Monica Saini

"Nobody wants their unsustainable behaviour to result in other people suffering"

Gandhi said something that particularly resonates with Monica, "He said you have to be the change you want to see in the world." As a Climate Change Ambassador Monica’s doing just that, trying to live her life inline with the messages she communicates.

From accounting, to sustainable travel strategy, to appearances on local radio shows, Monica’s experiences have made one message very clear, "Different stakeholders have different needs and there is never a one size fits all solution. I think that communication is at the crux of it all and that the challenge is making sustainability easier than business as usual to understand."

Her communication challenge at the moment and her London Leader commitment is to see if she can work to eliminate the lunchtime plastic bag.

For Monica concern with the environment around her has been a lifelong passion. Monica started her career in Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) after completing a degree in Accounting and Finance at the London School of Economics. "I wanted to look at where the biggest impacts on the environment are and where tangible changes can be made."

An internship with Accountability focused Monica’s interest in the environmental impacts of large organisations. Since then Monica has developed a wide spectrum of experience, working at Defra to develop staff sustainable travel plans, working with the Asian Foundation for Philanthropy, and Olmec, a community investment foundation. Now with Christian Aid, Monica is a Travel and Environment Advisor, helping one of the UK’s largest charities to reduce their carbon footprint.

In early 2007 Monica became involved in a London Sustainability Exchange initiative, acting as a South Asian Climate Change Ambassador focusing on the borough of Ealing. As an Ambassador Monica has partnered with a number of groups, including the Southall Community Alliance and the Parliamentary Group ‘Punjabis in Britain’, and has been invited onto local radio shows to spread the climate change message.

"There has been very rapid progress in awareness and the profile of sustainability and climate change over the last five years. The language we use is changing and it’s not just about the environment but holistic sustainable development." Despite this optimism Monica feels that making real change happen is like ‘climbing a mountain’. "Making people think about the impact of their actions is the first step – whatever choice you make, consider every alternative so you can make a conscious decision."

My commitment
"To work with small food outlets and local supermarkets to eliminate the lunchtime plastic bag. Every day in London, kilos of excess packaging are created from the sale of sandwiches, salads, coffees and cakes. I want to stop this by bringing together businesses within a defined geographical area that service the lunchtime trade, supported by a publicity campaign that recognises business efforts and makes customers aware of the benefits of giving up their daily plastic bag."