For 58-year-old Smita Ahuja, what began as a part-time activity turned into her life’s mission to promote circularity in waste management, encourage sustainable practices and empower communities to conserve resources.Smita Ahuja (HT)Ahuja, a resident of Gurugram for over 20 years, said that she has witnessed the city’s transformation from a green, open landscape to an urban hub with a growing sanitation crisis.An ex-marketing professional, Ahuja has worked for the past 13 years to promote efficient waste management. After working with several NGOs, she said that she established her own NGO, Earthtree, in June 2021.According to Ahuja, Earthtree aims to enable rural and urban communities along with educational institutions to adopt sustainable practices and transition towards zero-waste solutions.Ahuja believes that behavioural change is crucial for effective waste management. “While awareness is necessary, it is equally important to give people a clear purpose and real incentives that can drive sustained behavioural change,” she said.“At the heart of our work lies a fundamental belief that every individual and organisation wants to contribute to a cleaner and healthier planet,” she said.Ahuja is associated with around 30 schools in and around the NCR, where the programmes aim to instill sustainability values among young learners. “Children are the most powerful change-makers. When they learn sustainability early, they carry those values into their homes and communities,” she said.“Recycled products can also create livelihoods, and I aim to ensure people use recycled waste to generate sustainable income opportunities,” she said.According to Ahuja, through the SMART initiative—Small, Measurable, Actionable, Reachable and Targeted steps—her organisation works towards achieving tangible environmental outcomes.She said the NGO also collaborates with other waste champions and non-governmental organisations to drive sustainable change.When asked about her vision, she said it revolves around restoring harmony with nature by strengthening sustainability practices and promoting a circular economy where nothing is treated as waste.She added that her goal is to encourage more people to become “green-hearted”—a term she uses to describe individuals who consistently adopt environmentally responsible behaviour and live sustainably.Through Earthtree, Ahuja continues to advance her mission with a team of 10 volunteers, advocating a shift in mindset that treats sustainability as a way of life rather than an occasional choice.