Kanika Pal - South Asia Women in Energy (Sawie)

Kanika Pal is an award-winning CSR and sustainability professional with 15 years of experience. She is presently leading the sustainable community development programme across South Asia – called “Prabhat” – at Hindustan Unilever Ltd. A TEDx speaker, she quit the corporate sector from 2015–17 and founded Solutions for Clean and Healthy Environment or SoCHE Foundation, to influence behaviour change for a cleaner planet. She has deep interest in exploring the inter-connectedness between conserving the environment, developing sustainable handicrafts and enhancing livelihoods of artisans.

As a change maker developing energy efficient pottery kilns in partnership with potters in Delhi and working with women around bordering villages of Barmer for revival of traditional ‘Kalavat’ hand embroidery, she was awarded the ‘Most Influential Sustainability Leader’ and ‘Wommenovator’ citations in 2018, among others.

Through her Foundation she has also published a series of environment books titled Nature’s Jamboree, showcasing poetry, doodles and essays writen by children on nature, biodiversity and climate change. An avid potter, in her spare time she likes to conduct pottery sessions, helping people practice mindfulness while being (re)connected with the Earth.

Kanika has completed her Masters in CSR from Asian Institute of Technology, Thailand. Having driven CSR and sustainability agenda in different corporations such as Apollo Tyres Ltd and Sony Pictures Networks, she is also a LEAD Fellow and an alumnus of South Asia Leaders programme by Common Purpose, UK.