maharashtra. It’s been a serendipitous and interesting journey so far. We’re just getting started and have a long way ahead, but it’s been incredibly challenging, exciting and fulfilling all at the same time.

Entrepreneurship is never a walk in the park. What are some of the biggest challenges you face with your work? 

One is self-discipline. When you work for yourself, there are no boundaries. There’s no one to hold you accountable, except yourself. You don’t know when your day begins and ends. You’re constantly on and can’t switch off, realising the business operations rest entirely on you. Another challenge is running a team, which is a full-time job in itself, including managing different issues, delegating effectively to get things done and dealing with people’s emotions. As a founder, you have to step up to see things through. Navigating daily issues while maintaining morale and encouraging your team to achieve goals is tough. You’re responsible for them, while upholding accountability.

Another challenging aspect is getting people to care about sustainability and veganism in a largely indifferent world. It often feels isolating, like you’re a lone voice trying to wake everyone up. Finding the right collective, your people and your belonging is harder and it’s in a smaller capacity, in a smaller vacuum. 

Impact entrepreneurship lacks the support systems of industries like music or tech, making it hard to find resonant individuals and funding. This isolation can lead to feelings of discouragement and questioning your mission, especially when financial and engagement metrics are low compared to mainstream ventures. It’s a challenging reality we have to navigate. It’s tough to understand, but that’s the current landscape we’re coping with.

You’re styled in a number of ethical brands today. What role do you feel sustainable fashion plays in the broader context of climate action?

Climate action and systemic transformation are inseparable from human rights, including the exploitation of women and children in fast fashion factories. The true cost of cheap clothing impacts people, the planet, and animals.

Sustainable fashion goes beyond trends and expensive brands; it is deeply connected to India’s artisans, craftsmanship, culture, textiles, and history. Unlike in other countries, there are many layers to consider, including balancing livelihood, craft, tradition, agriculture, and the environmental impact of chemicals and dyes used in clothing. I’ve heard heartbreaking stories, like a worker being forcibly sedated to prevent complaints. Human rights abuses are rampant in this industry.

Sustainable fashion goes beyond trends and expensive brands; it is deeply connected to India’s artisans, craftsmanship, culture, textiles, and history.

I haven’t shopped from fast fashion brands in over a decade, refusing to support them given what I know. For me, sustainable fashion often means raiding my mom’s and sister-in-law’s wardrobes until they kick me out for borrowing without returning. It means wearing the same outfit to five events with the same crowd noticing, or opting to rent instead of contributing to the billions of clothes discarded daily, wondering where they all end up.

We need to move to a sharing economy instead of owning. It’s okay to borrow from people around you. It’s okay to normalise thrifting, buying secondhand or preloved clothes. How can a sustainable way of living not negatively impact our arts and crafts, and the people intricately tied to this. This balance is essential to me, as fast fashion’s pursuit of profit is harming both consumers and producers alike. 

What message do you have for women who aspire to work in the climate space?

The biggest thing I’ve learned is that it’s okay to be unsure. When I started eight years ago, there was no clear path in India for a career in sustainability.  

It’s important to seek out mentors and people in the sustainability space because there’s no handbook. Sustainability means different things to different people in different contexts. It’s so vast and intersectional, with many battles to fight and industries involved. You have to decide what matters most to you and how you can best contribute your skills to the cause. 

Dr. Ayana Elizabeth Johnson’s Climate Ikigai application talks about finding what you’re good at, what the world needs, and what you can ethically make money from—essentially bringing your superpower to the movement. This helped me realise what I wanted to do. I started out in sustainable finance but found I didn’t want to be behind a screen. I wanted to be front and centre, using my love for speaking, writing, and meeting people to do good. My podcast, speaking engagements, and activism brought all that together. It’s about understanding what is impactful, urgent, and the tangible changes you can make with your resources, network and talent.

It’s important to seek out mentors and people in the sustainability space because there’s no handbook. Sustainability means different things to different people in different contexts. It’s so vast and intersectional, with many battles to fight and industries involved. You have to decide what matters most to you and how you can best contribute your skills to the cause. 

Ask yourself—who am I, what can I do. How can I use my superpowers in sustainability? This is personal to everyone. Seek out mentors, ask for help and career advice, and draw inspiration from the journeys of others. You don’t need to reinvent the wheel; work within the nuances of what sustainability looks like for you.

For aspiring women leaders in this space, it’s about finding a sense of community, belonging, and validation to keep going. Understand the divine feminine energy within you, take care of yourself, connect with nature and find your why. For me, it’s about spending time with nature, in forests, amongst water bodies and animals. If we rekindle our relationship with the Earth, we’ll find healing and eventually, our larger purpose.

Connect with Shreya on Instagram and Linkedin.
Photography & styling by ZERRIN STUDIO

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