Pankti Pandey, an Ahmedabad-based Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) scientist, has been felicitated with the ‘Green Champion’ award for her continuous efforts towards sustainable living and environmental protection. Pandey received this award today from prime minister Narendra Modi at the first National Creators Award held at New Delhi’s Bharat Mandapam.
Pandey is widely recognised for making cleaning products and composting kitchen waste. She uses containers instead of plastic bags while shopping. Her Instagram profile, known as ‘zerowasteadda’, has gained a vast following among sustainability enthusiasts.
She mentioned learning these sustainability values through her family. However, she took this issue seriously after the birth of her daughter.
Eventually, Pandey became considerate about providing the next generation with a clean environment and implemented this ideal from her home.
As recycling was never an option for her, she prioritised reuse and reduction methodologies.
Upon keen scrutiny of this issue, she learned that the biggest sources of waste were grocery bags, empty cleaner and shampoo bottles, and different kitchen waste.
After this, she replaced plastic grocery shopping bags with containers and started composting kitchen waste, utilising it in her garden.
She also started making her own natural cleaners and personal care products to get rid of shampoo and other product bottles.
Gradually, as she gained success, Pandey spread the word to a wider audience through her social media.
For which she was felicitated with this award.
The National Creators Award is an effort to recognise excellence and impact across domains, including storytelling, social change advocacy, environmental sustainability, education, and gaming, among others.
The award could inspire creativity, which drives positive change.
Over 1.5 lakh nominations were received across 20 categories.
About 10 lakh votes were cast for digital creators across various award categories, with 23 winners, including three international creators, being selected.