Anita Ahuja, Founder Conserve, New Delhi
Anita Ahuja is a writer, artist and designer, but her most notable work has been as a social entrepreneur. In 1997 she founded Conserve India, an NGO aimed towards sustainability. Over the last 20 years, under her leadership, Conserve has worked in the promotion of energy efficiency, waste management, upcycling, skill-training and food security. She has been awarded many accolades, including Best Green Designer (Qatar 2010), Ashoka Fellowship (2008) and Letter of Commendation from Clinton Global Initiative (2011). Her biggest achievement has been the innovation of Handmade Recycled Plastic (HRP), a means of upcycling low density polythene into a high-fashion material; she and her husband are joint patent holders for the material. Anita’s invention has led to developing HRP products which are now exported globally, resulting in upcycling of over 10,000 tonnes of plastic waste.