Hitesh Patel is the former Head of Sustainable Partnerships at the Born Free Foundation, the international wildlife and conservation charity. With over 20 years of business experience, combined with recent work within the 3rd sector, Hitesh enjoys helping to educate and promote sustainability practices with businesses and individuals alike.
In 2020, Hitesh attained a qualification in “Business Sustainability Management” at The Cambridge Institute of Sustainability Leadership and used this newfound knowledge to forge invaluable partnerships with businesses to affect behaviour change in support of global biodiversity and conservation loss.
In an exclusive interview with Asian Voice, he spoke about sustainability and climate change.
Sustainability is a way of life
In the broadest sense, Hitesh described ‘sustainability’ as ‘our’ (humans) ability to support ourselves, and therefore the planet and her future, with social, economic and environmental balance or equilibrium. “In short, ensuring our actions and decisions today do not negatively impact tomorrow and future generations. Living within our means. Replenishing more than we take. Taking responsibility and not leaving the issues and problems for others to solve for us,” he told Asian Voice.
“To me, sustainability is a way of life, shifting from old behaviours and thinking, to being more responsible for our fragile planet. Every single person on this planet can take action to do something, however grand or small, to ensure the pressures placed on Mother Earth do not accelerate past the point of retrieval. This does not just relate to climate change or biodiversity loss, it also has implications for pressures such as food and water poverty, access to education, gender equality and responsible production and consumption,” he added.
Sharing an interesting analogy of landlord and tenant, Patel said, “We are all short-term tenants of Mother Earth, our landlord. Much like real tenancy agreements, leaving a property in poor shape after vacating is immoral. However, we seem to think that doing this to our planet for the short time we live on it is acceptably someone else’s problem. Our landlord is responding. She is angry. Extreme weather is a very physical embodiment of her rage. Covid-19 was a warning shot for humanity not to mess with biodiversity. Sustainability is now the new short term tenancy agreement we must all sign!”
But at what age and stage should one start learning about sustainability beyond books? “I think it is vitally important that everyone, regardless of age or stage in life, contributes positively towards a sustainable future. For older people this may be harder to achieve as years of learned behaviour is often hard to change. Generation Z and younger are in a prime spot to influence their futures by the choices and decisions they make. They are better informed. They are taught sustainability concepts at an earlier age. Access to technology and science is unprecedented in human history. Voting for more sustainable products and services with our wallets is increasing. Debates on TV, social media and inspirational individuals who champion these causes are all within easy access to us,” Patel answered.
Community and future generations
When asked how as a community, we can work towards building a more sustainable future for our future generations, the former Head of Sustainable Partnerships told us, “Knowledge is king. Knowing how we individually impact the planet, both positively and negatively is the first step in being able to work as a community to ensure future generations can afford a quality of life. The safety briefing on an aeroplane “put your own oxygen mask on before assisting others” has never been more apt.”
Offering practical advice, he said, “Could you start a local community sustainability group to help tackle local issues? Does your local community suffer from poor air quality or lack of choice in sustainable products? Can you influence local businesses to change? Local Government? Can you offer up some of your time to conduct litter picking or food recycling projects?”
UK-India partnership and climate crisis
Commenting on the UK-India partnership and how it can bring about positive results in tackling the climate crisis, Patel said, “The breadth and depth of India’s relationship with the UK are underpinned by the living bridge between our people – with more Indian companies in the UK than in the rest of Europe combined and a vibrant Indian diaspora of 1.6 million Brits sharing deep connections between the 2 countries.
“The UK-India Partnership has entered a new era which will hopefully have a positive impact on the climate crisis when the 2 nation’s leaders announced the 2030 roadmap ahead of last year's COP26 held in Glasgow.
“Initiatives such as increased cooperation between British and Indian universities on crucial research in areas like health, emerging technologies, and climate science – and bringing enterprises together to propel ground-breaking innovations to communities that need them most. This includes the launch of a UK-India Global Innovation Partnership, which will co-invest in climate and health innovations from India to transform the lives of people across Africa, Asia and the Indian Ocean. It also includes an extension of the UK-India Education and Research Initiative (UKIERI) to conclude its important work in bringing higher education and research sectors, and the people who work in them, closer together. India and the UK must also share learning with each other, despite the obvious differences in living standards. Often the most novel solutions to problems come from the most unconventional situations.”
