Every year, millions of dollars are spent worldwide as part of efforts to reduce our carbon footprint. But this reduction can only be achieved if each one of us contributes with a 1% drop.And helping people realise the value of that tiny dip is 47-year-old Priyadarshini Karve Karve, who holds a PhD in physics, conducts a workshop every month through her organisation Samuchit Enviro Tech . She’s one among thousands who are promoting a sustainable lifestyle — one of the only few ways to save the planet from a catastrophe.The workshop is focused on calculating one’s personal carbon footprint and looks at ways to reduce it. The carbon footprint of a citizen reveals the quantum of greenhouse gas emitted from his or her lifestyle over a period of one year. It takes into account emissions from personal vehicles, tendency to pick public transport and even the sourcing of raw materials for food.“We all know the climate is changing for the worse. But no one knows how much each one of us is contributing to that situation. By calculating carbon footprint, you can determine your share in global warming,” says Karve.Over a thousand people, she says, have been part of her monthly workshop. “To motivate individuals, we have created a WhatsApp group of every batch. We also keep taking feedback,” she adds.Apart from the carbon footprint calculation, her workshop suggests changes participants can implement to lessen their impact. She says unless people are provided with efficient and easy alternatives, it will be unfair to expect a change in habits.“If we just keep on asking people to cut down use of personal vehicles and move towards public transport, without providing the right infrastructure, we will only end up encouraging a culture of reluctance,” Karve says. Samuchit Enviro Tech, established in 2005, also collaborates with various institutes for their “green audit”. “For a certificate from the National Assessment and Accreditation Council , colleges have to get green audits done. This audit is usually done by professionals who charge extraordinarily high sums. But we have designed a template for these audits. And they can be carried out with the help of students or staff,” says Karve.Institutes such as St Patrick’s Church, the Symbiosis College of Arts and Commerce have been a part of this programme.“Also, when you have teachers and students actively participating in their institute’s green audit, they will see first-hand the impact of a college campus on the environment. The observations will act as reality checks and will only motivate them to frame policies that protect the planet,” she adds.But Karve and her team have gone beyond audits and policy. Her organisation has even devised a decentralised method of disposing biodegradable waste — involving a plumbing kit and an instructional video.Their household “processing plant” can be fed with kitchen waste, food waste and garden waste.“There are several establishments and businesses that are currently work in this sector — they do it on a much larger scale. However, door-todoor collection and the processing consume energy and in turn, add to our collective carbon footprint. That is why we have devised a method using water tanks and pipelines to convert kitchen waste into biogas, which can then be used for cooking. This can be easily installed on rooftops,” she adds.The organisation also promotes upcycling and has worked on products that only run on solar power.

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